1:05 - how is walnut named 1:56 - how to buy & select 2:12 - about the tree 3:00 - about knots, figure, and grain issues 3:22 - color issues 3:58 - steaming walnut 4:54 - color sorting 5:59 - how to get consistent walnut 7:03 - solid lumber means expecting inconsistencies 8:14 - tips & tricks to working with walnut 10:00 - finishing tricks and ideas Okay, yes this is a pretty long one so hopefully this will help! Many thanks for watching, and hit us with your questions -
Some of walnut that grows here in Ohio has a lot of green, blue and purple as well as the dark browns, greys and yellow. But the purple really blows my mind, its amazing.
My dude. Your content is phenomenal. On screen personality is friendly and relatable. Editing, camerawork and format are absolutely on point. Kudos to the whole team.
Nice job; thanks! Might want to consider Waterlox as well; a bit tedious, but a great effect on walnut, especially if it isn't steamed. Also folks, the toxicity discussions are a bit overblown, walnut bowls, tongs etc. will not kill you or make you ill. At all. There is one serious toxicity issue to look at however. If you save/sell your sawdust to be used as bedding in stables, HORSES are very vulnerable to walnut that gets absorbed through their hooves, etc. Most stable operators are well aware of this, but if you do sell your sawdust, be sure to empty your collectors prior to and after running walnut through your saws, sanders, planers and jointers.
I can sell saw dust?🤣Tell you what I make a shit ton of it you can hit me up any time and come pick it up and do with it as you will I'm tired of dealing with it!
Allot of good tricks and ideas. Glad I found this video. I have walnut, oak, elm and maple trees that grow on my property. I just go in the back yard and cut up a fallen tree when it falls. I cut blanks and keep them in the shed. It would be very expensive if I had to purchase it. I make allot of thing with walnut and elm. I like the grain in elm wood. it looks cool.
Very NICE! I LOVE walnut. Such a beautiful, natural look. I took down a large black walnut, dropping it’s nuts all over my carport and drive way. I saved 2 slabs cut from the center of the tree. It’s some 27- 30” wide, 1 1/2” thick, and 11’ long. I have another tree not quite as wide, but much taller and straighter. I’m still undecided what I will make!!
Mark, we've "known" each other for many years. The known is in quotes because our only contact through the years has been via emails. You are my Guru of woodworking and finishing. Now that Charles Neil is gone, you do a great job of filling his shoes. You've always been there for me with assistance whether it be an answer to a question or a solution for a "situation" with on line sales. Keep up the great work and keep producing these videos.
Man, I'm just starting to get into woodworking and I really appreciate your content. There are a lot of great channels on RU-vid but your delivery makes watching very enjoyable. Everything from understand fundamentals, finishing tips and projects. Really glad you're putting out new stuff! Thank you.
lucky me I was able to buy a bunch of wood in a garage It was sitting in this garage for 3 or 4 years about 50 board foot of walnut the sane of red oak and cedar and cherry the cherry has a lot of twist and bad spots. I am new to woodworking about two years and was tired of using only framing lumber but now having fun with all this hard wood thanks to you learning how to use it and finish it. Thank you you are good at explaining this has help me.
I have to say by far, walnut is my favorite out of all the woods. The machinability is amazing. For finishing walnut, I use Biosheild hard oil #9. It’s application is for hardwood floors, so it will hold up to use over time. I really enjoy it because it really makes all the grain figure and colors pop. It’s also great because you don’t have to top coat with a poly, you can burnish the finish out to make it shine!
Another excellent video. You give a ton of great information, and the way you clearly love wood and all of its esthetic possibilities makes you fun to watch.
This Chanel has quickly become invaluable for a new woodworker. Great videos and content. Look forward to getting my first bit of walnut . Subscribed. Thanks. 🇮🇪
So glad I stumbled onto your video. I am about to embark on my first live edge black walnut journey to build a console table and I'm super excited yet haven't got a clue how to best stain it. Now I have a few great ideas! Thanks again!
UK here. I've recently developed a hobby of building solid body ukulele's/cigar box guitars. My first few were from pine board (cos its cheap), but then I ordered some American Black Walnut. The difference in woods is astounding, and that walnut is beautiful to work (and I'm using the most basic of hand tools), and it feels amazing. When the instrument was done, I didnt even finish the wood (that that I'd really know how, I'm a total beginner). Even though the instrument is not perfect (some of the lines are a few mm off), its still my favorite, just because of how the wood feels.
I have a black walnut slab that's been sitting in the garage for a year now. Got it from a fellow woodworker that I bought a jointer and planer from when I first started in woodworking. We were discussing projects we were working on and I mentioned that I had been working with soft woods primarily while honing my skills. He kinda gave me a funny look and asked what I could learn about woodworking from using things like pine and cedar. I told him that I'd learned how to sharpen a chisel really well and he said there's no way because soft woods wouldn't even dull a chisel. I had my chisel set in my toolbox in my truck and challenged him to see who's chisels were sharper, and told him to even sharpen his chisel on the spot. He did, and I grabbed my chisels and a block of pine. His chisel did a fairly good job of cutting the pine. Then I used mine to flatten the cut end and shocked him. I cut through the end grain without crushing any of the fibers and it left a glass smooth surface. So he gave me $100 off the price of the tools I came to buy and gave me a 6ft x 16" slab of 8/4 walnut and said that he looks forward to seeing what I do with it. I've since ventured into using oak and poplar in a few projects. But I'm saving that slab for something special so I can impress him on Instagram eventually.
