# started splitting the walnut



## ScotO (Mar 28, 2012)

Last night I started splitting the tops I bucked up from the walnut we dropped last week.  Got a good bit of the big stuff done, only had time to run one tank of gas through the splitter (Wifey was at work and I had the kiddos to tend to).  The big round pictured yielded 34 splits!  Gotta love those big rounds!  Got around 1/2 cord split up in around one hour, so at that rate I should be done with this pile by the end of the week.  We just picked up a job over in the neighboring valley with two huge oaks so I need the room for more wood!!




 THIS ROUND YIELDED 34 SPLITS! 
	

		
			
		

		
	



the 34 splits from the round above


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## lukem (Mar 28, 2012)

I love splitting walnut.  It has a very distinct smell and the straight-grained pieces fall right apart with a tap from the maul. The grain is nice to look at too.


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## ScotO (Mar 28, 2012)

Lukem, believe it or not, this particular walnut is one of the most miserable trees I've ever split!  Wavy and tight grained, stringy sapwood, I was thinking it would be a piece of cake but this one is making me earn it.


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## smokinj (Mar 28, 2012)

I done alot of dry walnut most resent Monday. You hit any knot at all it sounds like a shotgun going off.


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## Thistle (Mar 28, 2012)

Pretty stuff,smells great when sawing,splitting or burning.Normally easy to split but some can be really stubborn.

Scott did you take the outer slabs for firewood too? I burn all that stuff,everything but the sawdust


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## ScotO (Mar 28, 2012)

Thistle, absolutely! I don't waste a thing. We even saved the sawdust for the homeowner to use as oil soak in his garage!


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## ScotO (Mar 28, 2012)

I also save two 6' sections of slab to make a set of rustic benches for our firepit!


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## Hickorynut (Mar 28, 2012)

Scottyoverkill, the way that sapwood on the walnut is splitting is what I run into sometimes with the sapwood of cherry. I let it dry some in the rounds and that helps. Course, I only use a maul


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## ScotO (Mar 28, 2012)

No time for letting those rounds dry, I got a ton more wood coming the next month or so.  So that stuff will be split and in the stacks by the end of the weekend.....lol....


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## Mr A (Mar 29, 2012)

I saved some saw dust from my recent oak scrounge, thought I'd try making a log out of it, like a duraflame. I did find throwing a few handfulls of it onto the coals in the morning got the fire going faster.


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## BobUrban (Mar 29, 2012)

Dog Gone that is some pretty wood.  If I get into a nice walnut like that I will be saving some nice pieces for Hawk and knife handles.  Crotch areas have some really cool grain growth for things like that.  It can almost look like Zircote with the right piece.  Mostly all I am getting right now is ash, ash, and more ash!!


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## timusp40 (Mar 29, 2012)

Scotty Overkill said:


> Lukem, believe it or not, this particular walnut is one of the most miserable trees I've ever split! Wavy and tight grained, stringy sapwood, I was thinking it would be a piece of cake but this one is making me earn it.


 Scotty,
Some of the walnut in my avatar was over 20" in diameter. I split most of it with a X27 (don't have a hydraulic), but whenever I came across a piece with a crotch it was either wedge or noodle time!
Tim


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## ScotO (Mar 29, 2012)

Take some old spent candles, melt them down and mix with your sawdust or noodle slivers.  Pour them into cupcake molds around 1/2" deep and break them in half after they harden.  Great firestarters!


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## Backwoods Savage (Mar 29, 2012)

Wow! 34 splits out of one round. That must have been fun wrestling that thing around. Sore muscles today Scott?


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## ScotO (Mar 29, 2012)

Backwoods Savage said:


> Wow! 34 splits out of one round. That must have been fun wrestling that thing around. Sore muscles today Scott?


 actually not at all.  BUT, my lower back is sore from cowboying them bigger rounds.  Last night I ran a half-tank of gas through the splitter, and stacked up until dark.  Got over a cord stacked, was going to go out this evening and stack some more but decided to relax just a teeny bit.  Saturday morning I will finish splitting the stuff up and get some stacked, will have all the stacking done by Sunday.   Should end up with around 2 1/2 cord from that walnut.


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## ScotO (Apr 4, 2012)

Finally got done with the walnut last night, ended up with two and a strong half cords of it split and stacked, it is slated to be incinerated in 2014/2015.........


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## chuckie5fingers (Apr 4, 2012)

Scotty
HOLY MOLEY
nice... some of those splits are huge.


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## ScotO (Apr 4, 2012)

chuckie5fingers said:


> Scotty
> HOLY MOLEY
> nice... some of those splits are huge.


Chuckie I like to keep some of 'em bigger for when you want a longer burn between reloads.  The fact that this is wood for three years down the road means those bigger rounds will be seasoned by that time..


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## Backwoods Savage (Apr 4, 2012)

That sure is some pretty wood Scott. Nice work.


