Trade Names:  Walnut, Black Walnut, American Walnut

Origin:  North America

Range:  Best known felling areas for high quality veneer wood are the Eastern States in the USA with Delaware in the east, New York in the north, Iowa in the west and Kentucky in the south with the main centre in Ohio and Indiana. As a general rule American Walnut grows in mixed forests.

Uses:  Sliced veneer and lumber for architectural woodwork and high class furniture making. Due to its high strength and elasticity suitable also for production of chairs and seats. Used especially for gunstocks and aircraft propellers. Traditional wood for upright and grand piano making. On the west coast of North America the American Walnut (Nigra) is grafted with the European Walnut (Regia) resulting in burl growth which is one of the most expensive and sought after veneers used for dashboards as well as architectural projects.

Properties:  Dark brown, frequently with figuring. American Walnut is unique for ”bird pecks”, fingernail size knots, which occur in the veneer as stain streaks with a small hole in the middle, which degrade the wood.

Machining:  There is no difficulty to working this wood with all hand or machine tools. Walnut is excellent for molding.

Seasoning:  Drying should be carried out very slowly to avoid possible cell damage. The wood is prone to checking and warping. Good results can be achieved only by drying very carefully.