Finishing a wet black walnut slab

You cannot keep natural bark on wood. I have seen everything tried and have tried most of it myself because I just refused to believe it was so, but….........unfortunately it is. Charles Neil has some good videos about how to make it look good without the bark. I do it this way and while it is not the natural bark there is zero chance it will come off and or change later. Since you are not concerned with checking and warping the rest is a “do whatever you want”. Good luck.

It looks like a block of wood to me. With the pith it’s leaning toward a block of firewood

-- Aj

It will look better when sanded and finished…

I have rough sawn walnut dried for 15 years in my barn. Some has bark on it and it is still stuck real well. I also have some 3” poles over 15 years old and the bark is still stuck on real tight. Also see this thread. So I am only worried that sealing the piece might change things.

-- David, West Lafayette, https://REDIpix.com, https://Photo-Lamps.com

i dont agree about not being able to keep bark on,ive made 4 or 5 slab tables over the years with bark on and never had a problem.i only used a maloof oil finish with no problems.i prefer the look of the bark myself.not sure about finishing wood with that much moisture though.

-- working with my hands is a joy,it gives me a sense of fulfillment,somthing so many seek and so few find.-SAM MALOOF.

Hmm, more of that” expensive BlackWalnut ”.

It looks like a block of wood to me. With the pith it’s leaning toward a block of firewood

See finished lamp below. Sold already for $150. I need to sell 2 ricks of firewood to make that much, besides lamps are more fun. The photo on the shade is tops of my black walnut tree farm. Now I have a use for trees I thin out that are too small for sawing into lumber.

David

-- David, West Lafayette, https://REDIpix.com, https://Photo-Lamps.com

Good job David very cleaver, I would have never thought about making something like that. Just not my style.
Looks like you found yourself a niche
Keep up the creative thinking
Good luck

-- Aj

You cannot keep natural bark on wood. ..
- msinc

I also disagree with this statement. Here is a woodcarving in basswood that has lasted at least 20 years with no signs of coming off:

-- Phil Allin - There are mountain climbers and people who talk about climbing mountains. The climbers have "selfies" at the summit!

David, out of curiosity do you have UL approvel for your lamps?

David, out of curiosity do you have UL approvel for your lamps?

- OSU55

No, but I use UL approved parts. UL certification is not required by law, but of course some potential customers may not buy if not approved. It is way too expensive to get UL listing for a one-of-a-kind lamp.

David

-- David, West Lafayette, https://REDIpix.com, https://Photo-Lamps.com

I have dried walnut where the bark stays on fine. I would not worry about color change unless you are “kiln” drying from green. That’s when walnut loses some color. Yours should be dry enough to avoid that. I would probably just rub on some BLO and be done with it. It will still dry, if a bit slower.

-- Bill M. "People change, walnut doesn't" by Gene.

No, but I use UL approved parts. UL certification is not required by law, but of course some potential customers may not buy if not approved. It is way too expensive to get UL listing for a one-of-a-kind lamp.

David
- llamadave

Thanks exactly the info I was after

No advice but that’s a cool looking lamp. I hav to say tho that the shade is what does it for me but it does go well with the piece of log.
If you’d wanna offer a “delux” version u could make a bandsaw box in the wood

-- Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with all thy might