Thanks to a recent storm, I have some longer black walnut tree limbs 12-18 diameter. Was hoping to make some of them into board stock on gun stock-sized, but don't know the process. Can one just call a lumber mill and ?

I have a very hot and dry shed to store them in.

Cut to the longest length you can, debark the section, seal the ends with wax, rack it and wait 3-4 years... then worry about cutting it to shape.

If it dries too fast, it'll crack.

at 12-18" diameter, it should be big enough to yield at least two blanks... possibly 3, if one is for a .22

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Paul F.
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Eureka, CA

debark. hehe, Paul said debark.


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... and FWIW, we apologize in advance for the smell...

Black walnut has a rather infamous stench when being cut.

Actually it's called Checking when the ends dry out faster than the rest of the wood.



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I've got some Dogwood boards from a tree that Hurricane Hugo 1989 took down that I haven't done anything with yet.
I sealed the ends with white latex paint, probably not the best thing to use but it's what I had.

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Grateful11

Not too many mills ( even the little guys with portable ones or even a regular old chain saw ) will mill it if it has been too close to a house or barn, unless you want to pay for a new blade / chain ahead of time, due to nails , dog chains or any number of possible metal objects embedded in the tree.
There are some pretty good metal detectors for boards out there but they don't always work too well on tree trunks.
Someone with a chain saw mill might try it due to it being black walnut.
Maybe try arborist site ?

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Grateful, what are your plans for the dogwood? I have over 20 dead ones I going to cut when it cools off. I don't know what to do with them. My brother in law said if he cut them, he would like to burn them. A friend who makes pens said he had enough and didn't need them. (They don't have much pattern or color.)

A friend had a mature English Walnut tip over and die. Waited one year and had a lumber guy cut the hart into 5/4 inch planks. They stored them in their basement for 3 or 4 years then they had a cabinet maker plane them into 3/4 planks and made a beautiful entertainment center for them.

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Dennis S
Grateful, what are your plans for the dogwood? I have over 20 dead ones I going to cut when it cools off. I don't know what to do with them. My brother in law said if he cut them, he would like to burn them. A friend who makes pens said he had enough and didn't need them. (They don't have much pattern or color.)

Well mine were sawn into 1" thick boards so I'm not really sure. I hope to have a small woodworking shop setup
by the in of the year. My family tells me I need an activity even if I can't stand for long periods of time. All my
woodworking equipment has been sitting idle since we moved here in '95, no place to set them up. I want to
make something kind of special with the Hugo wood because it was such a memorable event in our lives.

I did once turned some dead Dogwood into carving mallets, took them to an Arts and Crafts show I was doing about
20 years ago and sold them like hot cakes. Dogwood is fairly heavy and dense. Are you close to NC? I'd love to
have some of it.

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Grateful11

I'm in Arkansas. All of my trees are only less than 5" in diameter and crooked, so getting lumber is not possible. I'll try to make a mallet for pounding chicken breasts out of one of them.

Can I put in my order for some black walnuts, now?

My s/o Mavis, grew up on a farm in a tiny little community called Fiat (near Cuba, Peoria), Illinois. They had a black walnut orchard, among other wonderful fruit and nut bearing trees.

We both love black walnut everything and just can't get them out here in SoCal. Black raspberries are another impossibility.

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gl @ Dana Point, CA