Best way to deal with a fresh walnut log.

[pamtnman]

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[pamtnman]

The photo upload is selecting random photos , not the ones I’ve chosen. I’ll keep trying. You’ll get the idea. The grain direction in the stock wrist is the most important

 

[pamtnman]

Try again. Something in the photo selection here is going awry. Maybe we will end up with one of the 1970s pin-ups I found and saved…

 

[pamtnman]

One more and then I’m throwing in the towel. If you send me your email address, I will email the suggested ways of evaluating these for rifle and pistol stocks AFTER the planks have dried for several years.

 

[Ironoxide]

Here are some rifle and pistol stock options AFTER these slabs have dried for at least three years. At least. If you wait four years, the wood has an even higher chance of surviving the milling and shaping process.

Thanks. I'm in no rush

I'll probably buy some already dry wood for the projects in the meantime.

 

[pamtnman]

Thanks. I'm in no rush

I'll probably buy some already dry wood for the projects in the meantime.

The London gun trade of the 1800s used European/ Circassian/ Turkish walnut blanks that had usually been drying 20-30 years. I’ve seen one contemporary reference of using a fifty-year-old piece of dried wood, and being satisfied there were no surprises.

 

[Rudy Thompson]

Thanks. I had some leftover white oil based paint and some outdoor use clear coat (for decking etc). So I used white for most of the log boards and clearcoat for the ends of the root ball. I had a little spillage, but it landed only on excess boards.

So in the end I have those two thick boards I mentioned before. There is a lot of sapwood there, but they may be fine for something gun related. Probably no jaeger stock though.

There is a little bit of pith left in one. I guess 1 inch cut from the middle wasn't enough.

Here they areView attachment 88308View attachment 88309

Then I got lots of extra planks I decided to saw 32mm thick (1 and a quarter inch). Those will be used for various woodworking projects.

I got two 3 inch slabs from the stump that was thrown in for free. Maybe I'll try turning a bowl etc with them in future.
View attachment 88311

And finally I've got a total of 6 slabs slightly thicker than 3 inch from the root. I'm not very good with wood, but they look quite nice to me. Maybe I'll try making one of those "clear epoxy filled wood tables" that are quite popular or something else.

Here are few photos. 2 slabs are large, 1 medium, and 3 quite small.
View attachment 88313
View attachment 88314

They look wet because I washed them with a pressure washer. Then I blown the water off with compressed air. Unfortunately there was a little bit of soil trapped in the root as well as a tiny stone that ground the bandsaw blade into some metal dust which promptly stained the wood purple-black. I managed to clean that "stain" off mostly, but not entirely. Here is a picture before cleaning. View attachment 88316
And after
View attachment 88318

This is the entire stack. In the end I chose a spot outside the storage tent. This spot is in a back of my garage where the roof extends extra 3m. So it is sheltered from rain, but not sheltered from the sun or wind. So I'll be adding a tarp there as well.
View attachment 88325

As you can see I didn't debark the wood yet. I choose to do it later in the drying process.

I think I can see a few pistol blanks in that pile of wood!