UTILIZATION OF BLACK WALNUT. 



Black walnut is straight-grained, easily worked with* tools, is not 

 liable to warp and check or to shrink and swell to any considerable 

 extent after it has been seasoned, and glues well. These qualities 

 add greatly to its value as a cabinet wood. Table 2 shows the prop- 

 erties of various cabinet woods in comparison with walnut as a basis. 

 These are composite values (excepting those of weight and shrink- 

 age), each being based on several different kinds of tests. The data 

 show that walnut compares favorably with white and red oak in 

 strength as a beam or post, in shock-resisting ability, and in stiff- 

 ness. The hardness of walnut, however, is less than that of oak. In 

 shock-resisting ability and stiffness birch is superior to walnut, 

 although the two woods are about equivalent in strength. Birch is 

 not so good in holding its shape after it is seasoned, and is also more 

 liable than walnut to be cross-grained. Sweet birch is harder than 

 walnut, and yellow birch is softer. Red gum ranks much lower than 

 walnut in respect to these different properties. Oak and birch have 

 greater dry weights than walnut, while red gum is lighter. All of 

 the native cabinet woods listed have greater shrinkage values than 

 walnut, with the exception of the radial shrinkage of oak and red 

 gum. The volumetric shrinkage values of these woods are consider- 

 ably greater than those of walnut. Walnut, therefore, compares very 

 favorably with our other native cabinet woods in regard to these 

 basic properties. 



Table 2. — Properties of various cabinet icoods, compared with black walnut: 



Black walnui=100. 





Strength 

 as a 

 beam 



Shock- 

 resist- 

 ing 



Stiff- 

 ness. 



Hard- 

 ness. 



Specific 

 gravity, 

 density, 



or 

 weight. 



Shrinkage (from green 

 to oven-dry condi- 

 tion based on volume 

 when green). 





or post, ability. 



In vol- 

 ume. 



Radial. 



Tan- 

 gential. 





92 

 84 

 98 

 99 

 76 



95 



98 

 99 

 115 



124 

 78 



68 



92 



88 



111 



109 



84 



87 



125 



111 



113 



93 



67 



90 



114 

 108 

 114 

 107 

 88 



87 



141 

 127 

 134 

 150 

 134 



70 



100 

 74 

 119 

 140 

 98 



67 



127 





117 



Sweet birch (Betula lento) 



107 





127 



Red gum ( Liguidambar styraciflua) . . 

 True mahogany (Central America) 



139 

 68 







Note. — The relative-strength figures given in the first four columns of this table are based on composite 

 values, each of which is a combination of several different binds of tests. 



The true mahogany of Central America, listed in the table, shows 

 a slightly lower value than walnut in strength as a beam or post. 

 In stiffness and hardness it is much lower. Its shock-resisting abil- 

 ity is far below that of walnut. The amount of shrinkage in Cen-, 

 tral American mahogany is much less than in any of the native cabi- 

 net woods listed. The relation between volumetric, radial, and tan- 

 gential shrinkage is about the same as for walnut. 



