32 



Hardwood Record — Veneer & Panel Section 



February 25, 1921 



"Utilization of American Walnut" 



Exhaustive Study of This Popular Cabinet Wood, from the Timber to the Finished Product, Is 



Made by Forest Service Specialist 



A most exhaustive study of "American" walnut is con- 

 tained in Bulletin No. 909, just issued by the Forest 

 Service, through the U. S. Department of Agriculture. 

 This bulletin was prepared by Warren D. Brush, 

 "scientific assistant," and is called "Utilization of 

 Black Walnut." It begins with an introduction telling of 

 the first uses of American walnut in early colonial times, 

 and. briefly, something of the volume of walnut lumber 

 production at various times, up to 1918. It then carries 

 on nine divisional discussions of "Properties of Wood," 

 "Insect and Fungus Attack," "Supply," "Demand," 

 "Utilization by Industries," "Export," War-time Utiliza- 

 tion," "Summary of General Market Conditions," "Mar- 

 keting Walnut Timber." The report winds up with a 

 "Summary and Conclusions," and an appendix giving a 

 detailed list of uses. Altogether 89 pages of type matter 

 are used, together with a large number of charts and 

 photographic illustrations. 



The following interesting "summary of general market 

 conditions" is made: 



On account of tKe scarcity and high cost of walnut logs they are 

 generally utilized very closely. The great bulk of the walnut is 

 handled at large mills that are equipped for the manufacture of both 

 lumber and veneer. Band saws, experienced sawyers, and modern 

 kilns contribute to make a very efficient utilization. In veneer 

 manufacture 20 square feet of veneer are obtained to each board 

 foot, log scale, of logs, and in the making up of panel stock about 

 one-half of this is wasted. There is a waste of about 25 per cent 

 also in manufacturing furniture from the lumber. Allowing a 20 

 per cent over-run of the log scale in the manufacture of lumber, we 

 have the yields shown in Table 26 from 100 board feet of lumber, 

 log scale : 



Table 26 



Lumber Original log scale, 100 board feet; total product. 120 



square feet. 1 inch thick; net amount used in finished product, 90 

 square feet, 1 inch thick. 



Veneer — Original log scale, 100 board feet; total product, 2,000 

 square feet veneer, 1 ^28 inch thick; net amount used in finished 

 product, 1000 square feet (finished panel). 



There is evidently a great economy in using veneer in place of 

 lumber; moreover, a much better, more attractive, and more dur- 

 able piece of furniture may be made by the use of veneer. 



The Low-Grade Problem 



The principal problem of the walnut manufacturer is the dis 

 posal of his low-grade stock, both lumber and veneer. It is most 

 profitable for him to turn his large, clear, and especially his figured 

 logs into veneer; for, although the lumber saw^ed from such logs 

 may bring a high price, the veneer sliced from them will bring 

 much more. However, if only small and defective logs are con- 

 verted into lumber, only low-grade stock will be obtained, and this 

 is difficult to market. The stocks of walnut veneer were greatly 

 reduced because of the discontinuation of the making of veneer 

 during the war. For this reason comparatively small amounts of 

 the highest grades of lumber are being manufactured, and furniture 

 factories are using more of the lower-grade stock. 



Many saw^mills find it profitable to cut low^-grade lumber into 

 furniture dimension stock. Many furniture factories, how^ever, 

 object to using dimension stock because the quality is not good 

 enough, or the sizes are not exactly suited to their needs. They 

 prefer to buy the lumber and cut their stock sizes from that. It is, 

 of course, more expensive to ship lumber than the dimension sizes 

 cut from it. Sawmills should be able to saw^ the stock sizes more 

 cheaply than the factory can; but if there is considerable waste in 

 the use of diniension stock it is more profitable to buy the lumber. 

