I can put my hands on a 28" diameter Black Walnut tree that has been dead for 18 months here in Colorado ( low humidity ) and it is standing at this moment.
Barring the discovery of any dead, rotting or bug infested wood, would this thing have the potential to have a few gunstocks in it?
Again it is 28" at the base goes up about 10-12' then it has a crotch or two (tree forks at that point).
It is free for the taking. A buddy of mine is interested in it for sawn lumber as he is a wood worker (furniture) but has no interest in stocks for firearms.

It sounds like it would have more value as a veneer log, then buy a nice blank with the money.

Call a timber cutter and ask if he or anyone else is interested in a veneer log.

quote:

Originally posted by Mark:
It sounds like it would have more value as a veneer log, then buy a nice blank with the money.

Call a timber cutter and ask if he or anyone else is interested in a veneer log.

This is actually a good suggestion!

A 28" log by the time the bark is removed and the sapwood is taken away is actually not a very large tree. I t will yield some lumber for wood working and where the log branches you just might find a few good stocks!

It's not likely that a portable sawmill will come to you for one tree so plan on lifting the log to a trailer and transporting to a sawmill.

Be prepared to pay each time the bandsaw hits hardware.....many trees will surprise you how deep some nails etc are in the trunk.

Keep track of the costs and see how much you have in the gunstocks.....Mark's post will ring like jewels of wisdom by the time it's all over!

well, there might be a couple blanks in it

have fun with it!!!

Where could I read up in a hurry on correctly slabbing part of this up for gunstocks?
I have a buddy with a sawmill and a big boom truck that will transport and saw this thing for me if I tell him how I want it sawn.
I have heard before about making sure it is quarter sawn, where do i see a diagram of quarter sawn to know what it is?
Thanks for the fast replies, this whole deal has a short fuse on it.

This graphic gives a basic idea. There are only so many true q sawn blanks in a tree. With that size of a tree I imagine you have to take what you can get.

Thanks Dempsey
That is the first part of what I needed.
Any other illustrations as to the best parts of the tree to quarter saw for a gunstock blank?
I'm guessing that up where the tree starts to fork and down by the butt swell would be nice wood am I on the right track?

quote:

Originally posted by vapodog:

Be prepared to pay each time the bandsaw hits hardware.....many trees will surprise you how deep some nails etc are in the trunk.

Beg, borrow or rent a hand held metal detector, they work great on finding nails, barb wire, etc. in logs. My in-laws use them all the time in their hardwood mill.

Thanks Fjold, my son has one ( metal detector) and we'll be using it even before I put a chainsaw to it.

Snellstrom, I don't know much more than you about cutting up the tree but it'd be fun. If it were me I'd dig down a bit and cut it low. I really don't know if the forks are big enough to get a blank with crotch figure in the butt, I'd doubt it. I suppose I'd cut it in half length wise and see what it looks like then decide from there. perhaps cut it in two lengths from the base to the crotch for hauling purposes. I'm just shooting from the hip here My neighbor has a similiar sized walnut tree I hope to cut up one day if for no other reason than trying it. I think vapodog has cut up some trees maybe he'll chime in.

Snellstrom,
There are two places that you are likley to get some wood worth using. That is in the stump and at the crotches. The crotches have to but cut with surfaces parallel to the two limbs and the stump is somewhat of a crap shoot. The straight part of the trunk is unlikely to give you anything worth your efforts. I have done this before and worked my ass off for utility wood. The stump can play havoc with a saw blade.

Snellstrom,

If you are wanting a project I'll say go for it.

At the same time, if you are simply trying to make the most of an opportunity, realize that log may bring $500- $1500 to a timber cutter. Then you could buy an aged blank and some tools if what you want to do is build a gun stock.

I am pulling that price out of my rear end BTW as there are way too many variables to be accurate (someone may have looked at it earlier and decided it was only good for firewood, that is why it's still standing!) but just to make you aware of what your choices might be.

They have a veneer plant and gunstock factories were i live. English walnut trees are started out from grafted black walnut trees,and when trees that are desireable for stocks or veneer come to age,or the orchard isn,t produceing,then they are sold. Mostly for the burls in the stump. A good tree stump to 10-12' tall and good girth can bring up to $12 a pound and usually around 2000-3000lbs per tree,so do the math. Black walnut even brings more.

About 30 years ago I read about a guy that had the perfect veneer walnut tree. Large diameter with little sapwood and no limbs for a good heighth. He got $30,000 for it.
I have an Alaskan saw attachment for my chainsaw and have cut a lot of oak, cherry, walnut, etc for furniture and gunstocks.
The perfect tree should be sold but anything else can be used for a lot of nice stuff. If that tree is not on your land and you can have it, don't try to sell it. Another landowner might get angry when heavy equipment is brought in and you get rich from the tree. Cut it, slab it and run home in glee.
Even though it is dead, it won't be dry so pre-cut what you want and stack and sticker it under cover with a lot of air movement. Paint the ends of the boards with wax or the stuff you can buy. Woodcraft sells green wood end sealer. I put my wood in the basement for several months before the final cuts. It is dry down here, 40 to 50% humidity.

