American Walnut Wood
Description :
The heartwood can be light greyish brown, dark chocolate or purplish black. The sapwood is whitish to yellowish brown, unless stained or steamed to match the heartwood. The slightly open grain is typically straight, but can be curly or wavy. The texture is usually coarse, but develops a lustrous patina in time. Burrs (burls), stumpwood and crotches produce notable mottled, curly and wavy figure.
Properties :
This hard, tough wood has moderate crushing and bending strength, low stiffness, and steam-bends well. It works well with machine and hand tools, with a moderate blunting effect. It generall planes well, but irregular grain can be tricky. It turns, carves, mortises, nails, screws, sands and paints well. Gluing is satisfactory. It stains and polishes easily to a high finish.
Seasoning :
The wood slowly and care must be taken to degrade. This can include checking. iron staining, ring failure, honey combing and collapse. There is small movement in use.
Durability :
American walnut is highly durable, resistant to decay and to preservative treatment. The sapwood is permeable for treatment, and can vulnerable to the Powder-post beetle.
Typical Uses :
A prized cabinetmaking wood, it is also the chosen wood in the US for gunstocks and rifle butts. It is also used for quality furniture, architectural work, flooring, boatbuilding, musical instruments, turnery, carving, office furniture, kitchen cabinets, sporting goods and umbrella handles. It is sliced for decorative veneers and is an important wood for making plywood. The tree also produces edible nuts.
