# Is a mature black walnut tree worth anything?



## Shadow11

Is a large black walnut tree worth anything now days? My parents have 2 nice black walnut trees in front of their house, up in northeast ga. They have been there my entire 40 years of life. One of them is much larger than the other.

 Anyway, my parents are looking to get rid of them. My mom said she was considering paying someone 800.00 to come and get rid of them! I told her she was crazy and to hold up on that. I'm guessing these trees are worth something. 

The bigger one has to be over 20" in diameter by now. Maybe a good bit more. Do people still make valuable furniture and such, out of black walnut? Do you think someone would pay for these trees?


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## NCHillbilly

The lumber is still valuable, but I don't know if you'd get somebody to come cut two trees for the logs. Depends also on what the trees look like, how straight, crooked, or full of limbs.


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## northgeorgiasportsman

Not likely at all that you're going to get anyone to pay for them unless you cut them down yourself and haul the trees to them.  There's just not enough money in them by the time someone comes out to cut and haul them away.


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## Milkman

@Elkbane may know something. He knows lots about the tree business.


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## Raylander

Black Walnut in Ga is low grade, they ain’t worth much


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## Shadow11

My dad says it's 26" at the bottom.


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## Shadow11

worleyburd86 said:


> Black Walnut in Ga is low grade, they ain’t worth much


Really? That's interesting. Why is that?


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## madsam

How close are you to Mid Ga. ?


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## Raylander

Shadow11 said:


> Really? That's interesting. Why is that?



It doesn’t have tight, figured grain. Most local walnut will be termed ‘rustic’. Some people actually prefer it when you start talking price. It can be good looking stuff

I’m not saying they’re worthless. Someone with a sawmill may come get em and build cabinets or furniture or whatever


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## greg j

Read somewhere that southern black walnut trees are not as tight grained as northern black walnut trees.  I know a guy who had/has 800 acres in western Illinois and he had many black walnut trees on his property and he always said they were his retirement fund.  He actually had a few that were cut down and stolen over the years.


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## Pig Predator

The prettiest flooring I've ever seen was milled out of black walnut. Not sure on type but it was beautiful.


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## Kev

2 wouldn’t be worth anything. A bunch might be worth something if they had good form and there was a market nearby.


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## NE GA Pappy

most sawmills won't even consider cutting them up because people tend to drive nails, railroad spikes and other objects into trees that are close to a house.  If they hit something while cutting, it will cost a few hundred dollars minimum, up to several thousand dollars if they wreck the blade on a sawmill

you might find someone with a bandsaw mill to cut them, but they wont pay you much for the logs.


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## Nicodemus

How would it do for gunstocks?


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## Mr Bya Lungshot

All Ga grown black walnut is the poorest grade walnut on earth. Due to the soil.
It splits soon as you cut it and more when it dries. Worthless unless you like splits in your grain.
To save a walnut it needs cutting in strategic spots to save the crotches where the grain is curly.
Still worthless in Ga because it always splits. Firewood it’s great.


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## Shadow11

Good info. That's interesting to know. I worked with a guy out of toccoa awhile back. He used to show me pics of furniture that his dad made for rich folks around atl. I told him a couple of years ago that my parents had a couple of old black walnut trees that they would probably want to get rid of. He jumped all over it. He said they would be there tomorrow to get it. I said we'll wait and see. The guy quit our place shortly after that. I haven't talked to him in nearly 2 yrs, but I just texted him about it. He wants them pretty bad.


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## Milkman

Where in NEGa are these trees?


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## Timberman

worleyburd86 said:


> Black Walnut in Ga is low grade, they ain’t worth much



Sometimes. When I was sawing I used to ship piedmont SC walnut to Ohio on a bill of lading from Pikeville Ky. They loved it and bought all I sawed. I did know how to grade it.

Your issue is they are yard trees.  That means metal no matter what the home owner says. Plus it’s just 2 trees.

Good luck with your dilemma


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## NCHillbilly

Mr Bya Lungshot said:


> All Ga grown black walnut is the poorest grade walnut on earth. Due to the soil.
> It splits soon as you cut it and more when it dries. Worthless unless you like splits in your grain.
> To save a walnut it needs cutting in strategic spots to save the crotches where the grain is curly.
> Still worthless in Ga because it always splits. Firewood it’s great.


Except for in the mountains. Southern Appalachian hardwoods are some of the best quality on the planet. My wife works for a company that exports it all around the world-oak, cherry, and walnut.


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## Mr Bya Lungshot

NCHillbilly said:


> Except for in the mountains. Southern Appalachian hardwoods are some of the best quality on the planet. My wife works for a company that exports it all around the world-oak, cherry, and walnut.


