Appalachian 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 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

  • Machining5
  • Nailing4
  • Screwing4
  • Gluing4
  • Finishing5

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).414.47.35905,8209,8001,380Fine
Ash.604.97.81,3207,41015,4001,770Fine
Basswood.376.69.34104,7308,7001,460Fine
Beech.645.511.91,3007,30014,9001,720Fine/Medium
Birch, Yellow.627.39.51,2608,17016,6002,010Fine
Cherry, Black.503.77.19507,11012,3001,490Mod/Coarse
Hickory.664.98.91,8207,85013,7001,730Mod/Coarse
Maple, Hard.634.89.91,4507,83015,8001,830Fine
Maple, PC .483.77.18505,95010,7001,450Fine
Maple, Soft.473.07.27005,2208,9001,140Fine
Oak, Red.634.08.61,2906,76014,3001,820Coarse
Oak, White.684.48.81,3607,44015,2001,780Mod/Coarse
Poplar, Yellow.424.68.24505,2909,2001,500Fine
Walnut, Black.555.57.81,0107,58014,6001,680Medium