black walnut or walnut????

[canadiancarver]

hi there i found a walnut tree that had fallen during a storn out in the woods i was wodering what the differance between black walnut and walnut is??? and for the piece that i have can i carve it green well its been sitting i nthe woods for maybe a month or two so it it ok to carve it now or should i dry it first??? thanks for the help

[menehune]

black walnut is native to the us, and harder and denser than the english walnut. also much darker. you can tell by the bark. black walnut is very rough, english much smoother. rough it out green, paint the ends with cheap house paint, and let the roughouts dry before carving the detail. nice to carve, but dulls tools real fast.

[wade clark]

Menehune is right, though they often graft English onto Black walnut root stock. If it was in the woods it's very likely black.
I prefer carving green wood, it's softer than dried, especially harder woods like black walnut and oaks. You have to keep it from drying out after and as you carve it, or rather dry it as slowly as possible, or it'll crack/check and can ruin your carving.

[menehune]

You can use the old Scandinavian trick of rubbing the piece with a boiled potato. it will slow down drying, and it's easy to remove.

[markswartz]

My family has recently (last month) harvested ~30 large black walnut trees for veneer logs. The trees were 24" to 36" diameter. There are many large pieces leftover that would be suitable for carving. The farm is in southwest Michigan. I can be contacted at mswartz6@woh.rr.com.

There is also some ash and hickory material from trees harvested at the same time.

[Keoma]

a word of caution to this tale...Walnut is not good to inhale!

[Hi_Ho_Sliver]

I would hate to put house paint on black walnut wood just to slow the drying! I always use parafin wax........even a coat of clear poly on the ends will do it.

[Chainsaw Artist]

If you must carve it green, use a sanding sealer on it right after you carve even if you are not finished yet, that will slow down the rate of drying and prevent it from busting open.


Also Keoma caution is very wise advice, I personaly love the musk smell of walnut but now use a mask when chisel carving, chainsaw carving and sanding walnut or anywoods that have tannin, but yet any dust is harmful so its just good practice to avoid breathing any of it.

[Hi_Ho_Sliver]

yep even basswood dust.....don't breathe ANY dust!