Alright guys, this is child’s play here but it’s a little out of the ordinary so I figured I’d share. I have a knack for finding surviving American chestnut trees in the wild. A lot of the time, I find the dead trunks too, albeit they average around 3-5 inch diameter by the time the blight kills them. Back in the fall I started cutting a few dead poles and stockpiling them, without a real clue as to what I’m doing or what my long term game plan is. No matter, fake it till I make it right? I had some time tonight so I ran a few pieces through the table saw to see what I could find inside. I’ve got to say, I see some potential here for small projects like picture frames, accent molding, etc. Now I’m motivated to find more to bring home and turn into some rough “lumber”
That's pretty neat. I'd like to see some stained and sealed. Maybe you could find a niche market for them?
I’m sure somebody would be interested in working with some. Yeah I don’t know about staining it just yet, but I do have some linseed oil downstairs that I could try out on a face. I know tung oil also brings out the colors in the grain really nice too.
Same family as oaks. The wood doesn't have the same character though without medullary rays. It's a lot lighter than oak and supposedly a lot stronger too. The open grain reminds me of ash more than anything.
Lately while hiking I’ve been finding more and more dead chestnut that was killed over 110 years ago when the blight hit. I decided to start carrying out the more manageable pieces and bringing them home. Today I ripped a few small “wormy chestnut” boards on the table saw. I can’t get over how a lot of this wood is still solid after more than a century laying in the woods. I think I want to build a coffee table out of this stuff.
How do you know it’s 110 years old? It still grows from stump sprouts from the original killed trees. I have some in my backyard, the largest of which is about 3” in diameter and probably died 8-10 years ago.. then new stump sprouts grew from the base. I agree though, it lasts a while.
I have a coworker that has a log home that was built from it. He was telling me he is looking for some logs to replace some damaged logs that are showing signs of rot. From what he was saying it was native here years ago but has gone away. From best he knows his place was built in 1880 when the Chestnut was everywhere.
The stuff I’m finding looks to me like the original wood from when the blight first hit. I’m finding large trunks and large limb wood. Of all the stump sprout I’ve found (numbering in the hundreds) most new trunks are lucky to make it to 4-5 inch diameter before the blight girdles them once again. The limbs I’m finding are that size, and I’ve located a couple larger 15” trunks as well.
Yes, I found a couple standing trees believe it or not, as well as broken limbs and trunks that fell but were snagged on other trees or teetering on boulders. What I’m finding is the outer wood is still solid, but the heart wood is getting soft more often than not. Still some usable wood to be had though. I’m hoping to go after some larger trunks soon to see what’s inside them.
Finding replacement logs will be difficult. There are companies that specialize in reclaimed chestnut lumber that comes from dismantling old barns/homes, but the number of beams to be had is small compared to wider planks for flooring.
yes he has his work cut out for him He bought the house about a year ago It has been a lot of work for him and still more to go. Everything built from logs including interior walls. He is considering using some of those logs from the interior walls to replace some of the bad ones. he has his hands full for sure
This was the first old chestnut limb I found last month. You can see how the center is hollow. Not enough solid wood there to be worth cutting up, but I saved it just because it was the first time I found an old remnant and not just a post-blight stump sprout. Also here’s a couple small standing trunks, one of them with a hollowed out center, the other seems solid.
Im curious Eric. How do you know this is chestnut? Certain characteristics? Other chestnuts growing nearby?
Where I found it did have some small sprouts, which is what caught my attention. At first I thought it was oak though. I checked the end and there were no medullary rays. It was lightweight and I couldn’t break it so I knew it was strong. I had a knife on me so I peeled back the outer layer and recognized the grain as chestnut. From my experience carving chestnut from dead sprouts I cut in the fall I knew what the grain should look like. It’s one of those things that once you know what to look for, it’s easy to identify.
Sounds like me with BL. I swear i could find one blindfolded any time of the year. And to think three years ago i didnt know it existed! Although i dont wish to be cured of the mania! I think i spend more time looking for them than my eyes on the road while driving! Gung ho on getting some chestnut logs!
