{"id":1028,"date":"2015-08-24T04:00:16","date_gmt":"2015-08-24T08:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.woodturningpens.com\/?p=1028"},"modified":"2015-08-24T04:00:16","modified_gmt":"2015-08-24T08:00:16","slug":"black-walnut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.woodturningpens.com\/black-walnut\/","title":{"rendered":"Black Walnut"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
In the past, I have written about Walnut, but only in terms of several very specific variants of the Juglans<\/em> species, Juglans hindsii<\/em> (California Claro Walnut<\/a>) and the nut-bearing Juglans regia<\/em> (English Walnut<\/a>). However the most common wood referred to as Walnut in the United States is Juglans nigra<\/em> (Black Walnut) native to the eastern United States.<\/p>\n As I have indicated above, Juglans nigra<\/em> is a wood of the eastern parts of North America, is native to eastern North America. It grows mostly on land adjacent to rivers or streams, so-called riparian zones. J.nigra<\/em> is a widely dispersed species ranging from southern Ontario, west to southeast South Dakota, south to Georgia, northern Florida and southwest to central Texas. There is a small population of wild trees in the upper Ottawa Valley that may be an isolated native population or they may have derived from planted trees. The populations in Georgia and Florida are relatively isolated groupings cut off from the main stands and are best described as islands of walnut.<\/p>\n The vast majority, about 65%, of the domestic wild harvest of J. nigra<\/em> timber comes from the state of Missouri. The city of Stockton, Missouri, in the southwest of the state, is a center for the processing of both the edible nuts of J. nigra<\/em> as well as the timber.Specimens of J. nigra<\/em> have been exported to Europe since the 17th<\/sup> Century as both decorative specimens as well as sources of beautiful timber. In addition, specimens of J. nigra<\/em> can be found in other areas of North America outside of its native range due to specimen planting mostly for decorative purposes. J. nigra<\/em> can grow to impressive sizes, reaching well over 100 feet in height.<\/p>\n For the sake of simplicity, I will refer to J. nigra<\/em> from this point forward by its common name, Black Walnut.<\/p>\n The heartwood of the Black Walnut can range from a light pale brown to a dark chocolate brown. Occasionally the wood will feature darker brown streaks through the lighter colors which can add greatly to its appeal. Sometimes some viewers can discern color tones or casts that include grey, purple and red. The sapwood, which is not generally used except perhaps to provide contrast in small amounts when it naturally occurs in natural edge carvings or turnings, is pale yellow-gray to nearly white. As is true of some other domestic woods, notably Acer (Maple) species, figured grain patterns such as curl, crotch, and burl are also seen. When these figures occur, demand and price will rise dramatically and such pieces not uncommonly are used in the manufacture of very high-end gun stocks or knife handles.<\/p>\nGeographical Distribution<\/h2>\n
General Characteristics<\/h2>\n