Your Ultimate Guide To WALNUT LUMBER - How to Buy, Use & Finish It

I think it's time we talk about walnut, woodworkers of YouTube!
Yeah, I totally get that most woodworkers who use hardwoods are probably acquainted with walnut - but I'm going to cover some of the things you might not know, and hopefully help you build better projects and have a more enjoyable experience buying, using, and finishing walnut.

Hope you enjoy this one, and get something good out of it. I know it's a long one this time, but if I've learned one thing from you folks since starting this channel, you like to get as much solid info as you can. Hope this won't disappoint. Thank you -
M.S.

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Other Walnut Videos:

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Products Mentioned:
- Titebond II Dark Wood Glue
- Old Masters Woodgrain Filler + Spanish Oak Wiping Stain
- General Finishes Ebony Dye Stain for ebonizing walnut
- Watco Black Walnut Danish Oil
- Old Masters Tung Oil Varnish
- General Finishes High Performance Water Based Top Coat
- Zinsser SealCoat Dewaxed Shellac
- Old Masters Paste Wax

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Visit us for hardwood lumber!

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Follow us for absolutely no good reason!

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Chapters

00:00 Who and why?
1:05 How is walnut named
1:56 Buying & selecting
2:12 About the tree
3:00 Quality issues
3:22 Color issues
3:58 Steaming walnut
4:54 Color sorting
5:43 Flawless walnut
7:03 Beauty of flaws
8:14 Working tips & tricks
10:00 Best finishing ideas

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Sounds
Stock Media provided by Woodmill / Pond5
Stock Media provided by RickyValadez / Pond5

Sights
Stock Media provided by life25 / Pond5
Stock Media provided by slowmotiongli / Pond5
Stock Media provided by ludovikus / Pond5
Stock Media provided by RECSTOCKFOOTAGE / Pond5
Stock Media provided by vasttt / Pond5
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[WoodworkersSourcecom]

1:05 - how is walnut named
1:56 - how to buy & select
2:12 - about the tree
3:00 - about knots, figure, and grain issues
3:22 - color issues
3:58 - steaming walnut
4:54 - color sorting
5:59 - how to get consistent walnut
7:03 - solid lumber means expecting inconsistencies
8:14 - tips & tricks to working with walnut
10:00 - finishing tricks and ideas


Okay, yes this is a pretty long one so hopefully this will help! Many thanks for watching, and hit us with your questions -

[nomedic]

You can sense his passion, not selling anything . Just is really into his work.... Nice video I learned a lot

[Taking]

My dude. Your content is phenomenal.

On screen personality is friendly and relatable. Editing, camerawork and format are absolutely on point. Kudos to the whole team.

[kevinnathanson]

Nice job; thanks! Might want to consider Waterlox as well; a bit tedious, but a great effect on walnut, especially if it isn't steamed. Also folks, the toxicity discussions are a bit overblown, walnut bowls, tongs etc. will not kill you or make you ill. At all. There is one serious toxicity issue to look at however. If you save/sell your sawdust to be used as bedding in stables, HORSES are very vulnerable to walnut that gets absorbed through their hooves, etc. Most stable operators are well aware of this, but if you do sell your sawdust, be sure to empty your collectors prior to and after running walnut through your saws, sanders, planers and jointers.

[gordonxu]

A respectful wood specie needs a respectful and professional scholar tell it's story. You are a true story teller, I enjoy every bit of info.

[rauldemoura]

Very NICE! I LOVE walnut. Such a beautiful, natural look. I took down a large black walnut, dropping it’s nuts all over my carport and drive way. I saved 2 slabs cut from the center of the tree. It’s some 27- 30” wide, 1 1/2” thick, and 11’ long. I have another tree not quite as wide, but much taller and straighter. I’m still undecided what I will make!!

[rebecca]

Wow!!! I came to learn about walnut and your “finishing” section blew my mind!!!!

[andrewpensavalle]

Mark, we've "known" each other for many years. The known is in quotes because our only contact through the years has been via emails. You are my Guru of woodworking and finishing. Now that Charles Neil is gone, you do a great job of filling his shoes. You've always been there for me with assistance whether it be an answer to a question or a solution for a "situation" with on line sales. Keep up the great work and keep producing these videos.

