doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com How to fell a Walnut Tree

In my late mother-in-laws garden is an English walnut tree - 4 foot in diameter with a straight trunk probaly ten feet high till you get branches. The property is likely to be sold to pay death duties, but before it goes thinking of felling the tree or digging it up and then using the timber for furniture or even better a few gunstocks.

Any advice gratefully recieved on how to fell such a tree and then seasoning the timber.

It depends on how the tree was propagated, most english walnut in the US is grafted on American or Bastone root stock. As a result the only english walnut will be above the graft lines, below will be root stock. Branches are not good usually for gunstocks. If the tree is a seedling tree with no graft the usual method is to dig below the roots to recover as much usable wood as possible, there will be nice figured wood at the junction of the trunk and roots, also at the junction of the main branches. It would be best to have someone familiar with harvesting gunstocks to remove the tree. Also keep in mind that you are dealing with several ton of tree when it is on the ground. Where are you at?

Jim A.

With felling such a big tree, you might want to have a professional do it. They would most likely trim some of the branches, and they would know how to cut it low enough for it to fall safe.
The trouble with "backyard" trees is that there is always hidden nails in them. If sections of the logs are taken to a sawyer, you would be better off with one that uses a band saw type compared to one with a large carbide tipped circular saw. Those carbide inserts can get expensive hitting nails.
If it were mine I would have it quarter sawn, as this gives you the best figure and helps stop the wood from "cupping"
As far as storing and seasoning the wood, you should try to use stickers of the same wood and the rule of thumb is 1 year per inch of thickness. Also the ends of the logs should be coated with either wax or cheap latex paint to prevent a too fast evaporation of water which would cause a lot of checking/splitting.
Furniture wood, excluding legs should be cut 4/4 or 1", stock blanks I would guess 10/4 or 2 1/2".
Good luck and I'm sure other more experienced people will follow.

The tree should be taken down in sections not dropped. A heavy tree that is felled may send cracks throughout. Decide on the most useful section and have it reduced.

I would cut any blanks for stocks at least 3 1/4", as you will loose a decent amount of the thickness in drying over time. You want your finished dried and planed blanks to measure at least 2 1/2", many stock turners want them 3" planed for a stock with a cheekpiece on it. Best to start off a bit too thick, you can always run it through the planer again after it all dries. As stated, the area just above the root mass (even into the root mass a bit, but watch out for dirt and stones) and the crotch areas will yield the best figure, but I have seen some very good fiddleback figure from the first 6 to 8 feet or so above the root mass and well below the first crotch, areas you would think would be only good for furniture wood.

I sold 120 black walnuts (B/W) out of my woods on the IL/WI state-line about 6 years ago, some were veneer quality, most were not. I measured and graded all my trees myself, after instruction by a friend and former client who is in the saw-mill and custom-finished lumber, flooring, and trim business. I came within 5% (under) the timber buyer's bid--it took me two weeks; it took him 5 hours.

In order for a B/W to be marketable it should be at least 16 inches in diameter at shoulder height, excluding the bark, or about a nominal 18-inch diameter (which is hard to measure), or a tape-measured circumference of about 56 inches (divided by pi 3.1416 = 18-inches dia.).

First question: Do you mean diameter or circumference in your 48-inch ("4 foot") trunk measurement?

(1) A B/W 4-foot "thick" (diameter) is extremely large and would be about 150 inches measured around with a tape measure (circumference). If this tree is veneer quality, and it could be with the 10-foot run to the first branches, there could be value...

(2) If you mean that the B/W tree is 4 foot around, measured with a tape, the tree would be about 15-inches thick (diameter), and not worth the effort, veneer or not. In this context it is an ornamental and could, by its presence, enhance the value of the property, if you don't mind the messy walnut-turds dropped on the lawn in the fall, which become tar-like with age.

If your tree is as you said--4-foot in diameter--with a measured circumference of about 150 inches, you still need to consider its value as an ornamental that may or may not enhance the property. Assuming, as you say, a 10-foot run to the first branches, this still doesn't insure veneer quality, as bumps and bruises (called "smiley faces") can disqualify and leave you with strictly board-foot prices. As I recall, my biggest tree was about 56-inches diameter and was valued at less than $2,000.

Valuable veneer-tree extractions can involve digging down to get a longer first log, but there would be no value for gun stocks. Google Black Walnut for some indication of prices. Years ago there was a stately B/W on a farmstead in Ohio (as I recall) that sold at auction for $75,000 (when that was not chump change), as reported in the WSJ (but I couldn't find it with slight Google effort).

Punch line: Black walnut lumber by the board foot is not worth the effort and potential impact on residential valuation. A 4-foot diameter (thick) B/W that qualifies as veneer to the 10-foot first branches is still no bell ringer in my slightly educated opinion, but possibly worth pursuing further. As to gun stocks: I think not. Taking down a 4-foot diameter tree in a residential garden presents its own special problems. There are people in the business who can give you a "go" or "no-go" price, but based on no special info in re: great valuation, ready purchaser, cash on the barrel-head up front, insured, bonded, licensed, and disposition of the negative-value portion (tops, branches, stump), I'd say the odds are against... EDM

ben-t might have a good idea as I understand that it is important not to fell the tree in such a manner that the fibres stretch as it goes over which it would if it went whilst still partly together. How it is done I know not but cutting in sections would be one way to avoid this. Lagopus.....

4 foot in diameter, and it's an English walnut tree according to the post--would that change the equation?

Ed's right about value of the tree left standing. A black walnut in the right place on the right property is worth $50,000 when it comes time to sell. I've also heard of buyers coming from Italy to Canada to buy one black walnut for that price.

Finding an english walnut tree 4 ft in diameter that is not a grafted tree is like finding gold if the wood has figure, note "IF" some trees do not. I had the good luck several years ago of visiting Pachmyers operation in Oreville Ca. They removed huge trees with a crane after lopping off the branches and digging out the roots, they were then trucked to their mill in Oreville and sawn up on a chain-saw mill. the old man who ran the mill could tell after a couple of cuts how to mill for the best figure. comparing value of black walnut to english is like comparing apples to oranges. Figured english is several times more valuable depending on the color and figure. These big trees are rare in California anymore, agriculture has went to production and trees do not get as large before being replaced.

Jim A.