jimmykx250 Posted April 5, 2012 Report Share Posted April 5, 2012 I saw an add for steamed walnut flooring for sale the other day. Whats up with steamed? I dont understand this process? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vic Posted April 5, 2012 Report Share Posted April 5, 2012 I've never heard that term outside of bending. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodger. Posted April 6, 2012 Report Share Posted April 6, 2012 Funny you should mention this. I was at the lumber yard last weekend, and the guy there explained it to me. Walnut, as we all know, comes in two varities: sapwood and heartwood. The heartwood is the dark part that everybody wants. In order to be more consistent, they steam the lumber to help "bleed" some of the darkness out of the heartwood and into the sapwood. This gives the lumber a more consistent coloud throughout the entire piece. He told me that if the lumber yard did not steam the lumber for colour, true heartwood walnut (the nice dark stuff) would be a crazy price (like 12.00 to 14.00 per BF), as noone would buy the sapwood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vic Posted April 6, 2012 Report Share Posted April 6, 2012 I didn't realize the bleeding was specific to steaming it during the kiln drying process. I thought all kiln dried Walnut was like that. I really like the sapwood in with the heartwood and don't particularly like the working properties of kiln dried lumber. Luckily, my sawyer always has a plentiful supply of beautiful air dried Walnut. Thanks for the added info! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulMarcel Posted April 6, 2012 Report Share Posted April 6, 2012 I'm with Vic, I want Walnut sapwood; actually, any sapwood; I have a stack of boards where I got 'lucky' to find sapwood and snagged it as those aren't very common at my suppliers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmykx250 Posted April 6, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 6, 2012 I did a walnut kitchen table last year with 8/4 stock thickness. I love the varation between the heart and sapwood in fact i staggared the pieces so it was more highlighted. I wil ask that supplier i this stuff was steamed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duckkisser Posted April 6, 2012 Report Share Posted April 6, 2012 i love turning and working with air dried over kiln dried only bad thing is taking it from outside into a controled air inviroment they can warp or crack more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vic Posted April 6, 2012 Report Share Posted April 6, 2012 Yea, It looks to me like the stuff that has been homogenized also loses a good bit of it's intensity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted April 6, 2012 Report Share Posted April 6, 2012 Both ways have advantages. Steamed kiln dried walnut used in conjunction with walnut veneered plywood will finish up to match quite well. Air dried or kiln dried walnut unsteamed not only has a greater contrast between the sapwood and heart but the variations of color and any grain patterns swirl, curl etc are much more pronounced! If you are not going to use any stain on walnut and let the natural beauty of the wood shine I would use the air dried. If you have a client who wants a dark stain on real walnut the steamed is better,and possibly cheaper. I have also seen imported (south American I think ) walnut that was intensely dark chocolate colored and a bit softer than the USA stuff. Don't know if it was steamed or not. There were a lot of nice wide flat planks in the rack Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodger. Posted April 7, 2012 Report Share Posted April 7, 2012 wdwerker - we have a supply of Peruvian Walnut imported at the local lumberyard. Could this be the lumber you were refering to? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suiciedchild Posted April 9, 2012 Report Share Posted April 9, 2012 Sounds like Peruvian walnut , I think it's also called "Nogal" , it is really dark. I had a client from Ecuador who wanted a piece made from it because it grows there. Cool stuff but is darker and softer than our walnut but still in the Juglans family. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodger. Posted April 9, 2012 Report Share Posted April 9, 2012 Sounds like Peruvian walnut , I think it's also called "Nogal" , it is really dark. I had a client from Ecuador who wanted a piece made from it because it grows there. Cool stuff but is darker and softer than our walnut but still in the Juglans family. Yes, I am thinking about doing a project of some type with it. All of the stocked Per. Walnut here is 4/4, 12" wide, and 8 ft long. It's sold as rough, but it's pretty close to square (waste would be minimal). Thanks for the characteristics, I was unsure of it's hardness. Its about 6.50 a BF retail here in ontario. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwacker Posted April 9, 2012 Report Share Posted April 9, 2012 Sounds like Peruvian walnut , I think it's also called "Nogal" , it is really dark. I had a client from Ecuador who wanted a piece made from it because it grows there. Cool stuff but is darker and softer than our walnut but still in the Juglans family. Its definately darker but is actually a little bit harder than american walnut 1080 vs 1010. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suiciedchild Posted April 16, 2012 Report Share Posted April 16, 2012 I never looked at the janka on it, the pieces I had seemed softer compared to what I remembered walnut being , so I'll buy that. And 6.50a bf, wish I had a place around here that sold it. I had to order my pieces and I believe they were more than that w/out shipping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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