[wartlme]

Allot of good tricks and ideas. Glad I found this video.
I have walnut, oak, elm and maple trees that grow on my property. I just go in the back yard and cut up a fallen tree when it falls. I cut blanks and keep them in the shed. It would be very expensive if I had to purchase it. I make allot of thing with walnut and elm. I like the grain in elm wood. it looks cool.

[bobbray]

I usually use solvent based wipe-on poly (Minwax) on Walnut, straight on without a sealer. I use from 5 to eight coats, depending on what I build. It goes on much faster than brushed applications with no brush strokes or drips showing and you can recoat after about 3 hours. Not sure if this poly or UV light (or combo) gives the dark walnut a reddish orange hue over time but it looks almost like teak. Solvent poly does turn yellow. It was a pleasant surprise after I built a cabinet around our refrigerator in a kitchen with teak cabinets. It all blends in well.

I never stain or dye walnut. That seems like a waste using such beautiful wood. If I want a very dark color. I'll use something like rift cut white oak.

[gitaseldiy]

really is always a way to create a perfect masterpiece

[averagejoe]

I have a black walnut slab that's been sitting in the garage for a year now. Got it from a fellow woodworker that I bought a jointer and planer from when I first started in woodworking. We were discussing projects we were working on and I mentioned that I had been working with soft woods primarily while honing my skills. He kinda gave me a funny look and asked what I could learn about woodworking from using things like pine and cedar. I told him that I'd learned how to sharpen a chisel really well and he said there's no way because soft woods wouldn't even dull a chisel. I had my chisel set in my toolbox in my truck and challenged him to see who's chisels were sharper, and told him to even sharpen his chisel on the spot. He did, and I grabbed my chisels and a block of pine. His chisel did a fairly good job of cutting the pine. Then I used mine to flatten the cut end and shocked him. I cut through the end grain without crushing any of the fibers and it left a glass smooth surface. So he gave me $100 off the price of the tools I came to buy and gave me a 6ft x 16" slab of 8/4 walnut and said that he looks forward to seeing what I do with it. I've since ventured into using oak and poplar in a few projects. But I'm saving that slab for something special so I can impress him on Instagram eventually.

[soffiegirl]

shoutout to yt’s algorithm for leading me here. no one is ever based in AZ and I always have fomo. I’m so thrilled you guys are here! 🤗🤗🤗💙

[allangall]

lucky me I was able to buy a bunch of wood in a garage It was sitting in this garage for 3 or 4 years about 50 board foot of walnut the sane of red oak and cedar and cherry the cherry has a lot of twist and bad spots. I am new to woodworking about two years and was tired of using only framing lumber but now having fun with all this hard wood thanks to you learning how to use it and finish it. Thank you you are good at explaining this has help me.

[TheFiftyfive]

Yes, very informative on how to finish walnut and I am going to start trying it! Thank you, Mark!

[mauiharward]

I’m going to have watch this again, and again, to soak up all this info. Good stuff though 🤙🏽

[jordanbailey]

Man, I'm just starting to get into woodworking and I really appreciate your content. There are a lot of great channels on Youtube but your delivery makes watching very enjoyable. Everything from understand fundamentals, finishing tips and projects. Really glad you're putting out new stuff! Thank you.

[BlueRhino]

I have to say by far, walnut is my favorite out of all the woods. The machinability is amazing. For finishing walnut, I use Biosheild hard oil #9. It’s application is for hardwood floors, so it will hold up to use over time. I really enjoy it because it really makes all the grain figure and colors pop. It’s also great because you don’t have to top coat with a poly, you can burnish the finish out to make it shine!

[ericwilliams]

Thanks for sharing. I got 7 6 to 7 for thin walnut logs curing to eventually be carved into walking sticks. Normally I would just use a mineral oil on them, let that soak in, then use an enamel high gloss clear to make the finish look like there is a layer of glass melted on the walking sticks.
Thanks for sharing!!!

[SrikanthPRABHA]

Oh that walnut finish so satisfying to watch. This is pure bliss