# Going Rate for Walnut



## Cornductor (Feb 5, 2011)

I found a listing today on Craigslist for walnut burl actually I believe its going to be claro walnut. My question is I have to hire a guy who I've worked with before on cutting it down then milling it for me. I know what he's going to charge me but the lady selling the wood said to make her an offer.

The tree has had all the limbs, and smaller branches cut off and debris cleaned from site. Here's a link to the add what would you guys offer for the tree?

http://modesto.craigslist.org/mat/2789893252.html


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## Dusty56 (Apr 20, 2008)

"*Diameter of 35'.*" 
Good golly !


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## Cornductor (Feb 5, 2011)

I said the same thing even when I called her she confirmed the same size.


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## dakremer (Dec 8, 2009)

I think he said "good golly" because she has 35 FEET written there…..not inches  From the picture it doesnt even look like 35"

Also, that section doesnt look very long, and not very straight either. After you account for the sapwood, you arent going to have a TON of walnut lumber. On top of that you have to pay someone to mill it. I wouldnt pay much for it. As far as an actual number…i have no idea - it depends on where you are at and what the prices of walnut is in your area. I live in Iowa….if i had to haul it away, mill it..etc…etc…i probably wouldnt pay more than $50 for it.


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## Cornductor (Feb 5, 2011)

Dohhh. 35' wow I was pulling the cart before the horse on that.

Dakremer- I was thinking about the same thing for a price range maybe a little less. I plan on taking a look at it tomorrow and let her know possibly what I'd give for it.


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## WDHLT15 (Aug 15, 2011)

Looks like a black walnut root stock grafted to english walnut. Isn't that what they consider "claro" walnut? I believe that most claro walnut are orchard trees. I bet you that tree has metal in it. Yard trees are metal magnets. Don't ask me how I know.


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## Dusty56 (Apr 20, 2008)

LOL..where would we be without typeoohhhs ?

I wouldn't pay over $50 either….maybe $35 would be my first offer.


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## Nomad62 (Apr 20, 2010)

English walnut trees were imported, and didn't grow well unless grafted onto our native black walnut trees. Claro is a term for the black walnut that grows on the west coast, it has a much darker wood than the eastern black walnut. Yard trees are risky alright, there is almost a guarantee that somewhere in there is a nail or spike; but that is a cost of cutting it up; your sawyer knows all about that for sure. I would love to get that tree, sure wish it was local. With all the variables involved I wouldn't offer them a penny for it but rather a very nice turning from the wood, i've gotten a lot of logs that way and everyone ends up happy. One thing to remember is that the big money wood in black walnut is in the root ball; make every effort you can to get it all if possible. They do not grow tap roots but instead grow many out-reaching roots making getting the root ball possible by going around the base with a large stump grinder then giving it a yank.


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## Bertha (Jan 10, 2011)

^I'm with Dakremer, I don't think there's a ton of usable wood there. Of course, I certainly wouldn't turn it away! I bet there will be some fun figure at the "Y" if you're the turning type. I'm guessing the seller mostly just wants it out of there. I'd probably say $50 and I'll get it out of there right now.


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## roman (Sep 28, 2007)

20 bucks and honestly, I would ask for 100 bucks to lug it away

you have to cut it down
have it cut into timber
dry it, wax the ends…………..years later it "might" be ready
when you hit a nail, what does a new blade cost ?
How much is "YOUR" time worth had you worked ?

Compare the above cost, to just going out and buying some


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## Bertha (Jan 10, 2011)

^cut it down? I must have missed that part. That would definitely change things for me. Walnut is $8/bf in my neck of the woods. Unless you've got your own mill, I'm not sure I'd fuss with it.


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## fge (Sep 8, 2008)

I never harvest any wood myself. I find buying from local hardwood dealers is much simpler and cost effective for us.

I do have a friend who owns his own sawmill, a very nice one. He mills his own logs and does some really nice high end wood furnishings. He has told me that it makes him chuckle when people offer to sell him their logs. He has advised me that the labor invested in hauling logs off and milling them makes it cost prohibitive when he is forced to pay for logs. He markets himself as a green builder and tries to utilize fallen logs or hauls logs that were fallen from development.

My thoughts would be to charge the lady 50.00. You could tell her normally you would charge 50.00 but since she is so nice you will only charge her 20.00


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## Sawmillnc (Jan 14, 2010)

That is a graft line claro/english walnut tree the top portion being engllish and the bottom claro. IF the tree is 35" in diameter it would be worth more than the suggested $50.00 as the slabs typically sell for hundreds of dollars each as coffee tables. The issue with claro/english are two fold. It is difficult to dry and you cannot ship green out of the state of CA due to thousand cankor disease. I have sawn many of these years ago and it makes wonderful furniture and a very interesting one piece gunstock.