Maybe for flooring but would your wife’s company pay or come get his standing trees or fallen? The money is after all the work goes into it.


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## Timberman

Mr Bya Lungshot said:


> Maybe for flooring but would your wife’s company pay or come get his standing trees or fallen? The money is after all the work goes into it.



Walnut is rarely used for flooring.

NC is right tho southern Appalachian hardwood is very good.

To answer your question nobody but a hobbyist is gonna come cut 2 walnut yard trees


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## NCHillbilly

Mr Bya Lungshot said:


> Maybe for flooring but would your wife’s company pay or come get his standing trees or fallen? The money is after all the work goes into it.


"Maybe for flooring?" Southern Appalachian hardwood is the premier stuff for anything. They export it to people who build some of the world's most expensive furniture, and suchlike. The flatland stuff, probably not. I don't think you understand the difference between most of Georgia and the mountains. It is basically southern Canada here climatewise, once you get up out of the valleys.

And no, they wouldn't touch two trees, much less yard trees that have metal in them 99% of the time. They buy high-grade green lumber, dry kiln it, regrade, and export.


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## Mr Bya Lungshot

NCHillbilly said:


> "Maybe for flooring?" Southern Appalachian hardwood is the premier stuff for anything. They export it to people who build some of the world's most expensive furniture, and suchlike. The flatland stuff, probably not. I don't think you understand the difference between most of Georgia and the mountains. It is basically southern Canada here climatewise, once you get up out of the valleys.
> 
> And no, they wouldn't touch two trees, much less yard trees that have metal in them 99% of the time. They buy high-grade green lumber, dry kiln it, regrade, and export.


black walnut grown in GEORGIA is the poorest grade walnut on the planet.
The rest y’all can hash out but nobody’s coming for free.


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## GeorgeShu

About 30 yrs ago I was talking an elderly neighbor near Statesboro Who also did some wood working.  He showed me some of his wood collection and stories of how he found the various species.  He had several hundred board feet of walnut. Said he was driving back from Savannah one day when he met a log truck headed into the pulp mill. He turned around and got the driver to pull over. It was a load of black walnut, driver said it was cut on some land next to the Ogeechee railroad. He purchased to load from the driver and had it delivered to a local saw mill.  Had it sawed into 2 and 4 inch slabs and stored it to air dry in a old chicken barn, all stickered up nice.

He had made some really nice pieces from the wood, sold some of the finer figured pieces toa gun stock maker.

I purchase a good amount and made some furniture, boxes, picture frames and several other odds and ends with it.
One of the neat features in some of the wood was imbeded bird shot.  When I found some of the lead pellets he said many years prior that they used to run a train along the tracks and sold tickets to shooters so they could shoot at birds.  The imbedded pellts make for an interesting tale of life long ago in SE Georgia.

point being there an be some good walnut in Georgia but there may be better grown eslewhere.


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## Timberman

GeorgeShu said:


> About 30 yrs ago I was talking an elderly neighbor near Statesboro Who also did some wood working.  He showed me some of his wood collection and stories of how he found the various species.  He had several hundred board feet of walnut. Said he was driving back from Savannah one day when he met a log truck headed into the pulp mill. He turned around and got the driver to pull over. It was a load of black walnut, driver said it was cut on some land next to the Ogeechee railroad. He purchased to load from the driver and had it delivered to a local saw mill.  Had it sawed into 2 and 4 inch slabs and stored it to air dry in a old chicken barn, all stickered up nice.
> 
> He had made some really nice pieces from the wood, sold some of the finer figured pieces toa gun stock maker.
> 
> I purchase a good amount and made some furniture, boxes, picture frames and several other odds and ends with it.
> One of the neat features in some of the wood was imbeded bird shot.  When I found some of the lead pellets he said many years prior that they used to run a train along the tracks and sold tickets to shooters so they could shoot at birds.  The imbedded pellts make for an interesting tale of life long ago in SE Georgia.
> 
> point being there an be some good walnut in Georgia but there may be better grown eslewhere.



I still have a couple thousand feet of 4/4 in an old barn in Pomaria SC


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## NCHillbilly

Mr Bya Lungshot said:


> black walnut grown in GEORGIA is the poorest grade walnut on the planet.
> The rest y’all can hash out but nobody’s coming for free.


I'm talking about the Southern Appalachian MOUNTAIN district of Georgia. You know, that nearly third of the state up there that everybody ignores? It's a different world from the rest of Georgia. A tree doesn't pay much attention to a state line. Western NC/North GA/Eastern TN are all the same difference, same place, with a couple imaginary lines drawn on the ground.

