what to do with a larger piece of chestnut ??

[steven mendez]

Hello Hello,
First time poster here, but very eager to learn the woodworking.
I am very new at this and like to make reclaimed projects. I purchesed a large piece of chestnut 7" wide 4" thick and 5 foot tall. heavy as heck. when i purchesed it ( for 50 bucks ) I told the gentelman i was going to have it cut into 3/4 slabs and he looked at me like i was crazy.
question is, would you guys try and use it like it is, maybe polish it up and make something or would you cut it and use it for more than one project?
Thanks for the input.

steven mendez
fryeburg maine

[Jim Becker]

If that is really chestnut, it's worth a bundle...wink, wink...nod, nod...

Most folks would never cut a slab thin like that as it wouldn't be in scale with how most folks would use a slab. After working it flat and smooth, you'd be left with between 1/2" and 5/8" thickness. A substantial slab like that would quite often be cut to 8/4 (2") for use as a table top or similar, for example. Your formatting is a little messed up (site issues require you to come in via http rather than https to solve the formatting problem at the moment), so I think you meant it's 4" thick now. So maybe halving that would make more sense than cutting it into thin slabs, particularly if it has nice figure. But without photos, it's really, really, really hard to give you opinions on how best to use this particular piece of wood.

[John K Jordan]

Hello Hello,
First time poster here, but very eager to learn the woodworking.
I am very new at this and like to make reclaimed projects. I purchesed a large piece of chestnut 7" wide 4" thick and 5 foot tall. heavy as heck. when i purchesed it ( for 50 bucks ) I told the gentelman i was going to have it cut into 3/4 slabs and he looked at me like i was crazy.
question is, would you guys try and use it like it is, maybe polish it up and make something or would you cut it and use it for more than one project?
Thanks for the input.

The HUGE question: is it American Chestnut? The real stuff, the stuff that doesn't grow any more, the stuff almost impossible to find, the stuff woodturners and woodworkers would die for? Or is it Chinese Chestnut, common, give-away wood, OK but also makes good firewood.

If American Chestnut, don't get in a big hurry, think about it a while. Learn on some other kind of wood. I've got some pieces almost that size that I've had for over 5 years while I think about what to do with them. Do you do any woodturning? Is it "wormy" chestnut? Chestnut works and finishes beautifully but wormy is better. I have some 4/4 wormy chestnut I guard and use a bit at a time for small things, such as these:

handmirrors_two.jpg

It won't go bad if you store it for a while. My stock came from a log buried in the mud under a creek for maybe 1/2 a century.

Tell you what, If it's American Chestnut, I'll drive up and take it off your hands, give you the $50 back, and just for fun bring some nice slabs of walnut, cherry, and oak for you to play with.

JKJ

[steven mendez]

<p>

The HUGE question: is it American Chestnut? The real stuff, the stuff that doesn&#39;t grow any more, the stuff almost impossible to find, the stuff woodturners and woodworkers would die for? Or is it Chinese Chestnut, common, give-away wood, OK but also makes good firewood. If American Chestnut, don&#39;t get in a big hurry, think about it a while. Learn on some other kind of wood. I&#39;ve got some pieces almost that size that I&#39;ve had for over 5 years while I think about what to do with them. Do you do any woodturning? Is it &quot;wormy&quot; chestnut? Chestnut works and finishes beautifully but wormy is better. I have some 4/4 wormy chestnut I guard and use a bit at a time for small things, such as these: handmirrors_two.jpg It won&#39;t go bad if you store it for a while. My stock came from a log buried in the mud under a creek for maybe 1/2 a century. Tell you what, If it&#39;s American Chestnut, I&#39;ll drive up and take it off your hands, give you the $50 back, and just for fun bring some nice slabs of walnut, cherry, and oak for you to play with. JKJ

Thank you Gentlemen, I would like to think it is american chestnut. The 88 y/o gentleman i got it from said to me &quot; they dont grow anymore &quot; I coud have been duped though. i will go into my setting and remove the link from my signiture sorry bout that.</p>

[steven mendez]

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here are a few pictures, can you guys tell what it is by these pics? from the pictures i see on the internet the end grain looks different.