$ 30,000 for a Walnut tree ! ??. Some one was pulling the wool over your scalp !!!!!!.

Have an experienced sawyer check it out to see if they're interested in purchasing it !. If the tree isn't on your property and it's being given to you . Cut it then haul it in as large a piece or pieces as possible then call the sawyer !.

I posted info on another discussion about proper sealing of a log allowing proper Air drying then slabbing wood for stocks or other wood uses other than the fire place .
Fork or crotch ,burls is where your " Wild Figure " will come from . Nice blanks can be had from the heart wood 28" is ok larger would and is always better . Clear bole ( no branches ) in the main trunk ?. That's what sawyers look for or veneer is rotary cut from !.

Real large trees they look at butts crotches , burls , for fiddleback leaf or straight stripe cuts .

https://forums.accuratereloading.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/9411043/m/964105176
( Dempsey ) That's a diagram for sawing lumber from . Which may not be in the best interest of a stock slab !.
Leaf cut or broad cut heart makes for pretty figure on a stock as well . It's just not AAA fancy fiddleback crotch is all .

Have fun please just dry the dam thing properly if your going to keep it !...

I appreciate the advice everyone, however believe it or not Colorado is nearly devoid of wood industry when compared to other parts of the country. I grew up in Oregon and everything was about timber, lumber and wood, Colorado is not so. So much wood here just goes to waste because there is no market for it. Very doubtful I could find a veneer peeler within 500 miles equally as doubtful that I'd find a market for it here at all, so the plan is that a buddy of mine and I will each get part of the tree. He is interested in the main trunk of the tree (8'-10'straight part) for lumber to make tables and furniture out of and I'm interested in the 4' section of the butt and 4' of the upper trunk where the crotches are and I'll take a little firewood to boot. As I said before I have a buddy with a sawmill who is extremely experienced at running his saw sawing lumber and timbers but knows nothing of slabbing it for gunstocks. I have to tell him how I want it cut up and he'll take care of it. I just need to know what to tell him. So far I'm going to have the above mentioned pieces quarter sawn then sticker and stack the slabs and wax the ends and cover the whole mess in my shed for a couple years and see what I get.
Is that sounding about right?

Dr K, I read it in either the Cleveland Plain Dealer or the Cle Press. The tree was huge in diameter. The story also told how it was cut and carefully lowered instead of just being dropped. They said how much veneer could be removed and it's value. (Those figures I forget.)
Hardwood in the Cleveland area is VERY expensive but in southern Ohio they use it for trim in houses. I was blown away when a friends new house had oak trim that cost half the price of pine where I lived.
I was in an old, huge barn down there that was entirely made of walnut. Beams, even walls and roof were all walnut. I found the house and out buildings that had longe fallen down, were also all walnut.
If you tried building like that today, they would put you in the booby hatch.

quote:

The story also told how it was cut and carefully lowered instead of just being dropped.

I would also be concerned that letting it fall of its own volition would create internal cracks in a dead walnut tree.

bfrshooter ) I believe you !. It's just that is a whole lot of money for a Black or any type Walnut tree !. Your talking an 8 Ft. Dia. Circassian Walnut tree 28 Ft. clear Bole prices !.

Normal Walnut trees grow 50 - 110 Ft. tall around 30 - 44 " in Diameter . As with anything there are exceptions .

I visited a tree in the lighting ridge area of Australia that at one time was the tallest tree in the world !. Lighting knocked 65' of it off . So California Redwoods are now the tallest to my knowledge .

Two things ( I would do first ) regarding the Walnut tree .
One , climb or lift up above where you'll be using the crotch wood . Bore a hole Appx. 1/2 way through a branch with a core type drill . Hopefully you know someone with a moisture meter ?. Test the core sample see what it reads ?. you say it's been dead for 18 months or so ? What killed it ?. Be careful !!!.

Dam dead trees do funny quirky things some times when you cut them !.

Step two follow onefunzr2 advice especially if the moisture content is under 40% above that it's not real critical .

How tall is the tree total ?. Can you cut it from the top down ?.

Crotch can be damaged if the tree is felled whole !!. Branches connect there , cut her down and shock impact transfers right too the crotch !. Better to top her out cut it from the top down if possible .

I always left the felled trees with the bark on , in as large a piece as could be handled . Then sealed ends moved the log into a shed placed them above the ground or floor so as to allow air to circulate all around them . After 1 - 7 years depending on species sent them too the mill . This was only for AIR DRIED Wood NOT KILN DRIED !. Lost a whole lot less timber than those who felled sawed slabbed then sticker their wood .

Just something I learned in saw mills around the world . You've probably seen pictures of the conditioning process where huge amounts of logs are felled then laid in a yard ( most don't have sheds as large as they need ) so they use sprinklers on them so as to slow the drying process down some !. I know you've seen this if your from Oregon !. Coos Bay ring any bells ?.

That's about all the advice I can give you . Good luck post a picture if you get a chance . ...