Old V New Walnut

[ChrisS]

I have done extensive repair and replacement moldings and carving for fine furniture for 40 years

For years I bought old furniture for the wood and still have a huge supply.

I have found that 100 year old walnut becomes soft and very brittle. It spits very easy. I can tell this is true by the type of breaks in the furniture I have repaired. I use old woods because it matches the old furniture. New walnut sticks out like a sore thumb on old furniture. When I carve the old walnut it is very easy for me to carve. If I take a new piece I find it very hard to control my cuts. It is so much harder. I know it is a hard wood.

I was just wondering if anyone else noticed the same thing. Of all the wood I have worked with through the years nothing changes more than walnut after a 100 years. I guess I need to look in my books and see how many types of walnut there are. There are 480 different types of Mahogany.

[arapsang]

Like you i have done a lot of repairs to antique furniture . Although old walnut gets darker and more brittle it doesn't, in my experience age as badly as oak. Perhaps the different climates affect how the wood lasts. Perhaps the repairs we are asked to deal with result from poorly cared for pieces anyway.
Like you I have stacks of old wood liberated from all sorts of places. I can't understand carvers who complain about the difficulty of finding carving material when people discard tons of old furniture every year.

Cheers

Peter Connor

[ChrisS]

Originally Posted by arapsang

Like you i have done a lot of repairs to antique furniture . Although old walnut gets darker and more brittle it doesn't, in my experience age as badly as oak. Perhaps the different climates affect how the wood lasts. Perhaps the repairs we are asked to deal with result from poorly cared for pieces anyway.
Like you I have stacks of old wood liberated from all sorts of places. I can't understand carvers who complain about the difficulty of finding carving material when people discard tons of old furniture every year.

Cheers

Peter Connor

Every yard sale has furniture old and new. Prices are so cheap. I buy $5 and $10 pieces of furniture for a lady who has a thrift shop. She paints the furniture and rubs it out. She sells all the furniture she can find to dealers. It all goes up to our local mountains in cabins. Many people can not see the forest for the trees. LOL She makes around $3 thousand dollars clear a month after expenses just on junk furniture. I buy old oak reproduction tables and chairs all the time. They are 30 years old. I clean the press back chairs up selling them for a good profit. If the tables are cracked I salvage the wood. I make other furniture pieces out the the tables. Sometimes I restore the tables. I pick up nice tables and chairs for $40 - $150. I just bought a set for $175 that I sold for $1200 thirty years ago. Taste in furniture changes. The wood in the table top would cost me what I paid. Maple from the 50's is a dime a dozen and cheap. Cut it up and glue it back together and carve. You are right about people complaining abut finding wood. Yes, it cost a little but what doesn't. I think some people would rather complain than carve. If the budget is so tight you can not buy new wood it time to go for a walk at the swapmeet. LOL
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[imahic]

That's an idea I haven't thought of. You are right about there always being sold furniture to buy and some of it is very cheap. Gonna have to start checking out the garage and estate sales a bit more closely. Thanks for the idea.

[Keoma]

I have noticed the brittle stage as well. I am also a collector of furniture - for the wood. Absolutely no moisture left in the old furniture and it is so brittle! I have noticed the same with Rosewood...and I was shocked! After a few years, it is almost useless. Still hard as nails and a pain to carve
I don't know about you fellows, but I am very nostalgic about the old furniture. I just love it! Every Piece! There may not be moisture in the wood...but it is full of love!