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## Ken90712 (Sep 2, 2009)

Interesting, I would email Greg drom Oregonburls on here. He deals with this type of wood everyday and would be a big help I'm sure.


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## richgreer (Dec 25, 2009)

First of all, the diameter of that trunk is not 35" or 35'. I would guess it at 80" to 90".

You are going to get very few nice, clear boards in this tree. However, you would have some appealing wood for turning. Crotch cuts are often very interesting for turning and some people will pay a premium price for a good piece of crotch walnut. (Note, that last sentence could have a whole different meaning without the last word.)

IMO - this wood should be used for turning. If you don't turn - either let it go or buy it and cut it up for turning and sell it for turnings. Note - a lot of turners, myself included, would rather see the whole tree and direct you regarding how they want a piece cut off.

FYI - If I lived closer so that shipping was not such an issue, I would gladly pay $20 to $40 for some prime cuts from this tree that I would use for turning. If you could find the buyers, this tree could easily bring you $300+. Contact your local turning club.


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## Grandpa (Jan 28, 2011)

This tree does not appear to be 80 or 90 inches in diameter. Perhaps the circumference is 80 to 90 inches. That divided by pi would give you about 30 inches in diameter. The height appears to be about the height of the building eave behind it. That would make it about 8 or 9 ft tall (above ground). Cost? Well whatever you have to pay for it. you decide what you can afford and whether you want it. That stump is going to be a lot of work to get out of there. I personally wouldn't pay much for it. After you figure the cost of removing it, hauling it, milling it, drying it and throwing away the splits. The store on the corner is a sure bet. If you really want the root ball you will probably need a backhoe to dig it up and load it on your trailer.


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## richgreer (Dec 25, 2009)

Grandpa - You are right. I confused diameter with circumference.


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## yank (Feb 1, 2007)

Black walnut goes for $3 per bf at my sawyers. He has some great boards. Most are prime, with very little check on the ends. 
I can get the lower grade for $2.25 bf. I use it mostly for cutting boards and trim and accents.


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## Cornductor (Feb 5, 2011)

Well after some time thinking if it was a good deal or not…I'm gonna choose not.

Reason is that it actually seemed more of a hassle than anything else, and I really didn't think I should have to pay for the service of removing it. I may be wrong in my thinking but I just couldn't justify the cost of removing it, then paying a sawyer to then mill it down. Only to get a few useable brd ft out of it.

Thanks all for the great advise I really appreciate the honest remarks!


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## SteviePete (May 10, 2009)

After a while buying odd lot woods. I shoot for $.20/bf for softwoods and $0.75/bf hardwoods Grade out the boards and scale it by your measure. Buy the whole lot. Shake on the deal before loading. If it has some Select or better boards listen to the offer-then take only the perfect boards. In any case, wish them good luck selling the rest, give them your business card with E-mail and be on your way. I am very cautious about taking yard trees, signs of old rot, broken limbs, bullets, wire fencing and kid's swing chain. If they want you to take down the tree--I make it a they pay me deal. You still have to saw it, stack it, dry it, plane it, restack it,etc. Touch it six times and then you might get lots of #2 Common. Usually not worth the effort unless you need amusement. (p.s. I still love the whole process, cut tree, limb it, drag it to the landing, sawing (at sawyer, or home with chain saw or band saw,) dry it, plane it, look at it.) Still not very good at the make stuff part. Good luck.

Remember: Sharp Fixes Everything.


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## HalDougherty (Jul 15, 2009)

Here's a great video about selling a valuable walnut log.






I cut yard trees, but I only take them if they are free because a very high percentage of them have metal inside. I hit a gate hinge in the center of a 48" red oak log. It was about 60 years deep inside the log. Last week I got a free logging chain from inside a log… It was so rusted that it's not usable, but it makes a nice trophy.


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## Dusty56 (Apr 20, 2008)

Excellent video link , Hal : )


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## Burl_Eric (Jan 26, 2012)

Great video. Just recently I made an offer of $2,000 on a very large tree and the land owner told me it was worth at least $100,000 and any lumber mill would pay that much. Well, I buy and mill these trees and often have to place an offer with an open bid. I know what trees are worth.

You live in an area where you could drive around a little and get better pieces out of farmers burn piles for free.

Claro has nothing to do with being grafted. Don't beleive Woodcraft or everyone selling on the Internet claiming to be selling "Claro". It is a specific species and you can usually tell by the color of the wood. There is much more Black than Claro in CA.

The tree is the photo is a stump, not a burl. I would not offer anything for that piece of wood.

I have at least 5 semi-loads in my burn/chip pile that is ready better than that piece. Everyone wants it but no one seems to want to pay anything.

Just my 2 cents.


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