American Black Walnut

Scientific Name:
Juglans nigra

Origin:
Native to the eastern United States, from southern Minnesota east to Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York, and south to the Carolinas, Georgia, Florida, and Alabama. It is also grown in Texas and north through Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, and South Dakota.

Appearance:
There is a distinct colour which ranges in color from a deep, rich dark, almost chocolate brown to a purplish black. The wood often has a purplish cast with dark streaks. The grain of walnut is mostly straight and open, though some boards may have a grain pattern that is burled or curly which is highly valued and develops a lustrous finish after many years in use.

Properties:
This is one of the most prized of North American hardwoods. Although American black walnut is somewhat softer than northern red oak, the wood is heavy, hard, and stiff and has excellent dimensional stability. It is moderately dense, but very strong, with good shock resistance. Walnut is one of the most durable of the domestic commercial woods, even under conditions favorable to decay.

Janka Hardness: 1010
Black walnut is nearly seventy-eight percent as hard as red oak, is roughly thirty softer than sugar maple, about twenty-one percent harder than African mahogany, and about forty-two percent harder than Douglas fir.

Workability:
The machining qualities of walnut are excellent and have a distinctive sweet aroma when worked. It is fairly resistant to splitting and has good holding ability. It sands and finishes beautifully and holds both paint and stain exceptionally well.