Species of the Week: Walnut
Our Species of the Week this week is Walnut!
American walnut is one of the most sought-after species in markets across the world and is unique to North America.
Walnut is considered one of the supreme species for high end furniture, cabinets, doors and interior joinery. It is used for flooring and panelling and it is widely used to contrast with other hardwoods.
The sapwood of walnut is creamy white, whereas the heartwood is light brown to dark chocolate brown, making the difference in colour quite distinct. Occasionally the heartwood has dark, even purple, streaks. The wood of walnut is generally straight grained, although sometimes with wavy or curly grain that produces its characteristic and attractive figure, sought after by designers. American walnut works easily with hand and machine tools. It has excellent planing, turning and moulding properties. It has good nailing and gluing properties and can be stained and polished to an excellent finish. The wood dries slowly and has good dimensional stability when dry.
American walnut trees grow very widely across the eastern USA in mixed hardwood forests and on farms, concentrated in central states but spread from Texas to the eastern seaboard. The trees are one of the few hardwood species planted as well as occurring and regenerated naturally. They grow relatively tall and straight with few lower branches. Another common name for walnut is black walnut.
*All information has been pulled from americanhardwood.org
Images:
American walnut WALL STREET bookcase, designed and made by RIVA 1920.
The Boss table, in American walnut, designed and manufactured by RIVA 1920.
American walnut, Sara Bond chair designed by Paco Camús as part of the Camus Collection.