Some of you may remember some time back, I think 2 or 3 years, that Wood published plans for a mechanics style tool chest made from walnut.  Looked a lot like a Craftsman tool chest.  I hope to start that project within the next couple of months or so.  So here's my question.  Since I have not worked that much with walnut, is there anything that would not be obvious that I should know?  I'm thinking about things like, does it burn easily when cutting, what kind of finish would you recommend, after flattening and planing my boards, will they absorb humidity and warp more so than other hardwoods, etc.?  I should probably know most of this, but walnut is too pricey to experiment much on.  Most of this project will be walnut veneer plywood, so any advice about that would also be appreciated. 

For flat work, walnut is far and away my favorite wood to use. Very stable, doesn't tend to burn like cherry or maple and machines nicely. For finish, I am partial to lacquer, no stain. Some guys don't like the contrast between the heart and sapwood but to me it's just part of the natural beauty of the wood.

 

Steve

Thanks for the input Steve.  I agree with you about celebrating the contrast instead of trying to avoid it.  I have done the same thing with cherry, and the grain patterns in ash in some other projects I have done.  I think it adds to the character of the wood.  Thanks again.

I'm with Steve.  Although cherry is clearly my favorite wood, walnut is beautiful and very stable.  Be sure you have sharp tools to avoid tear out though.

I agree with Ron about the tear out. Danish oil and wax also makes a nice finish.

Walnut also makes a nice table, too..

Go for it! Your cabinet will be an heirloom. 

I used walnut skinned ply on the top of this highboy. You are correct, it is not inexpensive. Apologies for the poor picture quality.

Excellent questions Tom! Good thing your asking for Walnut advice, and not sage advice! Otherwise you'd be in trouble!
 

Quote

does it burn easily when cutting

 

No, it does not. Relative to Cherry it does not burn as long as you keep an even feed on your TS (as with any wood species) and you take even passes with a router.

 

Quote

what kind of finish would you recommend

Like most here who chimed in already, and I know you did not mention stain but I'll put it in anyway, I don't like staining Walnut. Actually I prefer to rarely stain anything! If a project needs to have a cherry stain, than buy cherry wood, if a project needs to have a walnut stain, buy walnut wood and so on and so on. The exception is working with maple and a deep rich advanced time patina is preferred, I'll stain the project antique maple so it has an aged appearance.

 

Finish, whew! Now that's a loaded question! As many here will have differing opinions, and facts and myths we all love to employ in our own finish, I think finishing is such a personal part of the project so much so that ideals and philosophies have crept into all our minds about how to produce the perfect finish and what is myth, what is legend, and what is real. Bottom line is, however you decide to finish, if it works, use it! If I feel a finish should only be applied on Mondays because of some psychological defect I have, yet that finish turns out great every time I apply it on Mondays, then hey, if it works, and it looks great, than guess what, I am applying my finishes on Mondays only!

I have gravitated away from store bought poly's and store bought this, and store bought that, my finishing used to be so complicated up until a few years ago, that I took a drastic turn and went simple, easy, and lazy.

I sand my solid wood projects through the grits to 400, my rocking chairs I sand to 1200 to burnish the wood before finishing. But for standard arts and crafts and solid wood construction I'll sand to 400, even 600 if I feel like it at the time, I'll then use a 3 part in the shop mix of BLO, oil based varnish, and mineral spirits, what is it? It's just a simple wiping varnish. It's also known at the big box store as tung oil. The sanding is the most labor intense part of my finishing, the actual finish application is the easiest. Since I rarely do large flat work that demands ply's anymore, I have not used a spray gun in a few years. I am completely in love with wiping on finishes, no runs, no mess, no respirators, no pesky cleaning of guns and air equipment, no worry if there is too much moisture in the feed lines, all you do is apply, wipe, let set for about 15 minutes, then wipe off. Let stand for a day till dry, then repeat process until you see the results you want. Then wax! Always wax, it evens out the sheen, and gives the overall appearance a nice even tone and cleanliness. I love Liberon's Bison Wax.

 

After my push on mixing your own finishes, I must digress and state that I also love pulling a can of Watco's off the shelf, I love the stuff!

 

Quote

after flattening and planing my boards, will they absorb humidity and warp more so than other hardwoods, etc.?

No, it's very stable, also for storage just keep it off the floor, put stickers under the lumber to lay it on the floor, if you lay it directly on a concrete floor it will draw the moisture out, then your sunk. As long as you are purchasing dried lumber, you are fine. 

 

Quote

I should probably know most of this, but walnut is too pricey to experiment much on.

First off, you should probably know most of this? Surely you jest! Who does? I know I don't, I think I know about 3 percent of what there is to know about this wonderful art we call woodworking. The other 97 percent I sure as heck hope the rest of you know! Otherwise I am sunk! That's why we are all here.

As far as experimentation, it depends, do you need to use a couple little test strips, probably not too expensive, I get walnut for about 5 bucks a board foot in my area, so a couple test strips won't break the bank, and you'll probably have some scraps left over anyway from the build that you can use as test pieces. 

 

Quote

Most of this project will be walnut veneer plywood, so any advice about that would also be appreciated. 

