first time walnut user

Chris Mire

Member
Messages
945
Location
Southern Louisiana
i have to build an island out of walnut for my next job. i haven't used it before, what should i expect as far as machining it and are there any things i should know about it before i start cutting. it's from a lumber company so it should be dried correctly and it is already straightlined and thicknessed to 13/16".

i will be building frames and raised panel doors and end panels for the island. nothing super fancy.

thanks for any help or suggestions
chris
 
Something you might keep in mind is some people are allergic to the dust of walnut and I'm sure there are other species too. As we may expect, the sanding operation tends to be the main culpret so good ventilation and possibly a respriator at that stage of the project may become important.
 
Hey Chris,
I think you will like walnut. It machines beautifully. I would let it acclimatize in your shop for a week or two if you have the time.

Only issue I have with walnut is the dramatic difference between the heartwood and the sapwood. Some woodworkers try to cut off all the sapwood and others try to work with it. When I want to use the sapwood, I put a yellow dye on all the wood, followed by a dark brown glaze, makes the sapwood a nice golden tobacco-like color.

Walnut is fairly open pored, so you might want to use a grain filler after you have machined it - just depends on how you want it to look.

If you have time, cut off some scrap and try filling/not filling and a couple of different finishes to find one that works for you.

And the post above was right about some folks being sensitive to the dust. Walnut has a natural pesticide called juglan (sp?) in it. Just wear a good mask if you start sneezing or itching. Because of this chemical, lots of folks won't burn it or use scrap for mulch...

And be sure to send us pics:thumb:
 
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thanks a bunch guys. those are the answers i was looking for. appreciate the help. i will get pics for sure. this job is gonna be alot different than many cabinets around here. my friend who is building the house like to change things up a little. he's going for an eastlake type design for the kitchen cabs, the island will be mostly basic, made to look like a chest sitting on the floor, with base molding around all sides except for the main work side.

thanks again
chris
 
Advice given is good.

Add to Tod's note that the shavings cannot be used with horses, but I have people waiting for mine to use under plants. The shavings prevent seeds from germinating, so rose gardens love it... no rose seeds to worry about, and the weed seeds don't sprout. I use it under the bushes around my house. My Brother In Law is a physician, and uses walnut shavings for his kids play set... soft and no weeds. But don't use it as mulch in a regular garden... the seeds won't germinate, and the "poison" lasts about 5 years.

It is my favorite wood to work with.

Some walnut is "steamed" during the kiln drying. That lightens the heartwood a bit, but makes the almost white sapwood dark enough to use. Unfortunately I cannot get steamed walnut here, so occasionally I use a Q-tip to dye the sapwood brown. The streaks introduced by the Q-tip resemble the grain patterns.
 
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