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Walnut turning blanks

Webb Willmott

Webb Willmott

Joined
Feb 25, 2025
Messages
39
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39
Location
Jackson, MS
I have a lot of 16/4, 12/4, and 8/4 walnut lumber in 5 to 8” widths that was kiln dried. If I cut them up into bowl or spindle blanks what would be a reasonable price selling price? I could even cut to order at no charge or cut up a batch to sell.

Should it be priced per board foot or by the piece? A 6x6x4 bowl blank is 2 board feet but companies that sell blanks command a premium for larger thicker blanks which makes me wonder what is the best way to market.

For example, if you wanted a 6” x 6” x 4” bowl blank, what should the price be?
 
I'm certainly not one to ask (I cut and air dry a lot of green domestic wood but never sold any, rather give it away), but if I wanted to figure out what to sell wood for I'd check some dealers online, and visit some local dealers if you have one (there is one in our area frequented by woodworkers and turners.) That might give you some ideas. Lumber, both domestic and exotic, is usualy priced by board ft, but turning blanks priced by the piece

BTW, for my own stock I like keep boards/planks on hand so I can cut them into various shapes and sizes as the mood strikes, spindles, platers, bowl blanks, etc.

Dec_2020_005.jpg

Also, as mentioned I have no desire or experience selling blanks, but I do have some experience at our club wood auctions. I donate lots of dry blanks every year. When I bring bowl blanks, they seem to go for higher prices if I spend a few minutes and cut them round on the bandsaw then run them through the drum sandter (to flatten, show the wood color and figure better (and show the presence or absence of defects) - people can better see what they're getting and the blanks are ready to take home, mount and turn. I think I took 8/4 mahogany cut into 10" rounds for our last auction.

JKJ
 
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Defect-free: $10.00 - $15.00 per board foot for 3" and thicker. Sadly, it will likely cost you that much in time and effort to get it in front of a potential buyer. Everybody is always looking for cheap, and woodworkers are the worst.
 
Webb Willmott said:
I have a lot of 16/4, 12/4, and 8/4 walnut lumber in 5 to 8” widths that was kiln dried. If I cut them up into bowl or spindle blanks what would be a reasonable price selling price? I could even cut to order at no charge or cut up a batch to sell.

Should it be priced per board foot or by the piece? A 6x6x4 bowl blank is 2 board feet but companies that sell blanks command a premium for larger thicker blanks which makes me wonder what is the best way to market.

For example, if you wanted a 6” x 6” x 4” bowl blank, what should the price be?
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It's hard for me to tell you how much you should charge, but I can tell you what interests me as a purchaser.
First, I absolutely want a square blank. If the blank has already been "rounded", I am not a buyer. I am going to use the corners in my turning. You might offer rounding as an option.
I look at the turning blank and it's price. I don't think I've ever thought about how many board feet in the blank. Still the board foot price gives you some starting point to valuation. And of course you have to consider your costs.
I pretty much always turn dry wood, and wood blanks that are very thick. So the 16/4 is interesting to me. Someone who turns wet wood or at least does not restrict their turning to dry wood may be less interested.
Because I want thick dry wood and thick dry wood is hard to find a 6 x 6 x 16/4 blank is worth much more to me than one that is 8/4. Again, someone who turns a lot of platters, or "shorter" pieces isn't going to place a premium on a 16/4 block. If I'm looking at a blank that is dry and thicker than 16/4, the value to me goes up even more.
The other dimensions are also important. 6 x 6 is as small I would buy (really it needs to be more like 6 1/4 x 6 1/4 or a little better).
If the blank is not S4S than it's less valuable to me. I can deal with some irregularities, but can't really mill a small block of wood.
Is the blank clear and solid or are there knots and cracks. If not, I may pass.
Centered grain. Less important to me since I never see it, but if the grain is centered this should add some value.
An 8 x 8 x 16/4 blank would be worth more to me, of course.

Of course, I don't represent the entire marketplace. :)
 
Bob Vaughan said:
Defect-free: $10.00 - $15.00 per board foot for 3" and thicker. Sadly, it will likely cost you that much in time and effort to get it in front of a potential buyer. Everybody is always looking for cheap, and woodworkers are the worst.
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I was thinking some where around $25 for a 6x6x4, which is on par with Bob's suggestion.
 
