# What is the best way to mill black walnut?



## Fine Engineer (Jul 5, 2022)

A friend sent me some black walnut branch segments and I want to mil them into pen blanks. They are all 6"-10" long and about 4" in diameter. Lots of contrast between the center and outer woods, so I'd like to capture the most dramatic aspects of this wood.  I know it makes a world of difference between plain and quarter-sawn oak, but does the same apply to walnut?


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## Darrin (Jul 5, 2022)

Your best bet is marking them up with a marker and going to the bandsaw on your lines.


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## Joebobber (Jul 5, 2022)

I'd expect them to warp pretty good being branch wood, depending on how big they are.  Really milling them depends on the diameter of the wood.  Usually you want to cut out the pith and square the rest up and cut blanks from that.


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## Sylvanite (Jul 5, 2022)

Fine Engineer said:


> I know it makes a world of difference between plain and quarter-sawn oak, but does the same apply to walnut?


See https://www.penturners.org/threads/quartersawn-wood-for-pens.150458/#post-1942468


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## Fine Engineer (Jul 7, 2022)

Thanks for the advice. I should be able to work with them this weekend and I'll report the results.


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