Last Sunday my new neighbor brought over a 12' piece of about 4 X 12 rough
sawn Black Walnut and asked me if I could make him a 6' long 3X10 fireplace
mantle from it. He just wants a solid dimensioned board with nothing fancy
(no carvings, etc.), and he is going to have his mason install it. He said
that I can keep any of the wood that I don't use :-). All I have to do is
plane it to dimension and sand it, then finish it with several coats of
clear finish. After I began planning it today I found that the grain in this
thing is absolutely beautiful, just a few real small tight knots, and lots
of swirling rays of grain. There's less than a foot of length that will be
lost due to end checking. The rest is perfect (and all mine). Life is good !
(sometimes).
Charley
"Phisherman" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On Sun, 9 Mar 2008 18:16:57 -0500, "Charley" <[email protected]>
> wrote:
>
> >Last Sunday my new neighbor brought over a 12' piece of about 4 X 12
rough
> >sawn Black Walnut and asked me if I could make him a 6' long 3X10
fireplace
> >mantle from it. He just wants a solid dimensioned board with nothing
fancy
> >(no carvings, etc.), and he is going to have his mason install it. He
said
> >that I can keep any of the wood that I don't use :-). All I have to do is
> >plane it to dimension and sand it, then finish it with several coats of
> >clear finish. After I began planning it today I found that the grain in
this
> >thing is absolutely beautiful, just a few real small tight knots, and
lots
> >of swirling rays of grain. There's less than a foot of length that will
be
> >lost due to end checking. The rest is perfect (and all mine). Life is
good !
> >(sometimes).
> >
> >Charley
> >
>
> Be extra careful with walnut dust!
Thanks for the warning, but I'm already aware of the danger.
All significant walnut machining gets done outside so the dust stays outside
the shop as much as possible. I wear a mask and eye protection anyway.
If working small pieces inside the shop always I wear the same protection in
addition to connecting the vacuum to the tools. I'm sensitive to red oak and
do the same when working with it.
Now I'm trying to figure out what to make with my almost free walnut. I've
never had a piece that thick before.
On Sun, 9 Mar 2008 18:16:57 -0500, "Charley" <[email protected]>
wrote:
>Last Sunday my new neighbor brought over a 12' piece of about 4 X 12 rough
>sawn Black Walnut and asked me if I could make him a 6' long 3X10 fireplace
>mantle from it. He just wants a solid dimensioned board with nothing fancy
>(no carvings, etc.), and he is going to have his mason install it. He said
>that I can keep any of the wood that I don't use :-). All I have to do is
>plane it to dimension and sand it, then finish it with several coats of
>clear finish. After I began planning it today I found that the grain in this
>thing is absolutely beautiful, just a few real small tight knots, and lots
>of swirling rays of grain. There's less than a foot of length that will be
>lost due to end checking. The rest is perfect (and all mine). Life is good !
>(sometimes).
>
>Charley
>
Be extra careful with walnut dust!