Black Walnut Processing

Ah-HA!  The Internet and it's endless resources!
So, I began processing Black Walnuts today for the first time.  I had heard that if you take a thick piece of plywood with a whole in it, and then smash the nut that the husk & hull will come off and it will leave the nut.  When I thought about that, I didn't know how big to make the hole, because the nuts seem to be different sizes, so then I just thought- hey, how have humans figured this stuff out?  Well, just start smashing!

So, quickly I learned some useful things about the anatomy of the nut.  How the husk is soft and on the outside, the hard shell is on the inside, and a couple nuts are inside there, tucked in.  I also learned how my hands can quickly become stained when processing the husks.   I was having trouble getting the nuts out whole, and also was feeling unclear about if the nuts were ready to eat at this phase (at least for squirrels), or if there was another process....

Coming in to the computer, I came across this useful resource of someone explaining the process he goes through to process black walnuts.  Very thorough and accessible.  So, here you go:

Black Walnut Processing

Part ONE (1st Half):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cPNn7WyPkk&feature=relmfu
Part ONE (2nd Half):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUpsaokMYBQ&feature=relmfu
Part Two:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bW__UlLoyzU&feature=relmfu

AND ONE MORE TECHNIQUE:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5wjt10Rmvw&feature=related

ENJOY!