[John K Jordan]

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here are a few pictures, can you guys tell what it is by these pics? from the pictures i see on the internet the end grain looks different.

Could be, it's ring porous. But it's hard to tell from an sawn end of an old board - the details of the end grain are obscured. The appearance and color of a species of wood can vary as much as the the appearance of humans.

Try these:

http://www.hobbithouseinc.com/person...s/chestnut.htm

http://www.wood-database.com/american-chestnut/

Then, to take a closer look follow the instructions in section #7 on this page to prepare a clean end grain sample:
http://www.wood-database.com/wood-ar...ication-guide/
In particular, look for dendritic latewood pore arrangement and compare to the end grain photos on the two sites given above.

Note the "Still stumped?" box that follows section #7. You can send off a sample and get an ID at no cost.

I thought you said it was 7"x4". It looks closer to 2" thick. Since this board contains the pith and is cracked all the way down the length it's usefulness will be limited regardless of what wood it is. Even so, it would still be good for some things if it's real chestnut.

BTW, you are still getting the crazy character codes in your messages. The messages should be easier to read if you log into SMC with this URL: http://www.sawmillcreek.org/forum.php

JKJ

[Jeff Ramsey]

The American Chestnut is actually not extinct. Breeding efforts have been going on for years in order to breed a blight-resistant strain of tree. Those involved from Penn State are convinced that eventually the tree will flourish once again. A 100' tall American Chestnut would be nice to see. For more information, see this:

https://phys.org/news/2017-05-americ...ut-slower.html

[Jim Becker]

Yea, PSU and others are doing good work with American Chestnut and others to solve the genetic riddle and provide a strong going-forward path for the species. They have learned a lot from examining trees that managed to survive the terrible problem that led to near extinction and it's very promising it appears.

[steven mendez]

Thanks for the links JKJ. as for the weird language on screen I logged in with the link you provided. I see what you mean about the pith and the crack. Lesson learned on my end. This is the first time i bought anything like this so i am glad i only paid 50 bucks for it. I do believe that at some point i will use it and make something nice. Sorry about he dimensions but as you can see from the pictures its actually 11 wide 4 thick and 5 foot tall. I believe it is chestnut but for my sanity and for clarification I will take a sample and sent it to the forestry lab for identification. Thanks all.




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[Mike Manning]

The American Chestnut is actually not extinct. Breeding efforts have been going on for years in order to breed a blight-resistant strain of tree. Those involved from Penn State are convinced that eventually the tree will flourish once again. A 100' tall American Chestnut would be nice to see. For more information, see this:

https://phys.org/news/2017-05-americ...ut-slower.html

Wouldn't that be grand? Won't be something most of us will ever see but heartening to believe it's possible! Thanks for sharing the link.

[Tony Joyce]

Based on what I can see in the pictures, I would say with some confidence that it's Pine. Probably Heart Pine. The pictures are not consistent with any Chestnut I have or any I have used.

[Bill Orbine]

Based on what I can see in the pictures, I would say with some confidence that it's Pine. Probably Heart Pine. The pictures are not consistent with any Chestnut I have or any I have used.

I'm afraid I'm going to have to agree that the wood is not Chestnut. The lumber looks more like douglas for rather than pine.....but we need better pictures, I think.

Still.....I don't think you wasted your money. People love big distressed lumber and I for one have a customer who needs something like what you have. 50 bucks?

[Jim Becker]

Yea, that cut edge says "d fir" to me...which is wonderful stuff in its own right. I pay about $7.50 a board foot for vertical grain D-fir.

[Mel Fulks]

Heart pine

[Andrew Hughes]

No need to send out a sample just cut about 1 inch off the end. And smell the end of the board your nose will tell you if it's a conifer.
If the smell is repulsive then maybe Chestnut