The American Chestnut

KenOfCary

Ken
Staff member
Corporate Member
Great story. This is happening about 2 hours away from where I currently reside in Floyd, VA. West of here almost to the NC State line. The fog in the pictures looks very familiar.
 

Oka

Casey
Corporate Member
I read about this when they started to do it, I really hope it is successful, would be a great story of rebirth.
 

CrealBilly

New User
Jeff
Thanks Raymond. Only one time I've sawed american chestnut and it was to resaw just a few barn timbers, it reminded me of oak.
 

PeteStaehling

New User
Pete
I love American chestnut lumber. I have had the pleasure of working with salvaged timber from old buildings. It is a beautiful material to work with. I hope they are successful in restoring these beautiful trees to some of their prior glory.

Coincidentally I just ran across a little scrap in my scrap bin this past week and used it for the sides of a little box.
chestnutsides.jpg
 

LeftyTom

Tom
Corporate Member
I have a neighbor who is interested in growing chestnut trees. I told him he is welcome to plant a few in my Half Acre Wood when he wants to experiment.
 

PeteStaehling

New User
Pete
I have a neighbor who is interested in growing chestnut trees. I told him he is welcome to plant a few in my Half Acre Wood when he wants to experiment.
I thought about planting a couple of the supposedly resistant strain on my little lot here, but decided against it since I am outside the tree's natural range.
 

PeteStaehling

New User
Pete
I dug up a picture of an instrument I built six or seven years ago from an especially pretty piece of salvaged American chestnut. It is tuned like the higher 4 strings on a guitar. It was one of a pair that I built for one of my wood suppliers and his dad. I took a thin slice off of a plank that he had to make the sound boards. Sadly he wanted to keep the plank and all the scraps :(
jessie6.png
 

Hmerkle

Board of Directors, Development Director
Hank
Staff member
Corporate Member
A friend had a picture that was gifted to him.
It was a picture of an old steam train crossing a wooden trestle bridge. (similar to the one below) only it looked much more dramatic!

Anyway, he asked for a simple 24" X 15" frame - I said I had an idea, but it would take a little bit - I ran up to Asheville Hardware because I knew they had some reclaimed chestnut flooring (raccoon poop and all!)
I cleaned it up and ran a rabbit on the backside and a bead on the inner edge of the front and cut half-laps for the corners and put two cut nails (shaped to look like railroad spikes) in each of the corners - did I mention there were no electrons harmed in the re-purposing of some 80+ year old wood?

The Chestnut was a DREAM to work!

Oh, and he loved the frame!

1575955510122.png
 

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