Advice on milling walnut.

Dave,

IMHO, I would just have the walnut plain sawn. Quarter sawing walnut does not really yield better looking wood. More stable, yes, but no better looking. Plain sawn walnut with the large cathedral marks are really pretty. Just my 2 cents.

-- Jeff, Indiana

We’ve been doin’ alot of walnut lately and nobody quarter saws it. Get your best yield. As I posted on some other thread cutting diameter is down to 12” (meaning lumber co.s will now take walnuts as small as 12” becuase they’ve cut down all the large ones.) That being said, any walnut you get over 12” is now considered premium wood. If you get some savor it.

-- arborial reconfiguration specialist

Good enough for me, thanks guys.
We’ll haul the tree to one of the peckerwood sawmills around here and have it done.

I know the limb wood is too unstable but brother and I can use it for some small stuff, ornamental doohickies and whatnots.

-- .

Use the limbs for turning, if you have a lathe.

-- Maplewood, MN

The limbs where they are connected to the tree produce “Crotch Cut”.........and its beautiful, gun stocks, turnings, figured veneer.

-- http://www.furnituremann.ca/

I have nothing to add, just to second the advice you have already been given. Flat sawn for grade.

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

My .02 = quarter sawing lumber ALWAYS yields more stable lumber…at least in my book I will take stability and predictability over looks any day. If you are in an area without much swing in temp and humidity then flat sawing may be ok, but I always mill my lumber into quarter sawn planks. The main reason I have found that most people don’t quarter saw is that is is more difficult to do and they are unwilling to spend the time to learn. My friend Garrett Hack, who has maybe 20,000 bdft of lumber in his shop and barn, has probably 90% of it is quartersawn, regardless of species. Why? Stability (and somtimes looks, but looks is a secondary consideration).