I agree that nobody's probably coming for free, unless they can find somebody with a band mill or something that cuts small amounts and has a market for it.


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## ol bob

Some of the nicest black walnut I have ever seen came from the S.C.,  Ga line around Anderson made some high dollar custom call out of it they are in collection to nice to use.


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## Anvil Head

NE GA Pappy said:


> most sawmills won't even consider cutting them up because people tend to drive nails, railroad spikes and other objects into trees that are close to a house.  If they hit something while cutting, it will cost a few hundred dollars minimum, up to several thousand dollars if they wreck the blade on a sawmill
> 
> you might find someone with a bandsaw mill to cut them, but they wont pay you much for the logs.



This is quite accurate. Yard trees are a no-no to a business mill. Hobby mills may take them but better skin and scan before cutting deep.


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## godogs57

Mr Bya Lungshot said:


> All Ga grown black walnut is the poorest grade walnut on earth. Due to the soil.
> It splits soon as you cut it and more when it dries. Worthless unless you like splits in your grain.
> To save a walnut it needs cutting in strategic spots to save the crotches where the grain is curly.
> Still worthless in Ga because it always splits. Firewood it’s great.




I very respectfully take exception to this. Here is a stock I built from a farm 12 miles over the GA line in upstate SC. The man that gave this to me planted the walnut on his farm when he was a boy in hopes of making him a gunstock out of it later in life. He passed away from cancer before he could achieve his goal, giving the plank to me to finish the task. I took my time with this, completing it in about a year. I've posted these pics before but felt I'd show folks that SE Walnut does have character.


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## godogs57

Timberman said:


> Sometimes. When I was sawing I used to ship piedmont SC walnut to Ohio on a bill of lading from Pikeville Ky. They loved it and bought all I sawed. I did know how to grade it.
> 
> Your issue is they are yard trees.  That means metal no matter what the home owner says. Plus it’s just 2 trees.
> 
> Good luck with your dilemma




Yard trees are definately not to be sawed up unless you 152% know the history of the tree. Most old timers routinely hammered nails in walnut trees as they believed it positively affected the walnuts. Either the yield or the taste...I honestly can't remember which one it was.


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## NCHillbilly

godogs57 said:


> I very respectfully take exception to this. Here is a stock I built from a farm 12 miles over the GA line in upstate SC. The man that gave this to me planted the walnut on his farm when he was a boy in hopes of making him a gunstock out of it later in life. He passed away from cancer before he could achieve his goal, giving the plank to me to finish the task. I took my time with this, completing it in about a year. I've posted these pics before but felt I'd show folks that SE Walnut does have character.
> 
> View attachment 1017219
> 
> View attachment 1017220
> 
> View attachment 1017221


That is a beautiful piece of wood, and beautiful craftsmanship that you used to bring out the spirit in it.


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## godogs57

NCHillbilly said:


> That is a beautiful piece of wood, and beautiful craftsmanship that you used to bring out the spirit in it.


Thanks so much! I knew I had one shot to get this thing right...I had to be patient with every sliver of wood I took off. The plank of wood had sap wood on both ends...the white stuff. I had to add a recoil pad and a rosewood forend tip to compensate for the shortness of the plank. As I remember, when I laid the pattern out, I had about a quarter inch of solid wood left on either end before I hit sapwood. I'm more proud of my patience than I am of the end result, as impatience is often my Achilles heel on long term projects like this. I did not do the checkering on this stock for that reason...the man that did it later told me that was the hardest stock he had ever checkered.


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## ol bob

That's what I had looked like and as you said hard as a rock, I've used walnut from all over the world and it was the best I've ever had.


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## Jimmypop

I don't think I would pay anyone to cut and haul off a mature walnut tree. Lot's of people have portable mills and they just metal detect it and dig out the nails. They tell me bullets don't hurt the blades as much. I've had some sawed without problems a couple of times. I guess I don't know good walnut from bad. To me it's all pretty.


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## Shadow11

I'm glad I posted this. I've learned a lot. You guys are the best. 

Yes, these are yard trees. There's probably some bbs, bird shot, or .22 bullets in there somewhere... from my brother, dad, and myself trying to shoot squirrels over the last 40 yrs. I think my folks might have had a bird house or two hung up at some point. That's pretty much it.

They're near the sautee nacoochee area, which isn't the mountains, but more like the foothills I guess. The temperature is usually a bit cooler here than the surrounding folks. They have grown very well. Especially the bigger one. It used to have a giant limb that grew over the driveway. It broke off several years ago. The diameter of the trunk grows up past that knot. There has to be good wood there.