Bob Vaughan said:
Defect-free: $10.00 - $15.00 per board foot for 3" and thicker. Sadly, it will likely cost you that much in time and effort to get it in front of a potential buyer. Everybody is always looking for cheap, and woodworkers are the worst.
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You sir are correct. As Jethro Bodine would say, did a little ciphering.

If there was a assortment box of 3" blocks (4x4", 4x5", and 4x6") you would have a total of 8 feet. Of course planed on both sides to ensure the blanks were defect free. A little online research for companies selling defect free 4x4x3' blanks averages out to about $30/bf. So for this purpose, let's use $15/bf.

For 8 board feet, it would be $120 plus shipping. Walnut weighs ~ 3.33 pounds/bf. Sturdy box and contents puts you near 30 pounds so ground shipping is in the $30 range (or at least used to be). So the cost to your buyer would be $150 for 12 pieces of turning stock.

Looks like I answered my own question. Sadly it's not worth the time/effort as you stated.
 
For the 16/4 pieces that are 6x6 or greater you do have something that is hard to find. But it's a niche market and may not be worth the marketing.
Is there a wood retailer of boards or turning stock in your area? If so you might be able to sell them what you don't want to keep for yourself. Just a thought, and maybe lame.
 
Mark Jundanian said:
For the 16/4 pieces that are 6x6 or greater you do have something that is hard to find. But it's a niche market and may not be worth the marketing.
Is there a wood retailer of boards or turning stock in your area? If so you might be able to sell them what you don't want to keep for yourself. Just a thought, and maybe lame.
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I find enjoyment in giving somebody a piece of wood so stop by and have a drink, put your feet up, shoot the breeze, and I'll cut you off a chunk to take home.

There is one hardwood supplier but he is not interested and after I put pencil to paper, I no longer have any interest to pursue.
 
Don Wattenhofer said:
To be a little more exact the formula is the width x thickness in inches X the length in feet divide by 12 or in this instance 6" x 4" x 0.5' divided by 12 = 1BF
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Tim Hunter said:
That’s no more exact at all. 144 cubic inches is 144 cubic inches.

Tim
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Tim is correct ... especially with some "odd" (more complex) sizes. Ex: 6.5" x 6.75" x 4.375" equals 192 (191.95) cubic inches - divided by 144 = 1.33 bf. Most dealers/sellers simply round up the sizes. But, when it comes to some "expensive" (exotic, rare, etc.) woods @ $20-40+ per board ft. that can add up to some serious $$$.
 
Bob Vaughan said:
Defect-free: $10.00 - $15.00 per board foot for 3" and thicker. Sadly, it will likely cost you that much in time and effort to get it in front of a potential buyer. Everybody is always looking for cheap, and woodworkers are the worst.
Click to expand...

I’ve paid $10-$12/bf for true mahogany, highly figured maple, and figured sapele. I personally can’t imagine paying that for walnut, at least in this part of the country where walnut is plentiful, unless it had spectacular figure.
 
I've ordered 2", 3", and 4" slabs of northern basswood, 4' long and up to 12" wide. Although basswood weighs less than many species, I was pleasantly surprised at how little it cost to ship. They wrapped in in cardboard and shipped UPS.

For smaller pieces, it's sometimes hard to beat the USPS flat rate boxes, especially for heavy wood and metal.
heineckewood.com/block-wood

BTW, I use basswood mostly for chip carving. I wanted to chip carve on turned things since almost everyone used flat wood.
chip_carved_goblet_c.jpg
chip_carved_ornaments3.jpg
BOC_C_Jack_01_IMG_6687.jpg

When I was learning.
practice_comp.jpg
 
John K Jordan said:
I've ordered 2", 3", and 4" slabs of northern basswood, 4' long and up to 12" wide. Although basswood weighs less than many species, I was pleasantly surprised at how little it cost to ship. They wrapped in in cardboard and shipped UPS.

For smaller pieces, it's sometimes hard to beat the USPS flat rate boxes, especially for heavy wood and metal.
heineckewood.com/block-wood

BTW, I use basswood mostly for chip carving. I wanted to chip carve on turned things since almost everyone used flat wood.
View attachment 75608
View attachment 75609
View attachment 75610

When I was learning.
View attachment 75611
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Here is an Urn produced in 2014 in birch with chip carving on it, If I want basswood all I have to do is go out in the near woods and cut a tree down.
URN110a.JPG
 
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