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Dealing with walnut logs 1. Do not skid the logs unless there is a snow pack under them. The grit is murder on saw teeth, and most small operators do not have a debarker.
Pick the logs up onto a trailer or wagon from where they have landed. They are heavy. A 24" walnut log 16' long will need a strong tractor to lift it. You can roll them up timbers if you have help and are very careful not to get crushed. 2. Do all you can do to reassure the sawyer that he won't hit nails and other metal in the wood. This possibility is a deal-breaker for a circular saw operator, but with a band mill owner a promise to replace damaged bands (about 35 dollars each) will probably suffice. An operator I deal with frequently won't look at a log taken from a cottage lot because of hardware in the wood. 3. Have some help on hand when the sawyer arrives. Regardless of the manufacturer's claims, running a band mill seems to me to be a three-man job. 4. Don't bother with the little stuff. The good wood is in the trunk and large limbs. Smaller branches, I have discovered, produce inferior wood and cost a lot to cut up. 5. Get those wide, clear boards when you can. Cut 1" or 1 1/8, never less than 1". They season well and make terrific furniture and paneling. Of course if you only have a 15" planer an 18" board isn't a lot of use. 2" walnut seasons slowly. 3" and 4" seems to split a lot, making these thicknesses a bad idea, in my opinion. 6. The rule of thumb for seasoning is to air dry for 3 years per inch. 7. Oh, yeah. Don't panic if it seems as though half the log is white, rather than black. The white is a pigment (so's the black) and the difference will even out with drying. When the sun gets on the wood, the dark colour without a stain fades to a nice straw colour, which an occasional inexperienced boat builder has found shocking. Hope this helps.
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