 The sawmills can often recut their low^-grade walnut lumber into a 



special grade of stock for furniture, and therefore it is not neces- 

 sary for the factories to handle so much waste material. This is 

 also more economical for the factories than cutting clear stock 

 from very defective lumber. A large surplus of very low-grade 

 stock and of small clear pieces accumulated from the manufacture 

 of w^alnut w^ar material is now^ in the hands of the large walnut 

 operators. This stock is absorbed very slowly. Since only small 

 dimension pieces can be made from this stock, markets for this 

 material are very limited, and a great deal of it goes into the waste 

 pile and is used for fuel. 



The more extensive use of walnut instead of the various woods 

 now substituted for it in making the small solid parts of walnut 

 furniture would effect a closer utilization of the wood. These small 

 pieces should be sawed from low-grade stock, of which there is 

 usually a surplus in the hands of lumber manufacturers. 



The small demand for low-grade walnut veneer makes the waste 

 in veneer manufacture greater than it would otherwise be. This 

 low-grade veneer is suitable for backings and drawer bottoms, but 

 factories prefer large sheets from a lower-priced wood, because 

 there is less trouble in cutting out the required sizes. Under 

 present conditions a large part of the sapwood and defective 

 veneer must be used for luel. 



Location of Stands 



The general "Summary and Conclusions" is as follows: 



The use of black walnut covers as long a period as that of any 

 other native wood. It has been repeatedly predicted that the sup- 

 ply would soon be exhausted. The timber has never been plentiful: 

 but, on account of its being scattered throughout a large area, 

 there has been a fairly steady supply since colonial times. Its area 

 of commercial distribution is, roughly, the eastern half of the 

 United States exclusive of the coastal regions, the southern Missis- 

 sippi Valley region, and the extreme northern regions. The prin- 

 cipal supplies are now located in central Tennessee, eastern Ken- 

 tucky, northwestern West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, southern 

 Iowa, Missouri, southeastern Nebraska, eastern Kansas and Okla- 

 homa, northeastern Texas, and northwestern Arkansas. Although 

 the best quality of walnut has come from Ohio and Indiana, the 

 general run of the timber is now better in the western part of its 

 range, because it has not been cut out to the extent to which it 

 has in the eastern part. The best stands are now west of the 

 Mississippi River. 



Before the war the annual demand amounted to about 60 million 

 board feet; during the war it increased to about 90 million board 

 feet. A large part of the total is exported in normal times, princi- 

 pally to European countries. 



The greatest problem of the lumber manufacturer is to dispose of 

 his lower grades, of which there w^as a surplus from the manufac- 

 ture of high-grade airplane-propeller lumber during the war. The 

 cutting of dimension stock is often impracticable, on account of the 

 varying needs of the factories using this stock. It is now^ a common 

 practice among w^alnut lumber manufacturers to recut lovv'-grade 

 stock in order that it may be classed in a higher grade, or may be 

 sold as a special grade of small-dimension stock of a better kind. 



Walnut is valued mainly for its good seasoning, working, and 

 gluing qualities, its fine appearance, and its good finishing proper- 

 ties. Its principal uses are for cabinetwork in furniture, musical 

 instruments, and sewing machines, for interior finish, and for gun- 

 stocks. For cabinetwork and inside finish it is used very largely 

 in the form of veneer panels. Thin lumber is used extensively in 

 European countries for cabinetwork, instead of veneer. Other cab- 

 inet woods as, for instance, red gum and birch — are commonly 



used for the solid pieces in cabinetwork. A substitution, however, 

 detracts from the appearance and general quality of the piece. 

 Panels are usually made of five plies, and the outer ply is generally 

 of the striped walnut that is characteristic of open-growth trees, or 

 of some other highly figured walnut as, for example, cross figure* 

 stuinp w^ood, crotches, or burls. 



There has been a recent revival in the popularity of black walnut 

 furniture, which is now^ given lighter finishes more nearly like the 

 natural color of the wood. This treatment brings out the natural 

 beauty of the grain and figure. For this reason the rapid-growth, 

 light-colored heartwood is now more in demand than is the dark, 

 ( i'liHtiinii i( oil /itiifr 401 



