Black Walnut trees

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xman23

Minister of Fire
Oct 7, 2008
2,630
Lackawaxen PA
My daughter has a few large 50 ft black walnut trees. Anyone know what they maybe worth, and how to find a mill that may want to take them down ?

Thanks Tom
 
The value will depend on the length and diameter of the trunk, the quality of the wood (is it rotten, overly knotty, etc.) and on whether you can find anyone to even bother buying it. Yard trees and fenceline trees are less valuable than forest or wood lot grown trees because yard and fence trees typically have nails, old wire, etc. in the wood and mills don't want to mess with them out of concern that the nails will damage the saw blades.
 
If they are yard trees, tough to get a mill to take them. (Nails etc)

Value is in the lumber, but lots of work & time getting them there.
Raw tree value tough to say, try to get an appraisal.
You might get lucky.

Everyone thinks a standing tree is worth lots of money,specially walnut.
Labor, transportation, time & tools to get them made into lumber is all added into the $$ of the end product.

Just find out what it cost to get them taken down & cut into logs.
Guessing you'll pay $400 - 500 per tree to have them laying on the ground ;)

Then have them picked up & hauled to a mill.
: Cost of milling, (cost to you if they hit metal & ruin a saw blade or several teeth)
: 1- 2 years to dry the boards.
: Planned & squared into boards.
: Graded & sold.


In the end
They would make good fire wood
More value to the owner ;)
 
My daughter has a few large 50 ft black walnut trees. Anyone know what they maybe worth, and how to find a mill that may want to take them down ?

Thanks Tom


Dave is correct in that most folks think walnut will hit the jackpot for them. A 50' tall tree won't be that big of diameter and if it is in a yard or fencerow, when I was sawing lumber or logging we would not even go look at them because of the probability of hardware in the wood. One fellow asked me one time what he could get for a good walnut tree. I simply told him he could get a really good fire.
 
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Usually it takes 40 or more logs at a minimum diameter of 14 " and 8' 6" ft long minimum for a mill to become interested unless you perform the work and deliver them. Prices are all over the map depending upon the grade of lumber. Yes veneer grade lumber is going for $2-2.50 per board ft. right now. Saw grade walnut goes for 20-30% of that price. My advice use the wood for firewood and save the crotches and sell them on ebay.
 
You'll make more money cutting decent sized (over 14" diameter) 2'-4' long rounds into bowl blanks for woodturning & carving/sculpture blocks than either what a sawmill will give you OR selling for firewood.Crotches,stumpwood & any curly irregular grain will bring a premium from local woodworkers/artisans.I routinely get $25-50 per piece depending on size & appearance.
 
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I agree with all the above also. I have a huge black walnut in my front yard.
Everyone would tell me to sell it to a mill because it is worth a fortune.
I couldn't even get anyone to come out to look. I didn't want to get rid
of it anyway. It did shut up alot of know it alls though.;)
 
My daughter has a few large 50 ft black walnut trees. Anyone know what they maybe worth, and how to find a mill that may want to take them down ?

Thanks Tom
I've got a walnut 4 feet at the base and 20 feet tall straight as an arrow,before branching out,value=whatever a cord of wood sells for in my area. Don't waste your time as i did once timber buyers are scam artists imho.
 
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I've got a walnut 4 feet at the base and 20 feet tall straight as an arrow,before branching out,value=whatever a cord of wood sells for in my area. Don't waste your time as i did once timber buyers are scam artists imho.
Yeah. They're like everybody else. Get it as cheap as you can. It's a lot of work to get it from a tree to a piece of flooring or whatever. Pretty good firewood though.
 
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