Waste Factor Data

Our Walnut is sold two different ways, unsteamed and steamed.  The steaming process darkens the light sapwood to match the darker heartwood much more closely than that of unsteamed.  Walnut that is unsteamed has the lighter sapwood present on the edges of the outer edges of the lumber produced and on one side of the resulting lumber in the first few boards produced from each log.  Depending on your ability to use sapwood in the unsteamed lumber we recommend using a waste factor of 40%- 50% for unsteamed.  In steamed lumber figure a waste factor of 35%.  For those that like a more natural look to their Walnut I recommend the unsteamed.  The characteristics of each tree shows up more vividly in the unsteamed than the steamed, especially when finished with a hand rubbed finish. 

The National Hardwood Lumber Grading Rules for Walnut are different than that of other species such as Cherry and Oak.  An FAS board in Walnut will be similar in appearance to that of a #1C board of the other species due to the smaller cutting unit sizes.  Keep that in mind when purchasing Walnut for a project where you are in need of defect free cuttings.  When we develop clear Walnut lumber we will select that out and keep it separate from the FAS grade material to aid those woodworkers in need of clear lumber.