Butternut White Walnut Wood

Butternut hardwood flooring.

Butternut white walnut wood.

Butternut wood is not as hard as black walnut but it is nevertheless valuable for furniture and woodcarving. It is often used to make furniture and is a favorite of woodcarvers. In fact the butternut tree shares the genus juglans with black walnut. Butternut lumber angela raimato 2020 08 07t12 09 54 04 00.

Butternut is one of north america s most beautiful timbers. Oiled the grain of the wood usually shows much light. See illustration below. Butternut is sometimes referred to as white walnut due to its light color yet similar grain pattern.

It is a golden brown member of the walnut family with a cathedral grain pattern that looks like waves breaking on a beach. While the difference is not black and white the wood of butternut is considerably lighter colored than black walnut as well as being very soft and lightweight. Butternut wood is light in weight and takes polish well and is highly rot resistant but is much softer than black walnut wood. Native americans and white settlers harvested the buttery fat left from boiling the nuts giving the plant its name.

Butternut wood is very stable with little tendency to warp or crack in use. The two are very closely related though butternut is lighter in color considerably lighter and less dense. Butternut s fruit is more oblong or oval shaped while walnut is nearly round. Butternut trees can be distinguished from black walnut by looking at its fruit.