Walnut Prices...?

[Herb G]

Have you guys seen the price of Black Walnut lately?
I used to get furniture grade BW for $3 to $3.50 a bd. ft.
The guy I used to get it from has gone up to $12.50 a bd. ft. lately.
He said the Thousand canker disease it getting more widespread now & his prices reflect it.

The big slabs are going for a King's ransom these days, and so is the 16/4 stuff too.
I was paying $5 for 4" square X 18" blanks, but those days are long gone now. The last few I bought were $22 each.:frown:
If you like turning BW, I suggest you stock up on it fast.

 

[hokie]

According to local lumber guys I buy from (in the DC area at least), the Chinese are buying walnut by the shipping container at premium prices and there is hardly any quality stock left to choose from. I took a business trip out to Northern California and a walnut salesman out there said the same and insisted he refused to take the tempting offer from the Chinese. However, he admits most of his colleagues in the business are selling overseas. Sad state of affairs. Now I mostly see "character grade" walnut locally. Bleh.

 

[Herb G]

I heard about the Chinese buying up all the wood they can lay their hands on worldwide.
I didn't realize until recently they were snatching up BW also. I know a guy who sold every BW tree on his property (200+ acres) sight unseen. He had about 125 full grown BW trees total.

Every tree was bought & paid for before it was even cut down. That's not going over well with a lot of people around here.

 

[Terredax]

I can get 4/4 BW for $8.25/bd.ft., and 8/4 BW for $10.15/bd.ft.
I haven't noticed any increase in prices locally, but the next time I go to the mill, I'll ask them about it.

 

[donstephan]

Certainly Wood has said for several years the best walnut logs were going to Japan and Germany to be sliced into veneer.

 

[Curly]

Your walnut is a gift. Triple the price here.

 

[1080Wayne]

Pete , that`s because walnut is an exotic for us , probably imported all the way from southern Ontario .

 

[TellicoTurning]

Looks like I should increase the prices for my walnut bowls... I was given about a 40' log/tree cut into short lengths a couple of years back, in exchange for 4 bowls from the tree...

 

[Herb G]

The guy I get my stuff from said some guys from California were here buying up big slabs left & right awhile back. They were asking him about other sellers who had large stock on hand too. My guy said they were asking funny questions but paying top dollar for whatever they could get their hands on.