I have a question on this one, how big is this mechanics tool chest? Is it huge, like NASCAR tools chest huge? Or is it small, like a top chest? If you could answer that for me I have a few opinions on this one. Thanks!

 

By the way Tom, if I stated anything here you already know, I apologize, we are all getting to know each other around here and finding out about our capabilities and knowledge. So forgive me if I stated the obvious in many statements.

Never did much flat work but have turned my share of it.  Sharp tools make working with it a easy.  I love the warm rich look it has.

 

Dan

22 hours ago, John Morris said:

I have a question on this one, how big is this mechanics tool chest? Is it huge, like NASCAR tools chest huge? Or is it small, like a top chest? If you could answer that for me I have a few opinions on this one. Thanks!

John, the finished size is 30 1/2" wide x 21" deep x 50 3/16 high.  If you have access to back issues of Wood Mag, this tool cabinet was featured in the March 2013 issue.

 

22 hours ago, John Morris said:

Good thing your asking for Walnut advice, and not sage advice! Otherwise you'd be in trouble!

Good one!  I guess if I need sage advice, I'll wait until we are cooking the Thanksgiving turkey.

 

22 hours ago, John Morris said:

By the way Tom, if I stated anything here you already know, I apologize, we are all getting to know each other around here and finding out about our capabilities and knowledge. So forgive me if I stated the obvious in many statements

Oh please!  Don't ever apologize for well-meant advice.  I am a firm believer in "no offense meant, none taken."  Besides, as the saying goes, I don't really understand everything I know.

 

As for stains and finishes, I agree with you about stains, with the exception that I have used Minwax Golden Pecan on oak, and I love it.  It seems to highlight the natural color of oak without obscuring it's character.  What would your opinion be of using a diluted mixture of Polyurethane, maybe 50% dilution, as a wiping varnish?  My reason for suggesting this is that this cabinet will be in my shop getting dings and scuffs, so is the poly more protective than regular varnish? 

22 hours ago, Gene Howe said:

Your cabinet will be an heirloom

It's interesting you should say that.  In the table of contents of the magazine containing the plans, it is listed as a Heirloom Tool Cabinet.

Beware, the saw dust can be toxic.   Danl

11 minutes ago, Danl said:

Beware, the saw dust can be toxic.   Danl

and be a herbicide...

not to mention kill your horse...

9 hours ago, PostalTom said:

John, the finished size is 30 1/2" wide x 21" deep x 50 3/16 high.  If you have access to back issues of Wood Mag, this tool cabinet was featured in the March 2013 issue.

 

Good one!  I guess if I need sage advice, I'll wait until we are cooking the Thanksgiving turkey.

 

Oh please!  Don't ever apologize for well-meant advice.  I am a firm believer in "no offense meant, none taken."  Besides, as the saying goes, I don't really understand everything I know.

As for stains and finishes, I agree with you about stains, with the exception that I have used Minwax Golden Pecan on oak, and I love it.  It seems to highlight the natural color of oak without obscuring it's character.  What would your opinion be of using a diluted mixture of Polyurethane, maybe 50% dilution, as a wiping varnish?  My reason for suggesting this is that this cabinet will be in my shop getting dings and scuffs, so is the poly more protective than regular varnish? 

That's a pretty good sized cabinet Tom, and it may still be feasible and fun to make it all out of solid walnut. Look at the price of walnut ply, calc the square footage cost, than compare it to solid 4/4 walnut. Often it's a wash, in which case, why not go solid all the way! It's fun, you will never burn through the laminate with a sander, and solid wood is more forgiving in boo boo cover ups than ply. Just a thought.

 

Sure, you can adjust your finish for more body, decrease the spirits, and increase the varnish. As far as type of finish, especially for your tools chest is going to take abuse, I would recommend traditional oil based varnish instead of poly. Keep in mind varnish has become a generic term for anything in a can, including poly, but there is a true difference between varnish and poly.

Varnish contains more solids such as alkyd resins, oils and solvents. Poly I guess for lack of a better description is liquid plastic, and in my opinion, (I know I'll get hung by my toes for this) it looks like plastic. That's just my opinion. I am a true died in the wool oil based varnish fan. After a year or more the tone and patina a true varnish acquires, is unmatched. You will not get a rich patina transformation with water based finishes, you may with some poly varnishes, but for me, in my finishing, I love varnish. Keep in mind, I am kind of set in my ways with some things, so I am coming from a completely biased perspective.

A true varnish is more durable than poly, it is great used outdoors, and for that tool chest your building, I would go with a good coat of armor that the varnish can provide. I am partial to Cabot Varnish. So in my opinion, varnish is more protective than poly. I have tried poly on exterior doors, and I have tried Cabot Spar on exterior doors, the Cabot outlasts the poly.

OK John.  Sounds like good advice.  I think finishing is one of my weak areas, and I am always interested in ways to improve.  Thanks.

Tom, I'm a great fan of McClosky's Man O War spar varnish. Mixed 50/50 with natural Watco, it makes a good first coat wiping varnish. Of course, succeeding coats would contain more varnish and less Watco. For maximum protection, the final coat is usually full strength applied with a brush. 

IMHO, Man O War is far and away the most durable varnish readily available. However, it and Cabot's spar varnish are both Valspar products.