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(11-12-2023, 05:40 PM)Bob Vaughan Wrote: 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.
Nice score for $1/bdft!
However, I will note: Having sapwood in walnut is the very definition of FAS - which means it is the first and second cuttings off of a log, where the fewest knots will be. But with walnut that comes with sapwood...which I agree is not desirable. Just went through a bunch today looking for good boards without sap. But at $5.75/ft. If it was $1, I'd have taken a lot more and cut off a lot of sapwood!
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(11-14-2023, 11:29 PM)JosephP Wrote: Nice score for $1/bdft!
However, I will note: Having sapwood in walnut is the very definition of FAS - which means it is the first and second cuttings off of a log, where the fewest knots will be. But with walnut that comes with sapwood...which I agree is not desirable. Just went through a bunch today looking for good boards without sap. But at $5.75/ft. If it was $1, I'd have taken a lot more and cut off a lot of sapwood!
FAS means First and Second Grade - not first and second cuts. Knots would be most prevalent in the first and second cuts from a log. First and second grade is more likely to be clear of knots.
https://www.americanhardwood.org/en/amer...the-grades
Still Learning,
Allan Hill
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(11-15-2023, 07:38 AM)AHill Wrote: FAS means First and Second Grade - not first and second cuts. Knots would be most prevalent in the first and second cuts from a log. First and second grade is more likely to be clear of knots.
https://www.americanhardwood.org/en/amer...the-grades
There are fewer knots in the outside of a log. As a tree sheds branches, the new wood grows over those. It sheds branches as it grows taller in the woods. The closer you get to the middle of tree the more knots you will find. The higher on the trunk the more knots. The very best lumber comes from the first few cuts off of the butt log.
This is why you tend to see less sapwood in 1-common than FAS because as you get away from the sap you start hitting knots.