I did some counter tops with walnut, sanded to 400 and used grape seed oil from the grocery store for a food grade finish. Clients love it and it's a cheap easy thing for them to refinish
I like the way you describe this gs and explain things. You dont try to make it a comedy but you dont put me to sleep from being monotone and boring. Very good mix and balance. Lots of good information and ideas for using scrap pieces of walnut. Thanks for a great info video
Ever since I watched your finishing videos with your walnut projects, that's my go to with the Danish oil. Looks amazing. On a side note, would love to see how to made that hexagonal end grain cutting board. Looks nice!
I always learn from your expertise Mark & its always enjoyable. I saw your 2pt desk series way back when you did it & its as awesome today as it was back then. Still being held hostage here in the Peoples Republic of California but planning my escape to freedom in Arizona, hopefully soon! Thanks my friend.
Thanks for sharing. I got 7 6 to 7 for thin walnut logs curing to eventually be carved into walking sticks. Normally I would just use a mineral oil on them, let that soak in, then use an enamel high gloss clear to make the finish look like there is a layer of glass melted on the walking sticks. Thanks for sharing!!!
I'm new to woodworking. I've been given all I want of a walnut tree that was cut down a couple to 3 years ago. The logs at the max are about 10" to 14" in diameter and anywhere from 18" to 3' in length. This is my 1st round working with it. I just cut off a 2" piece to experiment with. I like the scent of it. Kinda reminds me of a sweet, pleasant, smelling, cigar. I'm excited about getting it milled, and seeing what I can make with it. 😊
Hey, a suggestion...and this is something that I got passed down to me from an old wood worker. He said, for every 6 inches in diameter of the log, you should allow 5 to 6 months curing time. So when you do go to work on projects, your wood won't split up on you. I make a lot of walking sticks, and have recently been able to aquire some walnut that was cut from a tree about 3 months ago. The logs are 6 to 7 foot long, and have maybe around a 6 inch radius. I'm going to carve down to the heart wood, then carve my designs into that.... Good luck, and have fun.
@@ericwilliams7374 Thanks for the suggestion, but while you're suggesting, I have another question. Like I said, the logs have been laying down there for about 3 years, so I'm guessing all the sap should be dried up by now, but they are wet from rain. Should the dry time still be the same since it's just water, or just any moisture at all?
Thank you for a very interesting video. I'm a hobby woodworker living in Ireland and buy American black walnut regularly as I like to make special pieces of furniture for myself. It's seriously expensive here but it's my only past time so I like to use the best.
Hey, Mark,….I’m not a woodworker, or an arborist, or anything of the sort(retired automotive engineer 😀),…just really interested in the subjects you focus on and explain, because you are so good at making them interesting and certainly worthy of learning from.
The Walnut Rockers we build look amazing with the natural variegated colors in the boards from heartwood and sapwood so Walnut is great to build with even with varied color.
I usually use solvent based wipe-on poly (Minwax) on Walnut, straight on without a sealer. I use from 5 to eight coats, depending on what I build. It goes on much faster than brushed applications with no brush strokes or drips showing and you can recoat after about 3 hours. Not sure if this poly or UV light (or combo) gives the dark walnut a reddish orange hue over time but it looks almost like teak. Solvent poly does turn yellow. It was a pleasant surprise after I built a cabinet around our refrigerator in a kitchen with teak cabinets. It all blends in well. I never stain or dye walnut. That seems like a waste using such beautiful wood. If I want a very dark color. I'll use something like rift cut white oak.
I am just starting out in woodworking and building a small cabinet in American walnut ( I’m in Australia). Absolutely in love with this wood and I am very happy to have found this video and your channel. Thank you
New to wood working and wow I really enjoy watching your videos. You sir know your woods and I know you sell wood but you never go overboard on that point. You love to teach us about wood and wow so much to learn and know about it before building something and at the prices of wood right now one doesn't want to mess up. LOL Thank you for all the work you put into making these videos for us. People don't know how much work goes into a 15 min video. I do some work for our church and it takes some time for just a short video so thank you.
You are by far the most enjoyable, easiest to listen to/understand woodworking RU-vidr I’ve found, and I wish you’d put out more videos and more detailed/lengthy videos. My question is this: I *really* prefer the cool-toned, chocolatey, almost purple tone in walnut, and would love to know how to finish it without “warming” it up at all. Looking to make cabinet doors, and pretty new to woodworking in general, so dumb it down if you can. Thanks!!
I have just recently discovered your channel and I'm loving how much I've learned already! This video in particular is probably my favorite (so far). It's just a shame you couldn't have offered a wider variety of finishing options...🤪 Seriously, thank you for this, and kudos to you for moving the samples around when showing them. Seeing how the light and reflections change really helps get a better idea of how they would look in person. So many videos out there that are supposed to be comparing finishes just show one angle, which only tells half the story at best. Thanks again!
Very informative thanks. I was surprised you didn't talk about walnut fading with time and solutions for UV light when you covered all the various finishing methods.
I can't wait to get some Peruvian walnut for a build or two. Black Walnut has become my favorite domestic hardwood since getting back into woodworking 7 years again finally for the first time since I was in middle school. I have some gorgeous walnut at home right now waiting for me to resaw on a band saw before cutting miter joints for the sides of an urn I'm building for our German Shepherd Lab mix, Peanut that passed away. I'm hoping I get the continuous grain pattern wrapped around the sides I'm after with re sawing before cutting and assembly. It's the perfect color to fit some of the colors that she had in her coat from the German Shepherd breed in her. Going to finish it with semi gloss Old Masters Masters Armor water based.
You could make videos for a living. The quality of your vids is fantastic; very clear descriptions and knowledge base is massive. Chuffed I found your channel.
Mark, you're super down to earth and all around kind. Love that you're simply about sharing your passions with others. Thanks for the videos, definitely subscribing!
