DH and I were up at the old homestead yesterday (other end of the farm) and noticed that there are two trees down. One is a black walnut, one is a cedar. DH said he will salvage the cedar for fence posts, but was dreading dealing with the black walnut because of it's enormous size. I told him that to save himself the hassle (it would be a two man job) he should just advertise the black walnut for free to anyone that wants to come remove it. DH says no one would be interested because part of the tree is now hollow, but there's at least 15 ft. that is still salvagable. Wouldn't that 15 ft. of black walnut be worth it to someone?
Can't hurt to try, it's beautiful wood! But ask a price for it, unless they are willing to haul it ALL away.
Betcha an incubator someone will want it. Oh, wait, I'm on your side in this issue - never mind the bet. Just post it on Craigslist and watch how fast somebody comes to get that black walnut tree!
It depends on your area really. We listed a hickory and nobody has gotten it It's great for smoking wood, and there are tons of BBQ places around here, but no bites whatsoever.
Black walnut is often a wood of interest for gun makers, harp makers, and wood turners. There used to be someone in my area that specialized in buying, removing, and milling hardwood trees from people's yards. (We bought a 4 ton section of burly Big Leaf maple from him. Made a lot of of bowls from that chunk of tree trunk.) Don't know what the market is for black walnut in your part of the country is but someone with a portable mill might be interested in that tree.
I'd advertise it, maybe on Craigslist, maybe talk to your extension agent to see if they know someone who might be interested. If you really have a decent sized diameter 15 foot log that is veneer quality, it is probably worth someone's time and effort. And if you need a diameter, measure it at the smallest end, not the largest. Of course it depends some on how hard it is to get to it with equipment. Good luck with that one.
