Butternut is known as “poor man’s walnut”. It has a very light color, and is a very light weight wood and somewhat soft. It tends to be difficult to machine because it “fuzzes” up a lot, and requires extra sanding to solve that issue. But it’s grain looks remarkably like walnut, only light colored. Its availability though, is probably limited to a few more years. The tree is susceptible to a fungus that is killing it, with no solutions currently available, foresters expect nearly the entire population to eventually succumb to the disease.