Anyway, it's definitely meant for a hobbyist, or someone with a mini saw mill. The trees are right next to the driveway, so they are very easy access. This is all very good info though. I had no idea. Thanks!


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## Pig Predator

Shadow11 said:


> I'm glad I posted this. I've learned a lot. You guys are the best.
> 
> Yes, these are yard trees. There's probably some bbs, bird shot, or .22 bullets in there somewhere... from my brother, dad, and myself trying to shoot squirrels over the last 40 yrs. I think my folks might have had a bird house or two hung up at some point. That's pretty much it.
> 
> They're near the sautee nacoochee area, which isn't the mountains, but more like the foothills I guess. The temperature is usually a bit cooler here than the surrounding folks. They have grown very well. Especially the bigger one. It used to have a giant limb that grew over the driveway. It broke off several years ago. The diameter of the trunk grows up past that knot. There has to be good wood there.
> 
> Anyway, it's definitely meant for a hobbyist, or someone with a mini saw mill. The trees are right next to the driveway, so they are very easy access. This is all very good info though. I had no idea. Thanks!


I consider sautee and nacoochee mtns. Maybe you can find a hobbyist that will get them. Craig's list will have your phone burning up. Just have to weed through a buncha quacks.


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## godogs57

Shadow11 said:


> I'm glad I posted this. I've learned a lot. You guys are the best.
> 
> Yes, these are yard trees. There's probably some bbs, bird shot, or .22 bullets in there somewhere... from my brother, dad, and myself trying to shoot squirrels over the last 40 yrs. I think my folks might have had a bird house or two hung up at some point. That's pretty much it.
> 
> They're near the sautee nacoochee area, which isn't the mountains, but more like the foothills I guess. The temperature is usually a bit cooler here than the surrounding folks. They have grown very well. Especially the bigger one. It used to have a giant limb that grew over the driveway. It broke off several years ago. The diameter of the trunk grows up past that knot. There has to be good wood there.
> 
> Anyway, it's definitely meant for a hobbyist, or someone with a mini saw mill. The trees are right next to the driveway, so they are very easy access. This is all very good info though. I had no idea. Thanks!



your best figure is going to be below ground....the tap root. That is obviously where you get your stump figure, as shown on my stock. Good bet there are no nails below ground.


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## Elkbane

As some indicated above, the wood may be valuable (won't know unless you fell it and see if how much clear wood it has in it), but not as a single tree growing in somebody's yard. 

You'd have to cut it down, then you's have to cut it into bolts or logs of a size you can handle and haul to a mill. Then somebody would have to clean up the debris (and there would be A LOT of it). 

Haul it to a mill like this:
http://www.hamsleyhardwood.com/
and have him mill it into lumber or rifle blanks. The air dry it for a couple years or find somebody to kiln dry it.......etc... a lot of work for somebody to do and you probably wouldn't have any takers.

I do know a hobbyist that did this to a small stand of walnut left after a logging job and it was a lot of work. But he created a lifetime supply of walnut and basically built all the furniture in his house.
Elkbane


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## treemanjohn

Climate plays a major role in lumber value. Slow growing trees from a northern or mountainous climate are more desirable. 

That said you really don't know what you have until you saw it.  I've cut a lot of trees, but never for free

I do know a gentleman who bought 4 walnut stumps in Blairsville several years back and paid $1I for then and dug them out. He was a knife maker


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## jiminbogart

I'll add my $.02 as an owner of a band sawmill  and someone who clears a lot of trees(I'm a builder/developer).

Your best bet is to find someone with a band sawmill that will drop the trees for the wood. I would not go this route unless trees can be dropped 360 degrees without hitting something.

I would be concerned about liability if the people removing the trees were killed or injured.

You would also be left with a big mess to clean up when they were done.

When I give away 'free" wood I have the stems stacked and ready to load.

I put an add on CL for "free wood must take all" and a flatbed OO called and said he would take it. I loaded with my machine. 

It would(no pun intended) have been cheaper and easier to throw it in a dumpster but I hate to see wood go to waste.

My dually got stuck in the mud and I did $3k+ damage when I backed into a 3.5" diameter pine tree. Dually truck bed sides are expensive to replace and so is 3 stage paint. Luckily I found a takeoff bed in pearl white for $800. No good deed goes unpunished.




I just posted the pics because everybody like to look at pics.

Here is an interesting thread on walnut on the forestry forum.
https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=98933.0
There maybe someone there that wants the logs.


