Question on Lumber Buying

Good question I will ask my saw mill next time I see him But the logs I see are not limbs

-- christoper Blanchard, Michigan

I’ve sawn quite a few black walnut logs in the past few years, I use everything I can over about 10”
in diameter and about 4 to 6’ long. In walnut and maple, some of the nicer curl or figure can come
from limb sections that contain quite a bit of compression wood (underside of a branch). The price
for the walnut seems fairly reasonable, as always look through the quality of the board section for
moisture content, straightness, cupp etc. On the smaller limbs I typically will mill 8/4 as 12/4 sections
for turners. as well. Was the material green or kiln dried?

p.s. Thanks for supporting local sawmills…...

-- Phil

Actually in the hardwoods, limbs can be pretty stable, even though the wood fibres are not necessarily as strong as the main bough..but as you can see…they are not as wide typically. The price is right though….and sometimes you can’t match the beautiful grains seen on limb wood….

The biggest down side on limb wood is the tendency to warp and crack from the quicker evaporation due to the thinner size and higher stresses…you can avoid this if it is treated right (cut right away and dried correctly)...or, the exposed cuts are treated immediately in order to keep the piece stabile until it is sawn, then the wood should dry fairly stable…..

I use alot of limb wood for turning…and it is excellent for that purpose…but when green it requires the correct processing right after is it cut from the tree…otherwise…you get major checks as stated above. If it is dried intact…be careful of cracking internally…especially when cut…as you need to dry it evenly…or it will warp and crack.

-- Woodworking.....My small slice of heaven!

On your end (buyer) if the wood dried flat then yes limb wood is just fine. We sawyers sometimes don’t want to mill and dry limb wood because of the internal stress. Limbs just grown differently. Most often the trunk is concentric growth rings that make for more stable lumber in the drying stacks. Where as limbs the heart/pith is usually not centered for one. The lumber is often more knotty which is a defect in hardwood. And the smaller diameter makes the wood more prone to stress. Having said all that this is something I made from walnut limb wood I milled and kiln dried. http://lumberjocks.com/projects/11710

-- Urban logger, http://nelsonwoodworks.biz/

Hey, thanks folks! Yes, it was kiln dried… Reading your feedback makes me feel a lot more comfortable in using this for a future project, and I hope it looks half as good as that coffee table.

iozl -

If you don’t mind me asking, would you let another Portland area woodworker know where you bought the lumber?

Thanks.

-- - Jim, Vancouver,WA

Sure Jim – it was at:
http://www.creationwoods.com/

A bit of a drive, but if you’re in Vancouver it would be closer to you than it is for me in NE PDX…

iozl – thanks for the information!

-- - Jim, Vancouver,WA