Species such as maple and walnut dry at an intermediate rate, ie a 1” walnut board air dried in the south in the summer time will dry in about 120 days, and species such as oak, mesquite, and hickory dry very slowly (ie 1” per year). It is best to store lumber “in the tree” until you are ready to mill it.
If you can store it in a shed or barn, so much the better, just keep it out of the direct sun and don't dry too fast. Air drying around here, (mountains of PA) takes about one year per inch of thickness for hardwood.
Let the slabs air-dry until the wood is dried to less than 20% moisture content. This will take some time (years) so be patient. Once the wood moisture content is below 20% it can be slowly dried in a kiln to something around 10 or 11%. It is now safe to work the wood into a table top.
Depending on outside conditions and lumber species and size, air-drying to a desired MC can take from several months to almost a year. Wood stored outdoors and under cover will dry to an approximate moisture content of 12 to 14 percent in western Oregon and 8 to 10 percent in eastern Oregon.
On dry sunny days, drying takes 3-5 days, in unfavorable weather, the time increases to 5-12 days. Alternatively, walnuts can be placed in a single layer on trays in stacks or on a grid (rack) at a height from the ground. Due to the air circulation between the trays and the nuts, it will take less time to dry.
Though walnuts can be eaten as it is by removing the outer shell, the best way to have them is by soaking overnight. Just soak 2-4 walnut pieces overnight in a cup of water and have them first thing in the morning. Soaking walnuts helps in reducing the bad cholesterol levels in the body.
When logs must be stored for long periods at temperatures above freezing, it is best to keep logs soaking wet. Storing logs under sprinklers or in a log pond helps prevent end checking and slows deterioration caused by insects, fungal stain, and decay. However, chemical staining can occur under wet conditions.
With green timber, you can begin building right away without having to wait for the wood to dry, or having the added cost for kiln drying, which uses environmentally damaging fossil fuels during the drying process. However, fresh timber will shrink as it dries.
Generally, it's far, far better to rough-mill while green, dry in a stack with stickers to allow airflow and if necessary considerable weight to put on the stack, then do final shaping with the moisture content near the desired environment. First, it's much faster to dry the relatively thin rough boards.
The best finish for walnut is a clear one. Several coats of Danish oil provide clarity. For protection, add a compatible clear topcoat.
The parasites can be transmitted and they can find their way to some organs where they multiply. For this reason, family and friends should also take 2 teaspoons of the black walnut tincture once every two weeks to prevent parasite infection.
As the walnut color darkens slowly over the years, this stained sapwood area does not darken as much. This means some color contrasts may develop after several years or longer that can be undesirable.
Black walnut dried in solar, DH or vacuum kilns does not lose any color. Solar kilns will usually get hot enough to sterilize lumber in the summertime, but not in the winter. Lumber shrinks as it dries; typically 5%- 6% in thickness for flat sawn lumber and up to 12% for quartersawn lumber.
Rot Resistance: Black Walnut is rated as very durable in terms of decay resistance, though it is susceptible to insect attack. Workability: Typically easy to work provided the grain is straight and regular. Planer tearout can sometimes be a problem when surfacing pieces with irregular or figured grain.
Black Walnut, also known as Walnut or American Walnut, is one of the finest North American lumber species. Along with Mahogany and Cherry, Walnut set the standard for early American furniture. The Walnut tree is hearty, shade tolerant, and can grow to be quite large both in width and in height.
The last thing we want is a desktop or table that sways or easily bends under a load. Unseasoned green wood will almost always lead to disaster when it's used for building fine furniture. As it dries, the wood shrinks, which can cause joints to open. The stock can also distort in a number of ways …
Whether the wood is used to build a kitchen cabinet, or to frame out a house, it must be dried before it can be used. Let's take a look at some of the reasons why. Trees contain a lot of water. Every part of a tree, from the leaves down to the roots, has some amount of water in it.
Drying freshly cut wood is essential for good quality lumber and woodworking. It is also called “seasoning” and reduces the moisture content so that the wood is stable enough to use. Drying wood also makes it burn more efficiently, so you can also use these common wood-drying practices for firewood.
To identify well-seasoned wood, check the ends of the logs. If they are dark in colour and cracked, they are dry. Dry seasoned wood is lighter in weight than wet wood and makes a hollow sound when hitting two pieces together. If there is any green colour visible or bark is hard to peel, the log is not yet dry.
If your logs are already dry, it's fine to store them in a garage. If they're not dry, there won't be enough fresh or flowing air to help them dry out in a garage environment. Is it OK to stack firewood next to a house? All firewood should be stored around 20 feet away from the nearest door to your house.
To speed the drying of firewood, remove the bark initially and stack the wood so that air circulates around it from all sides. During rainy periods, put a cover over the top of firewood.
Walnuts are the top nut for brain health. They have a significantly high concentration of DHA, a type of Omega-3 fatty acid. Among other things, DHA has been shown to protect brain health in newborns, improve cognitive performance in adults, and prevent or ameliorate age-related cognitive decline.
Walnuts should be soaked because doing so makes them easier for the body to digest than eating them raw.
"Essential nutrients like iron, protein, calcium, and zinc are better absorbed by the body when you soak the nuts. The water removes the phytic acid present in acids which causes indigestion. So, soaking nuts helps in digesting them properly and reaping the benefits of these nutrients.