OH Walnut


mat60

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Is it normal for walnut to be full of sapwood and dam knots. I have seen alto of table tops like that but was thinking if I ordered 50% more lumber than I needed I would be able to cut around the crap. I need to use what I have because I have no choice. How can I fill some knots and can I stane the top to hide the sapwood. LOL.  Sorry guys but to be honest I have never worked with walnut.

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I've never gotten many knots in FAS walnut, some here and there.  Sapwood is the luck of the draw.  Ordered 500 bf last year and got hardly any sapwood.  Ordered 250 this year and more than half was all sapwood on one side and a couple boards barely had any heartwood at all.  Some places will let you order a higher grade that won't have sapwood but you'll pay dearly.  

Can't help with making the sapwood look like heartwood.  My feeling on that is sometimes you have to adjust your plans to fit the materials you have to work with.  That usually turns out better than trying to force the material into something it isn't.

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You could dye everything to get even color between heartwood and sap, but it adds a bunch of work obviously and is hard to do well in a consistent manner. But it would work. I'd use dye instead of stain. I think you're better off embracing the sapwood for indoor projects, at least. Outdoor it makes more sense to cut the sap out since bugs like to eat that stuff.

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From your description, it sounds like you bought a lower grade of walnut, although the NHLA grading rules do allow more knots in fas walnut than other species. You already have some good suggestions to deal with what you have.

For future reference, "steamed" walnut will not have any light colored sapwood.

Steaming it is exactly what it sounds like. Full bundles of green,un-stickered walnut are loaded into a small building that is flooded with non-pressurized steam for 16 - 20 hours. It does change the appearance of the heartwood slightly and some people don't like it.

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Epoxy with a bit of dye or india ink can be used to fill knots but, I would not want to do this in areas that are fully on display.  In less obvious areas they are all but unnoticed.

I will add that in my experience the amount of work required to get lower quality product to work and look like better quality product does not pay off.  You will have better luck and turn out better work if you start with a good quality material.

Bearing in mind that FAS is the highest grade and that many mills are now using FAS-1F (rating on the good face as opposed to the poor one):

  • 83.3% clear of defect on both faces
  • Minimum Board Size: 6″x8′
  • Minimum Clear Cutting Size: 3″x7′ or 4″x5′

So knots and sapwood are allowed, it is the amount and the frequency of knots and splits that makes the grade.  If you do not have 80+% of clear cutting, usable material I would seek another supplier.

As to "fixing" what you've got, pictures will let us give you better answers.  I try to keep the natural look of walnut but, do add a bit of color to lessen the effect of walnut's behavior of lightening up over time. 

This mild coloration also blends lighter areas into dark ones but, is not significant enough to override very light patches.  I remove this material and use it as a secondary wood.

 

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19 hours ago, K Cooper said:

 Having never worked with walnut, you don't know if you're sleeping with Hillary or in the Trump Tower!

Sorry to get back so late but I was at the charity dinner in New York and spent some time with the lady with the white gloves but I will be back out into the shop tomorrow and see what I can do with the walnut.   I no I will have some sapwood on the end grain of this 66in square table.  I did order fas but trying to get 70in out of 9ft that look decent wont be easy. Thanks everyone for your comment's.

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