Junk walnut boards

[Petertaylor]

   

   

   

I have a pile of 80-year-old walnut boards. Also shown is a closeup of the “wormy” surface. I’m hoping to sell these locally, saying they might be good for making an antique-looking farm table. I’m fairly sure the cause is NOT powder post beetles, as there was no brown frass when I picked up the pile. These boards have been in my shed forever in northern Illinois where it gets below zero in winter. Wouldn’t that temp kill whatever it is?  
My question is, might these be sellable, or would any knowledgeable woodworker run away as fast as possible?

[Gary G™]

Maybe they can be used for birdhouses.

[fredhargis]

All you can do is try, the price might be the determining factor. I hold the belief that there no such thing as "junk" walnut, but before buying I would look them over carefully and then decide. Someone who uses thinner stock for boxes and such may be able to make good use of those boards.

[tablesawtom]

I built a  kind of a chimney cupboard out of worry holed butternut several years ago. A lot of women visitors comment on how well they like it. Some of them have even tried to buy it.  Just an idea. 

And to your second question no I do not think cold kills the power post beetles. I had an old door off from a barn and when it sat on a piece of cement I saw evidence of them. The coldest I have ever seen here in Iowa was at 5:00 in  the morning on my way to work. The out side temp on my car read -35  and the old barn door was after that.

Kiln drying kills them, maybe you can get a saw mill operator to do it for you.

Walnut would be my last choice of wood to even burn in a campfire.

Tom 

 Ps:The Butternut was kiln dried.

[jteneyck]

More than you probably want to know about powder post beetles.  Yes, they can be killed by low temps but, according to this article it could take 3 days below zero 24/7 to do it.  That's not likely to occur in most places, not just the ambient temp but the temp the wood actually sees.  At this point you don't really know if they are still active or not.  The best way to deal with it is to assume they are and act accordingly.  The sure fire way to kill them is to heat the lumber up to a minimum of 135F and hold it there long enough for the internal temp to be at that temp for at least 6 hours.  That's not as hard as it first seems.  An insulated box, a small fan, and an oil filled radiator will do it.  I leave it in there for 24 hours to be sure.    

John

[Woodshop]

That would not bother me. I made a mantel from hand-hewn walnut logs from a log building on the customers property for them . they Love it.  I just told them to keep and eye on it , never have had any live bugs from it.

   

   

[Petertaylor]

Thank you for the replies. And John, thanks for the specific suggestion as to how to make sure the wood becomes safe to work with  —Peter

[AHill]

Maybe you could try planing one of the boards. The damage looks to be mostly on the surface.

[Bob Vaughan]

My question is, might these be sellable, or would any knowledgeable woodworker run away as fast as possible?

An experienced woodworker wouldn't consider the insect damage as the biggest fault.  That pith channel running down the middle of the board is the real value killer.  Add the abundance of knots and the value goes down further.  The insect damage can be worked around.  Those pieces look to have been professionally graded and rejected as unsuitable for furniture.  A friend and I recently bought a batch of 500 BF of 14' long factory walnut rejects for $1.00 per board foot.  The pith channel was the real value killer on most of the boards.  Sapwood was another value killer.  We cut up the 14' boards into usable strips and shorts.  Those boards are clearly sellable, but not at FAS grade retail walnut lumber prices.

   

   

[Bob Vaughan]

Here's a shot of some of that low grade walnut used as it should be:  drawer backs on a couple of 5-drawer night stands.