# chest nut trees



## greg4269ub (Sep 1, 2009)

has anyone ever used chestnut trees for quality lumber? any qualities or defects that i should be aware of?


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## phinds (Mar 25, 2009)

http://www.hobbithouseinc.com/personal/woodpics/chestnut/chestnut fact sheet.htm

http://www.hobbithouseinc.com/personal/woodpics/chestnut.htm

pretty nice wood, generally.

Paul


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## dirtclod (May 7, 2008)

There's the legendary American Chestnut that was all but completely wiped out by 1950 by a blight imported from China in the early 1900's(?) Then there's the Chinese chestnut that was imported as a pitiful replacement. I assume you're referring to the former. Its wood was highly prized as was its nuts. I haven't worked with the wood or tasted it's fruit but I've tried the Chinese variety and I'm not impressed. My uncle, who's old enough to remember and has tried both, says the nuts from the American variety were superior. 

But you're interested in the wood. I'll start off by saying the American chestnut is a protected species. Few survived in its original native range which was roughly east of the Mississippi. What survived there generally die about the time they get big enough to produce nuts. They sucker from the roots and come back. They are now exceedingly rare in their native range. Rumor has it that before the blight hit some were transplanted in the west that survived the blight. If you have standing live trees then I suggest you prize them for their being alive and leave it at that...contact the American Chestnut Society (?) and let them know where they are at so they can collect specimens for preservation.

But, again, you're interested in the wood.:yes: You can can compare its appearance to oak, but without rays. It's more rot resistent and easier to dry without defects. It was used for many applications including fence posts, beams for barns and warehouses. flooring, trim, furniture, etc..

There's pleanty of info available in web searches about American chestnut including historical uses and attempts to restore it to its former glory.


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## TexasTimbers (Oct 17, 2006)

I studied up on this topic a great deal last year. All I can conclude is that most people have never even seen a true American Chestnut tree. Some claim they still exist in abundance (technically) and some university sites claim they don't exist at all. Someone please post a picture if you have one you personally took.


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## Toby allen (Oct 25, 2009)

Hello,
I work mainly with Swet Chestnut (castinea sativa) in the uk. Good wood, great fencing material as the other chap said, but a high risk of ring and star shake on any over 60 years old. It used to be used in place of oak in buildings though it is very durable it doesnt have the strength of oak or ash.
I'd also be interested in any information about the american chestnut, never heard of it..

www.sayitwithwood.co.uk


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## slabmaster (Mar 30, 2008)

Hers one in my yard that i planted from The edison estate.It just started flowering.


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## NKYDarrell (Sep 14, 2009)

how old is that tree now Slabmaster?


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## lucas.j.dunton (Feb 27, 2008)

If you listen to NPR there was a good interview today that I heard on my way to work about american chestnut trees and their decline and the efforts to revive them and breed an american chestnut tree that has the blight immunity that asian chestnuts have. It was very interesting. You can find all of npr programming online if you look


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## slabmaster (Mar 30, 2008)

NKYDarrell said:


> how old is that tree now Slabmaster?


 I can't say exactly, maby7-8yrs old.It's growing in exellent soil my 5 acres has 10" of black sandy loam topsoil then 4 ft. of sand then blue clay.This tree is about 16FT. Tall and 8" at the base.


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## Toby allen (Oct 25, 2009)

It looks like a conker tree, is it?


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## slabmaster (Mar 30, 2008)

Sorry Toby,I don't know want a conker tree is. My tree is a chestnut tree.


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## Toby allen (Oct 25, 2009)

We call them horse chestnuts, kids play a game with the nuts called conkers, they drill a hole in them, thread them on string and hit them against each other untill one breaks, great fun. Theres a world championships and everything. 
The leaves and flowers look very simular to the photo.


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## slabmaster (Mar 30, 2008)

Toby, We call them american horse chestnuts over here.So i guess it is a conker tree.:yes:


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## Toby allen (Oct 25, 2009)

Theres a problem with them getting bleeding canker here, we might end up losing another tree out the landscape.


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## dirtclod (May 7, 2008)

Toby allen said:


> Hello,
> I'd also be interested in any information about the american chestnut, never heard of it..


There's tonnes of info available on the web about the splendure and folklore of the vernerated American Chestnut (_Castanea dentata)_. Here's a start: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Chestnut

I've got some stories passed down from the past...if only I can remember them all. 

You caught me off guard with castinea sativa. I've heard of it but had forgotten. How do you like its fruits?

Castanea mollissima is the Chinese (ala Uncle Jed - "Pitiful") chestnut I referred to earlier.


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## toolman Steve (Jun 11, 2009)

I played the game when I was a kid in Rhode Island in the 50s & 60s . I was pretty good at it . I had some king Chestnuts. (over 50 wins) We also use to roast them they were very tasty. Some times we forget the good old days!!!


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## Longleaf Lumber Inc. (Jan 14, 2014)

greg4269ub said:


> has anyone ever used chestnut trees for quality lumber? any qualities or defects that i should be aware of?


@greg4269ub, American Chestnut (Castanea dentata) is unavailable as newly sawn lumber, due to the blight that decimated it in the early 20th century. Once 25% of the great eastern forest, it has been reduced to a small range of saplings that die before they can reach maturity.

The lumber is still available from a number of reclaimed lumber mills. We mill American Chestnut all the time, and it is a fantastic wood to work with. It is relatively hard without being too tough on your tools, not too heavy, and (when properly dried) dimensionally stable. Also absolutely beautiful when finished properly. Here's a bit on the American Chesntnut, and some photos of what the wood looks like when milled and finished: http://www.longleaflumber.com/flooring/reclaimed-american-chestnut-2/


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## ryan50hrl (Jun 30, 2012)

Dude....again....this is a four plus year old thread....and the guy your responding to hasn't even been here since last July.


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## TexasTimbers (Oct 17, 2006)

ryan50hrl said:


> Dude....again....this is a four plus year old thread....and the guy your responding to hasn't even been here since last July.


So what? I'm often absent for a year or more.

Some of the best threads I've ever been a part of were drug up from the cobwebs of history. They often get very interesting with new info being presented etc. If "old threads" are "taboo", why not just delete them after a certain length of time? And who will decide when that is? 

Old threads serve a purpose just like old people in nursing homes - they usually contain valuable information that needs revisiting. just the opinion of an old fart . . . .


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## ryan50hrl (Jun 30, 2012)

My point was he's digging up threads to promote his business....if there's a reason to that's fine, but shameless self promotion doesn't seem like a valid reason.


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## Longleaf Lumber Inc. (Jan 14, 2014)

ryan50hrl said:


> My point was he's digging up threads to promote his business....if there's a reason to that's fine, but shameless self promotion doesn't seem like a valid reason.


@ryan50hrl, we just joined today and maybe are overzealous about getting involved in woodworking conversations. We work in a few very particular and focused species and thought we would chime in on discussions and share our experience with the community here.

Sorry for inconveniencing you today - if you have any questions about old-growth North American woods, please reach out.


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## ryan50hrl (Jun 30, 2012)

Hey I've got no problem with new members....but look at it from the other side....you join and immediately start digging up old threads where you promote your business. Old threads are less likely to accomplish much as the original poster has either already found an answer....or has moved on. Plus, as I mentioned....it's pretty annoying on the mobile app.


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## Ibangwood (Feb 25, 2010)

Ok basically I mean.. If you appreciate trees and the lumber they create and if you really mill THEE American chestnut, kinda messed up I think. Only if the tree has come down due to some age or disease then I would see it as ok but the tree itself should be preserved and protected and multiplied


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