Glacial Species & Grades
Walnut
Other Common Names: American Walnut or Eastern Black Walnut.
NWH’s Walnut is grown in both the Glacial and Appalachian regions.
American Walnut is one of the scarcest and most coveted native hardwoods. It is in a class by itself. The sapwood of Walnut is nearly white, while the heartwood is light brown to dark, chocolate brown, often with a purplish cast and darker streaks. NWH Walnut is steamed to enhance the chocolate brown heartwood and darken the sapwood. The wood is heavy, hard, and stiff and with a high shock resistance. It is generally coarse-textured and produces distinctive grain patterns.
Walnut is used for dining room and bedroom furniture, bookcases, desks, tables, cabinets, shotguns and rifles, and interior finishes.
Grades Available:
Properties
- Machining 5
- Nailing 4
- Screwing 4
- Gluing 4
- Finishing 5
Properties of Walnut
It is a dense wood, but it machines, nails and glues without difficulty. Walnut has good bending properties, manufactures and stains well and can be polished to an exceptional finish.
How does it compare
| Lumber (12 % moisture content) | Specific Gravity (Density) | Dimensional R (%) | Movement T (%) | Hardness (lbs) | Compression Parallel (ps) | Bending Strength (ps) | Bending Stiffness (kps) | Grain |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alder, Red (Western) | .41 | 4.4 | 7.3 | 590 | 5,820 | 9,800 | 1,380 | Fine |
| Ash | .60 | 4.9 | 7.8 | 1,320 | 7,410 | 15,400 | 1,770 | Fine |
| Basswood | .37 | 6.6 | 9.3 | 410 | 4,730 | 8,700 | 1,460 | Fine |
| Beech | .64 | 5.5 | 11.9 | 1,300 | 7,300 | 14,900 | 1,720 | Fine/Medium |
| Birch, Yellow | .62 | 7.3 | 9.5 | 1,260 | 8,170 | 16,600 | 2,010 | Fine |
| Cherry, Black | .50 | 3.7 | 7.1 | 950 | 7,110 | 12,300 | 1,490 | Mod/Coarse |
| Hickory | .66 | 4.9 | 8.9 | 1,820 | 7,850 | 13,700 | 1,730 | Mod/Coarse |
| Maple, Hard | .63 | 4.8 | 9.9 | 1,450 | 7,830 | 15,800 | 1,830 | Fine |
| Maple, PC | .48 | 3.7 | 7.1 | 850 | 5,950 | 10,700 | 1,450 | Fine |
| Maple, Soft | .47 | 3.0 | 7.2 | 700 | 5,220 | 8,900 | 1,140 | Fine |
| Oak, Red | .63 | 4.0 | 8.6 | 1,290 | 6,760 | 14,300 | 1,820 | Coarse |
| Oak, White | .68 | 4.4 | 8.8 | 1,360 | 7,440 | 15,200 | 1,780 | Mod/Coarse |
| Poplar, Yellow | .42 | 4.6 | 8.2 | 450 | 5,290 | 9,200 | 1,500 | Fine |
| Walnut, Black | .55 | 5.5 | 7.8 | 1,010 | 7,580 | 14,600 | 1,680 | Medium |
