Finally hit 100 board feet of walnut from one log I milled myself

I bought a portable sawmill last spring and have been cutting up logs from a neighbor's property. Last weekend I finally processed the last slab from this massive black walnut that came down in a storm. It came out to exactly 102 board feet of usable lumber after drying. I had no idea one tree could give that much usable wood. Did anyone else get way more material than expected from a single source?

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miles9462mo ago

Read somewhere that black walnut can go for like 10-15 bucks a board foot dried. That's a pretty good score from one tree.

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jadew632mo ago

102 board feet from a single tree is wild... I've been cutting slabs off and on for a couple years now and my biggest score was maybe 70 board feet from a massive red oak. What was the moisture content when you first milled it versus now after drying? I always underestimate how much shrinkage and waste happens between green and dried lumber... it can be a huge difference in actual usable wood. Also did you have any issues with checking or cracks in the walnut? I've heard they can be finicky if you don't seal the ends fast enough.

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