started splitting the walnut

[ScotO]

Last night I started splitting the tops I bucked up from the walnut we dropped last week. Got a good bit of the big stuff done, only had time to run one tank of gas through the splitter (Wifey was at work and I had the kiddos to tend to). The big round pictured yielded 34 splits! Gotta love those big rounds! Got around 1/2 cord split up in around one hour, so at that rate I should be done with this pile by the end of the week. We just picked up a job over in the neighboring valley with two huge oaks so I need the room for more wood!!

THIS ROUND YIELDED 34 SPLITS!
the 34 splits from the round above

 

[lukem]

I love splitting walnut. It has a very distinct smell and the straight-grained pieces fall right apart with a tap from the maul. The grain is nice to look at too.

 

[ScotO]

Lukem, believe it or not, this particular walnut is one of the most miserable trees I've ever split! Wavy and tight grained, stringy sapwood, I was thinking it would be a piece of cake but this one is making me earn it.

 

[smokinj]

I done alot of dry walnut most resent Monday. You hit any knot at all it sounds like a shotgun going off.

 

[Thistle]

Pretty stuff,smells great when sawing,splitting or burning.Normally easy to split but some can be really stubborn.

Scott did you take the outer slabs for firewood too? I burn all that stuff,everything but the sawdust

 

[ScotO]

Thistle, absolutely! I don't waste a thing. We even saved the sawdust for the homeowner to use as oil soak in his garage!

 

[ScotO]

I also save two 6' sections of slab to make a set of rustic benches for our firepit!

 

[Hickorynut]

Scottyoverkill, the way that sapwood on the walnut is splitting is what I run into sometimes with the sapwood of cherry. I let it dry some in the rounds and that helps. Course, I only use a maul

 

[ScotO]

No time for letting those rounds dry, I got a ton more wood coming the next month or so. So that stuff will be split and in the stacks by the end of the weekend.....lol....

 

[Mr A]

I saved some saw dust from my recent oak scrounge, thought I'd try making a log out of it, like a duraflame. I did find throwing a few handfulls of it onto the coals in the morning got the fire going faster.

 

[BobUrban]

Dog Gone that is some pretty wood. If I get into a nice walnut like that I will be saving some nice pieces for Hawk and knife handles. Crotch areas have some really cool grain growth for things like that. It can almost look like Zircote with the right piece. Mostly all I am getting right now is ash, ash, and more ash!!

 

[timusp40]

Lukem, believe it or not, this particular walnut is one of the most miserable trees I've ever split! Wavy and tight grained, stringy sapwood, I was thinking it would be a piece of cake but this one is making me earn it.

Scotty,
Some of the walnut in my avatar was over 20" in diameter. I split most of it with a X27 (don't have a hydraulic), but whenever I came across a piece with a crotch it was either wedge or noodle time!
Tim

 

[ScotO]

Take some old spent candles, melt them down and mix with your sawdust or noodle slivers. Pour them into cupcake molds around 1/2" deep and break them in half after they harden. Great firestarters!

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Wow! 34 splits out of one round. That must have been fun wrestling that thing around. Sore muscles today Scott?

 

[ScotO]

Wow! 34 splits out of one round. That must have been fun wrestling that thing around. Sore muscles today Scott?

actually not at all. BUT, my lower back is sore from cowboying them bigger rounds. Last night I ran a half-tank of gas through the splitter, and stacked up until dark. Got over a cord stacked, was going to go out this evening and stack some more but decided to relax just a teeny bit. Saturday morning I will finish splitting the stuff up and get some stacked, will have all the stacking done by Sunday. Should end up with around 2 1/2 cord from that walnut.

 

[ScotO]

Finally got done with the walnut last night, ended up with two and a strong half cords of it split and stacked, it is slated to be incinerated in 2014/2015.........

 

[chuckie5fingers]

Scotty
HOLY MOLEY
nice... some of those splits are huge.

 

[ScotO]

Scotty
HOLY MOLEY
nice... some of those splits are huge.

Chuckie I like to keep some of 'em bigger for when you want a longer burn between reloads. The fact that this is wood for three years down the road means those bigger rounds will be seasoned by that time..

 

[Backwoods Savage]

That sure is some pretty wood Scott. Nice work.

 

[timusp40]

Scotty,
What is your opinion of Black Walnut for burning after enough seasoning? I'm asking because I have a lot of it CSS. Going by the the BTU Charts it does not look that bad. Seems some guys out there don't like burning it. Not sure why.
Tim

 

[ScotO]

Scotty,
What is your opinion of Black Walnut for burning after enough seasoning? I'm asking because I have a lot of it CSS. Going by the the BTU Charts it does not look that bad. Seems some guys out there don't like burning it. Not sure why.
Tim

Tim, I like burning it. It's about right in the middle/slightly over the middle in the BTU chart if I'm not mistaken. I love the smell of it when it burns too. It's just a shame to split it up for firewood, it is such a pretty wood. That whole two and a half cords I made into firewood was all tops and branches from one tree. I won't let that stuff go to waste. You'll be fine, just let yours season a year and a half/two years. BTW, some guys out there won't burn pine or elm......I'm not one of those guys either! After getting all this good information about pine and trying it in my maple cooker this spring, I will be using some for shoulder season come this fall.

 

[thewoodlands]

SO, if you ever run out of room I think we could squeeze in a couple cord of that Walnut! You have to love those big rounds, looks like your stacking area gets plenty of sun.

zap

 

[Hogwildz]

Burns great, and decent. Leaves ALOT of fine white powdered ash.

 

[etiger2007]

Very nice Scotty, I wish you lived by me I have several Black Walnuts i need to come down. I bought this house two years ago and sold the big walnuts for 5k now I have alot of small walnuts I need removed because they are by the house or garage they will make great fire wood though.

 

[timusp40]

Scotty, Hogwildz,
Sounds good to me! I'm starting to get of the opinion that if I can get whatever for free, I'll CSS it and add it to the stacks. It all burns right?
Tim