Woodworker's Journal 2009-33-5, страница 47

Kerry Pierce's classic highboy (page 38) is constructed from some stunning black walnut lumber.

As Harvey related the long, sad story to me later, it turned out that the designer in charge of the office makeover thought the clear-finished walnut was too old-fashioned looking. So he came up with the brown enamel as a means to "save the day."

Grudgingly, and for an extra couple of hundred dollars (which I think came out of poor Harvey's pocket), I sprayed a nice, smooth coat of brown paint over that stunningly beautiful walnut. But I must say that I was not at all proud of the product as I handed them over for delivery this time around.

Easy and Beautiful

Black walnut is a great wood to work with, so much so that it is hard to know which characteristic to like more

— its beauty or its workability. It is fairly common, and good quality black walnut lumber is not hard to find. With that said, there is no getting around the fact that you will pay more for walnut than for other domestic hardwoods. For that reason, some woodworkers treat it more like a rare exotic lumber — saving it for accent pieces or small components in a bigger piece.

I like to finish black walnut with a clear finish, and I think it looks especially good with a rubbed oil finish

— like a natural Watco oil. If you run into walnut that has a grayish cast (I find this often in the cathedral grain of plainsawn walnut), try sprucing it up with a bit of thinned cherry-colored oil stain. I find that this adds life to an otherwise dead-looking patch of wood.

If you have never worked with walnut, I'd encourage you to save your money and give it a try — just leave the brown paint in the can!

Woodworker's Journal October 2009 1 9

Juglans nigra

Black walnut, also known as Eastern black walnut and American walnut, occurs in small groves in well-drained but moist and fertile alluvial soils throughout the Eastern United States.The tree naturally occurs throughout the East and Midwest except in the Mississippi Valley and Delta and the sandy coastal plain of the Southern United States. Since the tree most often occupied fertile soils, early settlers keyed on the walnut groves as indicators of the best soil for farming. Black walnut may grow as tall as 75 to 100 feet and two to four feet in diameter and grows well from planting zones 5 to 8; however, the highest concentration of quality trees are in the Midwestern states. It is intolerant of shade and protects itself from competition by emitting a chemical concentrate known as Juglone which inhibits growth in a number of plants. Juglone is found in all parts of the tree, but the highest concentrations are in the roots.The pollen and sawdust of black walnut is known as a strong allergeh and can adversely affect horses and dogs if the sawdust is used as bedding material, so dispose of black walnut sawdust carefully.

The USDA's Silvics of North America calls the black walnut "one of the scarcest and most coveted native hardwoods." Black walnut was the wood of choice for fine furniture manufactured in the United States until the late 18th century.The wood was used extensively for gunstocks and furniture, but with increased demand it is now most often cut into veneer. The popularity of black walnut led to its eventual decline.The best and straightest of trees were harvested, leaving only the short and limb-laden trees to carry on the gene pool. Research was begun in the mid 20th century to select better trees for replanting, and the better quality trees are once again available.The edible nut of black walnut is widely known, but surprisingly, the shells of walnuts are widely used as well. During World War II, airplane pistons were cleaned using ground walnut shell blasted against the pistons using high air pressure. ^

The tree has been planted in other areas of the country for nut production. However, planting them beyond their native range has led to problems with disease and insects.

—T. C. Knight Silviculturist Oden, Arkansas