Maureen, I would recommend contacting your extension agent or local forester for more information on who you might contact for potential removal/purchasing. Trees grown in yard or farmstead settings - unless carefully managed - will likely not attract a great deal of attention from timber buyers due to potential for old nails, wire, etc that may exist under in the tree. I'm in west central WI and had 4 20"+ Black Walnuts we needed to remove last year and we couldn't give away the trees (the trees were farmstead trees/woodland bordering trees). A local timber buyer had zero interest - even in just giving them away - nor did anyone want them for wood burning. We did end up giving some chunks of the logs away to friends though who wanted some for woodworking. While I like Black Walnuts in general, I do not like them in a yard setting as a selection of other plants are not tolerant of the junglone (basically a natural herbicide of the BW) produced from the seeds, roots, and leaves. Good luck!

Buckling is from expansion, which is caused by increased humidity (typically for several days to weeks) compared to when the glue was applied. It seems unlikely that a fireplace would be the culprit, more likely a seasonal change from summer to winter. But you normally expect a substrate such as MDF to be very stable regardless of humidity swings. The whole thing is kind of curious and I can understand why your cabinet maker is scratching his head over it. Anyway, to answer jerzeegirl's question - veneer doesn't curve or bend easily. It is possible to get it to curve but usually a lot of care and special handling is required, such as steam or other wetting agent, then a vacuum box or special jig for keeping pressure applied while the glue cures. You normally wouldn't veneer a sharp 90 degree bend with a single continuous piece of veneer. A better solution would be two pieces applied to each face, or better yet some form of solid edge-banding depending on the application.

@jerzeegirl-Arrghh! @Altare Design, LLC- We are getting way into the tall grass here. What you posted is generally correct; the caveat is that if wood is PROPERLY dried and handled, you can use wide slabs without any warping or cupping. This technique was advocated and used by Milo Fulton. a custom furniture maker from Medina, Ohio. @Al- I need to get me one of them 3d printers....it'd be a lot easier than what I am doing this week; sanding back to bare wood a double staircase. @Select-I used to bite my thumb at texters...drives me crazy...until my phone went dead one afternoon. Now I use it some, but don't count me all in.

I think you're misunderstanding what gel stains are for. Stains, including gel stains, are for changing the color of wood objects. They don't provide any protection against dirt, scratches, water, food, or anything else. Yes, you could use a gel stain to darken the color of the table without completely stripping it, but this wouldn't fix the dings and scratches; it would probably make some of them more conspicuous. If you just scuffed and stained the surface and called it done, all you'd have accomplished is to apply a thin, delicate layer of color to your existing damaged finish. That thin layer of color would easily be damaged when you used the table, and would soon look awful. Stain, of any kind, is not going to accomplish what you're hoping for. Instead of stains, you need to understand clear furniture finishes, of which there are many types. It doesn't sound like you're up for stripping and sanding all of these surfaces (I wouldn't be excited about such a prospect either) so you should look into clear finishes that can be applied over existing finishes. The quick-fix finish restoration products might be a good option for the chairs and table legs, but I'd want something more durable for the table top. As Linda suggests, polyurethane is a good way to go. It might even be worth stripping and sanding just the table top, steaming out some of the dents and otherwise sprucing it up before applying a new finish, even if stripping the chairs is more than you want to tackle.