4/4 5/4 6/4 8/4 Black Walnut $1.80 a BF ad

jeff... · 10-10-2007, 12:21 AM

Ted informed me tonight We got approx 6000 BF in Black Walnut logs in the yard, He has an estimated 150 more black walnut logs due in the yard in the next few days. What exactly we are going to do with all this black walnut I'm not sure. But he did tell me to sell it. You may want to consider taking advantage of this black walnut while the prices are low.

Here's a link to the ad...

http://www.ncwoodworker.net/ppclass/...hp?product=128

Thanks

Jonz · 10-10-2007, 12:59 AM

Dang it I need more space. DANG IT!!!!!!!!!

MarkW · 10-10-2007, 09:14 AM

Is there any way to work some of this into the Kiln? If so what would be the add for it. I am going to need about 300BF for my winter project I believe (son's bedroom this year).

scsmith42 · 10-10-2007, 09:52 AM

Mark, right now the kiln is booked until mid December. I could get a load in around Dec 15th, and depending on the MC% it would probably take 4 - 6 weeks to dry.

Black Walnut is one of those species that does not mix well with others, primarily because you have to be more aggressive with the kiln settings to achieve the targeted daily MC% reduction rate. In order to dry walnut at the proper rate, you risk over drying any other species that are mixed into the same load. That's one of the reasons why I have some BW in the kiln right now - in this past load I decided to take the financial hit to reload it and dry it longer, then risk damaging the other species by being too aggressive when they were mixed together. Thus, it's better to segregate BW from other species when kiln drying.

Jeff would need to sell at least 1000 bd ft of 4/4 or 5/4 KD BW in order to economically justify a kiln load.

Scott

lottathought · 10-10-2007, 10:00 AM

Jeff, I believe that you already have me down for 100bdft.
I hope you bring extra. I am going to dig in the couch and look under the bed for some more change to pick up a little more if I can.

Since this is not kiln dried however, I do have a couple of newbie questions.
What is the best way to dry this at my house? Does this sit outside under a tarp all winter or should it stay in my garage?
And what would you typically consider to be the average time it takes to air dry this type of wood?
And lastly..I notice that when you kiln dry, you make sure that any biological items have been neutralized.
Are there any steps I shold take regarding this when I air dry it?

scsmith42 · 10-10-2007, 10:19 AM

Michael, here are some quick answers:

1 - rule of thumb for air drying is 1 year per inch of wood. Walnut dries a little more slowly than other woods, so the 1 year is a pretty realistic target.

2 - re best way to dry at home, this all depends upon how much degrade you want to risk. You'll get more degrade if the boards are stacked outside - period. If it were me, I would stack and sticker the boards in a dry location, such as the corner of a garage or workshop. It's ok to stand them upright (but turn them evey month or two so that they are loaded equally and don't bend).

After about 6 months of air drying in the garage or DRY basement, stack and sticker them up in your attic for 6 months. Use dry stickers spaced no more than 16" apart. Your boards should come out fine - probably in the 6 - 8% range. You may be able to have usable lumber before a year is out too.

Re sterilizing, the rule of thumb is to heat the center of the board to 135 degrees or higher for at least 24 consecutive hours. Quite frankly, if you keep boards in a hot attic over the summer I seriously doubt that there would be any critters left in them...

The best investment that you can make if you want to dry your own lumber at home is a high quality moisture meter. People that dry wood professionally use special meters that are accurate over the entire range of detection (0 - 80% range). Most meters sold for woodworkers are only good for 20% or below - you really need to read to 40% minimum and 60% is even better if you plan on drying your own wood.

Keep a log of your readings. Check each board, and determine which boards have the highest, lowest, and average MC%'s. Measure in the same place each time over the span of time that you're drying the wood.

For an individual, I would suggest making note of the date and MC% in chalk or crayon on the actual board, and also keep a separate sheet to track the percentages.

Regards,

Scott

JimmyC · 10-10-2007, 10:26 AM

Scott,

What kind of meter would you suggest, cost realistic, for home dryers to buy ?

Jimmy

Kyle · 10-10-2007, 10:36 AM

drying stuff..

http://www.ncwoodworker.net/forums/s...ead.php?t=6861

NCPete · 10-10-2007, 10:45 AM

there was a delmhorst for sale in the classifieds area.... otw to check it out.

scsmith42 · 10-10-2007, 11:26 AM

Kyle - that's a great string that you posted the link to!

Jimmy, re meter - several things are important from the dryer's perspective (as opposed to the woodworkers needs).

First, you need the ability to ACCURATELY measure above 20% - at a bare minimum you need to measure to 40%, and 60 or 80% is even better.

Second, you need to be able to measure the core MC% of whatever board you're drying. That either means a very high quality pinless meter ($400.00 or so), or a high quality pin type meter with pins long enough to reach the center of the board. If you're measuring more than 4/4 wood, you'll probably need a slide hammer attachment.

I am not familiar with the "economical" meters, primarily because I prefer to have absolute faith in my equipment (very important when other's trust you to dry their wood!). I use Delmhorst meters, as they are a standard for kiln operators. For hand-held pin-type meters I use a J2000X, and an older R2000, and for pinless I use a Merlin meter designed for kiln operators (Merlin makes several models - the kiln operator model detects to 1-1/2" deep). Bailey's has the Merlin Kiln operator meter on sale for around $360.00. I recall that my J2000X was around $450.00 or so.

Check the archives here too - I recall that a few months back there were some good strings re meters, and some great insight.

Scott

lottathought · 10-10-2007, 12:26 PM

Wow..this is really great info.
And I like the idea about putting the wood in the attic come spring.
I think that is what I will do.

JimmyC · 10-10-2007, 02:47 PM

Kyle and Scott,

Thank you for the information so far, it's been very helpful. I am still listening to all who respond .

Thank you again,

Jimmy

Gofor · 10-11-2007, 10:08 PM

I ordered 100 bf of 8/4 on the ad, so will be picking some up.

For those in the Goldsboro, Wilson, Pikeville (ie I64 to I264 to NC117 which I think it is now I265) area, I can haul about 300 more bf of wet BW (figuring about 7lbs a bf as was the load I got last Jan) if anyone needs a way to get it home. I could also go up 301 as far as Cpowell's.

Also have a 6' x 10' trailer that will haul a ton payload, so can increase the load some if needed and the boards will fit. I can stack a few 12 footers up to the hitch which won't interfere with my turning radius. If someone reasonably close (southeast of Raleigh) needs me to haul or bring it as far as Patetown for them to later pick-up, PM me.

So, I guess what I am saying is you can jump on it even if all you have is a Chevy Nova!

Go

Ray Martin · 10-12-2007, 02:29 PM

Maybe I missed it somewhere in the thread, but I didn't see an answer to what the cost impact of the kiln drying would be (to the 1.80 / bd ft).

I do love walnut

Ray

TV · 10-12-2007, 04:19 PM

I either need to quite visiting this site or Jeff needs to quite offering up lumber. I like walnut, most importantly my wife likes walnut and the prices are oh so tantalizing. I have no room for anymore lumber and need to finish the projects I have and clean out the lumber already purchased (from Jeff).

Why do you do this, Jeff?

tv

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