Butternut (Juglans cinerea)

Published In Canadian Woodworking

Butternut is one of Canada's "nut trees," known for producing hard, edible nuts. The butternut tree is part of the walnut family and grows with other hardwoods in Southern Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick. It's not as statuesque as other trees like the maple, it reaches a height of somewhere between 40' to 60', and normally doesn't exceed 2' in diameter

What It's Used For

Not surprisingly, butternut has been used as a source of nuts for oil and fabric dye. The butternut wood has been favored for cabinetry and furniture, along with interior paneling and turnery. It was actually selected to be used in churches for detailed woodwork such as intricately carved doors and alters. This is not a wood of significant commercial value, but rather a specialty wood

Physical Properties of The Butternut Tree

One of butternuts' impressive qualities is its color. The sapwood is almost white, while the heartwood has a light brown, and often pinkish colour. Its grain is coarse and generally has straight, dark grain lines that create an appealing contrast against the woods' light colour. The wood is also described as having a satiny sheen. There is no prominent odour or taste to the wood and is not known to have toxicity.

While working with butternut, note that the wood is soft and fairly lightweight. It has medium density with low strength, and is moderately weak when compressing the edges and bending. The wood is fairly stable and one can expect minimal warping or cracking. Butternut is semi-porus and it dries slowly, but with little shrinkage.

Working Characteristics

Butternut offers the woodworker many benefits. For starters, this hardwood is suburb for carving. It works easily with hand tools and machines well. It normally doesn't leave burn marks and has little dulling effect. The material also works well with screws, nails and glue. However, there are some factors to keep in mind. Routing across the grain, for example, can cause the wood to tear out. Although butternut responds well to planing, it's necessary to keep the cutting edges sharp in order to avoid tearing the soft wood.. Finally, butternut polishes and finishes beautifully. Because the wood is soft, it's important to make sure it doesn't dent during finishing. Overall butternut has much to offer. Perhaps, it will be the inspiration for your next project.