I am having a large black walnut removed from my yard next week. The roots are starting to die so its time for this old behemoth to come down. The buyer wants the tree for the trunk of course. The large branches are going to be left for firewood for my father-in-law. My question is; Some of the branches are easily big enough for a stock blank. Is wood from the branches as good or attractive as wood from the trunk for this purpose. How do you go about drying the wood properly. There is a saw mill not far from me that I believe could cut the branch into blank size. I know less than zero on this topic so any help is appreciated.

from what i've heard, branch wood isn't suitable for stocks. something about growing under tension...

perhaps someone that really knows what they're talking about will chime in...

If you can get him to cut it about 3 feet above ground level you might get some blanks out of the stump.

I'd like to hear "DrK's" view,

But I agree with 724wd,the weight of the branches puts lots of stress in the fibers of limbs.

But if you want to try heres how ...
Goto UC Coatings.com,they are a company in Buffalo that makes a special wax to seal wood end grains on fresh cut lumber.You need to coat the logs ASAP.Walnut starts to check(make tiny splits)almost immediatly in its end grain.
They can supply you with "anchor seal",if they cant sell you a qt. as a sample PM me.You brush this on as the tree is cut up.

I'd cut the tree 12" longer than the blank length to allow end trimming.Have the blank squared to the size of a stock plus a couple of inches in width,and an inch in thickness.

Next you want a slow initial dry.North side of a building,covered but well off the ground.You dont want it sunny but we dont want to have mold.A piece of plywood would be best as a cover,with 1" sticks between the blanks.

Patience is req'd as this will be a long process(years!)That's why good stock material is expensive.

After next summer I'd bring into a basement shop or garage to sit til winter 2009.Then make a rough blank,bandsawing out.This will start to aleve the stress in the blank.Then its a process of cutting some and letting it sit to allow the wood to adjust to moisture/stress relief.

If the tree has sentimental value or the gun will(given to your kids)go for it.

I have made several things for family out of unique trees;One where Washingtons headquarters
in West Pt.Pistol grips from a tree where Lafeyette camped when supporting our revolution(tree was 225 years old)curly maple.

My father has turned bowels from trees on Goat Island between Niagara Falls.

If your willing to put in the time you can have a really cool product...

dan

I've sawed quite a few walnut trees and the branches too if they were large enough.

Nothing wrong with the wood in the branch but the fancy gunstock wood is in the junction of trunk and branch.....mostly in the trunk.

If the buyer of the tree plans for a veneer log then you might be able to ask him to top the trunk about three feet short of the first branch. Then you have a chance of decent gunstocks.

As to the stump.....it's a bitch to get the stump wood....it can be gorgeous but may also be very dirty....sandy.... and horrible to cut because of the grit that is imbedded into the surface of the wood. It can ruin a chainsaw blade in seconds!!

If you can get a backhoe to circumnavigate the trunk and pry it out and then talk the local fire department into practice their fire hoses on cleaning it up.....and then wait five or more years it just might yield some very pretty wood......but I assure you that it will come at a cost.....and no promises for any profit at all.

When it's all done you'll look at a pretty $500 blank in a whole new manner!!!.......It'll look dirt cheap for a change!

There was an article in the magazine FINE WOODWORKING many years ago on harvesting wood from tree stumps. Might want to contact them to see if a reprint is available.

Woodmandan: Some of my early attempts at cabinet work turned some bowels too!