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## timusp40 (Apr 4, 2012)

Scotty,
What is your opinion of Black Walnut for burning after enough seasoning?  I'm asking because I have a lot of it CSS. Going by the the BTU Charts it does not look that bad. Seems some guys out there don't like burning it. Not sure why.
Tim


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## ScotO (Apr 4, 2012)

timusp40 said:


> Scotty,
> What is your opinion of Black Walnut for burning after enough seasoning? I'm asking because I have a lot of it CSS. Going by the the BTU Charts it does not look that bad. Seems some guys out there don't like burning it. Not sure why.
> Tim


Tim, I like burning it. It's about right in the middle/slightly over the middle in the BTU chart if I'm not mistaken. I love the smell of it when it burns too. It's just a shame to split it up for firewood, it is such a pretty wood. That whole two and a half cords I made into firewood was all tops and branches from one tree. I won't let that stuff go to waste. You'll be fine, just let yours season a year and a half/two years.  BTW, some guys out there won't burn pine or elm......I'm not one of those guys either!  After getting all this good information about pine and trying it in my maple cooker this spring, I will be using some for shoulder season come this fall.


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## thewoodlands (Apr 4, 2012)

SO, if you ever run out of room I think we could squeeze in a couple cord of that Walnut! You have to love those big rounds, looks like your stacking area gets plenty of sun.

zap


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## Hogwildz (Apr 5, 2012)

Burns great, and decent. Leaves ALOT of fine white powdered ash.


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## etiger2007 (Apr 5, 2012)

Very nice Scotty, I wish you lived by me I have several Black Walnuts i need to come down.  I bought this house two years ago and sold the big walnuts for 5k now I have alot of small walnuts I need removed because they are by the house or garage they will make great fire wood though.


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## timusp40 (Apr 5, 2012)

Scotty, Hogwildz,
Sounds good to me! I'm starting to get of the opinion that if I can get whatever for free, I'll CSS it and add it to the stacks. It all burns right?
Tim


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## ScotO (Apr 5, 2012)

Exactly Tim!  We cooked on the firepit this evening, when we were done cooking I threw some slivers of that black walnut I split on the fire, man does that stuff smell great when burning!  Kinda sucks that I have to wait til 2014 2015 to burn my black walnut!


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## ScotO (Apr 5, 2012)

etiger2007 said:


> Very nice Scotty, I wish you lived by me I have several Black Walnuts i need to come down. I bought this house two years ago and sold the big walnuts for 5k now I have alot of small walnuts I need removed because they are by the house or garage they will make great fire wood though.


 if I was closer I'd help you get them down.  They are some good looking firewood trees.  I might be tempted to mill some of them logs with the chainsaw.....


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## muncybob (Apr 6, 2012)

timusp40 said:


> Scotty, Hogwildz,
> Sounds good to me! I'm starting to get of the opinion that if I can get whatever for free, I'll CSS it and add it to the stacks. It all burns right?
> Tim


 
Tim, that's the way I look at it. Not crazy about pine since there is so much work/time spent de-limbing but otherwise I have a hard time passing up "free" wood.


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## Hogwildz (Apr 6, 2012)

timusp40 said:


> Scotty, Hogwildz,
> Sounds good to me! I'm starting to get of the opinion that if I can get whatever for free, I'll CSS it and add it to the stacks. It all burns right?
> Tim


You got that right. cut it, split it, stack it, burn it. Heat is heat. All wood has it's place. Burn the junk & gunk in the shoulders, or mix in with hard stuff. Save the good stuff for The cold weather.


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## ScotO (Apr 6, 2012)

Hogwildz said:


> You got that right. cut it, split it, stack it, burn it. Heat is heat. All wood has it's place. Burn the junk & gunk in the shoulders, or mix in with hard stuff. Save the good stuff for The cold weather.


I like the way you think, Hogz!


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## timusp40 (Apr 6, 2012)

Ditto! Not fussy here.


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## Realstone (Apr 7, 2012)

Just a question Scotty, is it possible to mill those big rounds into smaller slabs and joint them together into useful sized boards?  Or is that more work than worth?


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## Thistle (Apr 7, 2012)

Realstone said:


> Just a question Scotty, is it possible to mill those big rounds into smaller slabs and joint them together into useful sized boards? Or is that more work than worth?


They would dry faster & less chance of cupping than when in wider boards originally.Just depends on what you want for the finished product. My planer only takes boards 12 1/2" wide or less.Boards/slabs/planks wider than that I use scrub plane first,then 20 in. long 19th Century very heavy Scottish cast iron jointer plane,followed by belt sander w/80 or 100 grit belt depending on if its straight grain or not. Clear stock planing by hand is faster for me than sanding,if there's curly grain or chance of more tearout,then I switch to abrasives.


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## ScotO (Apr 7, 2012)

Realstone said:


> Just a question Scotty, is it possible to mill those big rounds into smaller slabs and joint them together into useful sized boards? Or is that more work than worth?


Realstone, I think Thistle covered it to a TEE.  Like he said, it all depends on what you plan on using the wood for.  Check this link out, it's a guy making a very nice chair out of cordwood.......all with hand tools!  It goes to show that anything is possible.


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