Walnut
Walnut is a dark-brown temperate hardwood catalogued as JUGL under EN 13556, supplied kiln-dried, green or steamed at a density of 0.61 g/cm³.
Reference datasheet — Walnut is not in the instant-quote catalog. Upload your part and an engineer will quote it in this grade or suggest the closest stocked equivalent.
Walnut tempers and conditions
Walnut is supplied in 2 conditions, soft to hard.
Compare all 2 conditionsHide
| Condition · open for datasheet | Best for | Yield MPa | Tensile MPa | Elong. % | Hardness | Conductivity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Green | Freshly sawn or wet stock — pick only for green turning, carving blanks and steam bending; strength and stiffness are far lower. | 70 | 0.25 W/m·K | |||
Steamed and kiln-dried | Steam-conditioned before drying to darken sapwood and even out heartwood colour; choose for large panel runs needing uniform tone, at a small strength/contrast cost. | 95 | 1.1 | 0.12 W/m·K |
Supply forms, finishes and certifications
Ways Walnut is supplied — form, process route, surface or paperwork — without a datasheet of their own. The property values above apply.
| Option | What it is | Type |
|---|---|---|
KDDefault | Kiln-dried, 6–12 % moisture content | Surface finish |
What is Walnut?
Walnut is a dark-brown temperate hardwood catalogued as JUGL under EN 13556, supplied kiln-dried, green or steamed at a density of 0.61 g/cm³. It is chosen for dimensional stability, appearance and the best machinability in this hardwood group (score 88), in board stock, sawn blanks and sliced veneer for furniture, gunstocks and instruments, with about 100 MPa tensile strength and an 11.6 GPa elastic modulus. Constraints are a 90 °C maximum service temperature, only moderate decay resistance (score 55), high cost and limited wide clear stock. Maple is the nearest alternative where colour is not critical. Walnut has a density of 0.61 g/cm³ (0.022 lb/in³), lighter than 65% of natural material grades. Walnut has a tensile strength of 100 MPa (14.5 ksi), stronger than 85% of natural material grades. Elongation at break is 1.2% and the elastic modulus is 11.6 GPa (1.68 Msi).
What is Walnut used for?
- Fine furniture
- Gunstocks
- Veneer
- Cabinetry
- Musical instruments
Advantages
- Polishes to a fine finish — 82/100, better than 84% of natural material grades
Walnut properties
Typical room-temperature values; bars are the position among natural material grades.
Physical2
Walnut has a density of 0.61 g/cm³ (0.022 lb/in³), lighter than 65% of natural material grades.
Mechanical9
Walnut has a tensile strength of 100 MPa (14.5 ksi), stronger than 85% of natural material grades. Elongation at break is 1.2% and the elastic modulus is 11.6 GPa (1.68 Msi).
Thermal5
Walnut is rated for continuous service to 90°C (194 °F). It conducts heat at 0.12 W/m·K (0.0693 BTU/hr·ft·°F), worse than 70% of natural material grades. Thermal expansion is 4.5 µm/m·K (2.5 µin/in·°F).
Electrical2
Walnut is an electrical insulator with a dielectric strength of 3 kV/mm (76.2 V/mil) and a resistivity of 1×10⁹ Ω·m.
Chemical & Environmental1
Corrosion resistance is good (55/100), better than 69% of natural material grades.
Sustainability4
Producing a kilogram of Walnut takes about 10 MJ of energy and emits 0.5 kg of CO₂ — less than 56% of natural material grades. Typical recycled content is 5%.
Manufacturability2
Walnut's machinability is excellent (88/100, better than 76% of natural material grades).
Common Calculations4
Values are nominal handbook figures for design screening. Certified mill or lot data ships with every FabDigit order on request.
Working with Walnut
Is Walnut easy to machine?
Cuts, turns and carves cleanly with sharp carbide tooling; low blunting, but figured/curly stock tears out — take light climb-free finishing passes and dust-extract (walnut dust is a sensitiser).
Can Walnut be welded?
Not applicable — joined by PVA/PUR/epoxy adhesives and mechanical joinery; oily extractives may need a fresh-sanded surface for best bonds.
Can Walnut be formed, bent or molded?
Steam bends only moderately (typical ratio ~1:15); veneer slices and flattens easily, and thin stock laminate-bends well over forms.
Walnut chemical composition (wt %)
Limits by weight percent from the governing specification, written the way the spec states them — a single maximum for impurities, a range for alloying elements, and the base element as balance. Nominal is the typical mid-range value.
| Element | Spec limit (wt %) | Nominal |
|---|---|---|
| celluloseoven-dry basis | 40 – 47 | 45 |
| hemicellulose | 18 – 26 | 22 |
| lignin | 20 – 25 | 23 |
| extractivestannins and juglone give the dark heartwood colour | 3 – 10 | 6 |
| ash | 0.2 – 1 | 0.5 |
What surface finishes work on Walnut?
Sands to a fine surface and takes oil, shellac, lacquer or UV finishes readily; grain filler is needed for a mirror finish, and UV exposure lightens the heartwood over time.
How much does Walnut cost?
Walnut is a standard-cost natural material ($$), cheaper than about 71% of the materials FabDigit quotes. Part price depends far more on geometry, tolerance and quantity than on the raw stock — upload a CAD file for a live quote.
Walnut — frequently asked
What is Walnut used for?
Walnut is typically used for fine furniture, gunstocks, veneer, cabinetry and musical instruments. In short: best-machining hardwood here; stable dark heartwood; premium-cost furniture timber.
What is the tensile strength of Walnut?
Walnut has a typical tensile strength of 100 MPa (14.5 ksi) — stronger than 85% of natural material grades. Strength varies by condition: see the 2 listed tempers.
Is Walnut easy to machine?
Yes — machinability is rated excellent (88/100, better than 76% of natural material grades). Cuts, turns and carves cleanly with sharp carbide tooling; low blunting, but figured/curly stock tears out — take light climb-free finishing passes and dust-extract (walnut dust is a sensitiser).
Can Walnut be welded?
Not applicable — joined by PVA/PUR/epoxy adhesives and mechanical joinery; oily extractives may need a fresh-sanded surface for best bonds.
What surface finishes work on Walnut?
Sands to a fine surface and takes oil, shellac, lacquer or UV finishes readily; grain filler is needed for a mirror finish, and UV exposure lightens the heartwood over time.
Can Walnut be formed, bent or molded?
Steam bends only moderately (typical ratio ~1:15); veneer slices and flattens easily, and thin stock laminate-bends well over forms.
What is the maximum service temperature of Walnut?
Walnut is rated for continuous use to about 90°C (194 °F). Strength falls off well before that limit — check the elevated-temperature data for load-bearing parts.
How much does Walnut cost?
Walnut is a standard-cost natural material ($$), cheaper than about 71% of the materials FabDigit quotes. Part price depends far more on geometry, tolerance and quantity than on the raw stock — upload a CAD file for a live quote.
Sources
- Wood Handbook — Wood as an Engineering Material, FPL-GTR-282 — USDA Forest Products Laboratory (2021)
- EN 13556 — Nomenclature of timbers used in Europe (JUGL) — CEN (2003)
- ASTM D143 — Standard Test Methods for Small Clear Specimens of Timber — ASTM (2022)
- CES EduPack natural-materials records (hardwood, longitudinal) — Granta/Ansys (2023)
Property data is compiled from published supplier and standards handbooks and normalised for comparison; hardness values on non-Brinell scales are converted approximately for charting only. Manufacturability limits are FabDigit quote-engine defaults and may be relaxed by engineering review. Nothing on this page is a certification — request mill certs, CoC or material test reports with your order.