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## gobbleinwoods

Anvil Head said:


> This is quite accurate. Yard trees are a no-no to a business mill. Hobby mills may take them but better skin and scan before cutting deep.



When I was in the historic home restoration business the architectural saw mill that would make crown molding to match the original had metal detectors that would stop the machine before ruining the knives that had to be custom made.


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## little rascal

It makes great smoking wood!


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## Anvil Head

gobbleinwoods said:


> When I was in the historic home restoration business the architectural saw mill that would make crown molding to match the original had metal detectors that would stop the machine before ruining the knives that had to be custom made.


No argument there, but for one or two logs he's not going to find a "sophisticated" mill with that capability. I used a hand held scanner but still missed a few and it only takes one big staple or nail to wreck the blade.


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## gobbleinwoods

Anvil Head said:


> No argument there, but for one or two logs he's not going to find a "sophisticated" mill with that capability. I used a hand held scanner but still missed a few and it only takes one big staple or nail to wreck the blade.



If people would just use copper or aluminum nails when putting up posted signs.  But old timers never thought about that.


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## trad bow

jiminbogart said:


> I'll add my $.02 as an owner of a band sawmill  and someone who clears a lot of trees(I'm a builder/developer).
> 
> Your best bet is to find someone with a band sawmill that will drop the trees for the wood. I would not go this route unless trees can be dropped 360 degrees without hitting something.
> 
> I would be concerned about liability if the people removing the trees were killed or injured.
> 
> You would also be left with a big mess to clean up when they were done.
> 
> When I give away 'free" wood I have the stems stacked and ready to load.
> 
> I put an add on CL for "free wood must take all" and a flatbed OO called and said he would take it. I loaded with my machine.
> 
> It would(no pun intended) have been cheaper and easier to throw it in a dumpster but I hate to see wood go to waste.
> 
> My dually got stuck in the mud and I did $3k+ damage when I backed into a 3.5" diameter pine tree. Dually truck bed sides are expensive to replace and so is 3 stage paint. Luckily I found a takeoff bed in pearl white for $800. No good deed goes unpunished.
> 
> View attachment 1017833View attachment 1017834
> View attachment 1017835
> 
> I just posted the pics because everybody like to look at pics.
> 
> Here is an interesting thread on walnut on the forestry forum.
> https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=98933.0
> There maybe someone there that wants the logs.


Thanks for the link. Fascinating thread. If I wasn’t old an crippled up , I’d Have me a sawmill. Love To Be able to mill my own lumber


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## EAGLE EYE 444

I want to say THANKS to all of you that have already posted in this thread because I have always like the looks of Black Walnut wood, especially on a few firearms that I have seen in the past.  Ya'll have really given me some great reading and a good education on the pros, cons, and everything in between in trying to handle a situation such as this.  I really enjoyed learning all of the information mentioned in this thread, especially about a homestead type of Walnut because I am also guilty of leaving a few pieces of lead in certain trees in my yard while growing up and that obviously would ruin most any type of saw as well.


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## onedude

A guy from Delta, Al. told me a gun company bought a walnut tree from a lady for 1500.00. They also dug the stump up and fixed her yard.


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## NE GA Pappy

little rascal said:


> It makes great smoking wood!



don't need but a very little of it.  It as a strong flavor, and can be bitter and overpowering


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## chobrown

I’m not sure where the walnut came from we used in our house, but it came from a mill somewhere in Alabama. It’s the only place we could find 2 inch thick boards.  We used it making all our countertops in our house.


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## gunnurse

I have a supplier that cuts a lot of lumber on his bandsaw mill. He charges me $1.00 a b/f for air dried walnut. Not much profit there, huh.


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## Jimmypop

A shelf and some frames made from walnut I had sawed from our property. Walnut and cedar are my favorite local wood. I wouldn't waste any of either.


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## Shadow11

EAGLE EYE 444 said:


> I want to say THANKS to all of you that have already posted in this thread because I have always like the looks of Black Walnut wood, especially on a few firearms that I have seen in the past.  Ya'll have really given me some great reading and a good education on the pros, cons, and everything in between in trying to handle a situation such as this.  I really enjoyed learning all of the information mentioned in this thread, especially about a homestead type of Walnut because I am also guilty of leaving a few pieces of lead in certain trees in my yard while growing up and that obviously would ruin most any type of saw as well.




Same here. Very interesting info. The fact that a guy who's dad makes expensive custom furniture for people said he wanted them real bad, plus the fact that there are some expensive slabs being sold online made me think they might have value. Kind of a bummer, but good to know.


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## tree cutter 08

Trees still available?


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