sq, I didn't count rings, but I would guess around 75+ years. It was from an easement being cleared on lake brownwood, so the construction crew was going to push it into a pit and just burn it, so I am glad I could get something out of it.
TM/Duetscher, I really haven't quoted a price on these or anything made from them. I mainly got into milling due to the price of buying slabs, and I just enjoy doing it. If I was going to buy these from someone for a table/desk, I could expect to pay $500-1000 for the slab alone, and then finding one local is even more uncommon, so delivery/gas for pickup is another expense. If you get into walnut of this size, I could expect to pay $1000-1500 a slab for a simple slab, sizable mesquite is even worse. Then if it is a crotch/interesting figure, the price just keeps going up. I am still going to have to drop probably $100/board to have these kiln dried if I want to use them any time soon, otherwise I can expect to air dry them for 2+ years.
12th, in regards to the bark, these most likely won't hold the bark when it is all said and done, so I will remove the bark and hand profile the edges along the sapwood. Bark is nice, but it is brittle, so for a functional desk/tabletop I wouldn't recommend trying to keep the bark. If you do want the bark though, you really need to cut the tree in the winter. There is less sap/moisture in the cambium layer, so the bark is more 'tight' to the wood, and will have a better bond. For things such as natural edge bowls where I want to keep the bark, I will sometimes use ultrathing CA/superglue to soak into the cambium layer to strengthen the joint.
