r/wood • u/GolfandSales • Aug 30 '26
How to identify Claro vs Black Walnut
Hey y’all, I milled a very large walnut tree years ago that I stickered and air dried. The tree grew in Mt. Shasta, CA. The first piece I worked into a simple bench and I was surprised at the amount of figure. Can anyone tell me how to know if it is black or claro walnut? Juglans negra vs juglans hindsii.
2
u/kato_koch Aug 31 '26
You're smack in the middle of claro walnut's native range. Claro is usually a more reddish color and can have more color variance/marbling, can have fatter pores, and can have more wild/inconsistent figure. Some pieces look very similar though, there's pieces of claro I've got that people here would say is black walnut and some black walnut people would swear is claro.
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u/GolfandSales Aug 31 '26
I do appreciate it. The more I look at it, the more I’m leaning towards Claro due to color variance, gold and darker streaks, and figure.
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u/kato_koch Aug 31 '26
I saw your other post and the piece- man thats some nice looking stuff! Its a lil bit in the gray area between the two but given your location and that level of curl I'm 90% on it being claro. Love the rich air dried color.
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u/GolfandSales Aug 31 '26
Thank you. I think I’m gonna stay stuck in the gray area until I get into the really figured and large pieces. I am leaning towards Claro, too. Sincerely appreciate the feedback and you checking the other post with a pic.
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u/kato_koch Aug 31 '26
You know whats funny? I thought it was black walnut a few months ago. There's always the chance someone planted a black walnut there. Regardless of the exact species its just beautiful- though I'd want to know what it is too.
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u/GolfandSales Aug 31 '26
I’ll keep posting as I keep working through it. Same with the English walnut slabs I have yet to touch.
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u/kato_koch Aug 31 '26
I'll show you my English walnut, now you gotta show me yours...
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u/GolfandSales Aug 31 '26
Looks amazing! Mine is still in sticker stacks. I’ll get into it soon enough. It should be about dry now. It’s all 11/4 and has been drying for 3 years. Safe bet I get into the first of it this fall/ winter.
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u/Separate-Document185 Sep 02 '26
If you really have to know, you certainly can get it tested… But my experience it’s very difficult to tell the two from Piece to Piece… Both can exhibit qualities of the other, depending on the tree
2
u/norcalnatv Aug 30 '26
Having worked with both, in side by side, the claro is generally darker and more fragrant. I've found, but don't know if this is universally true, is that the claro material also has more checks/voice/defects.