Reclaimed chestnut end table

This is really well done love that chestnut

-- Jim from Heirloom Woodshop, custom furniture maker, woodworking school, heirloomwoodshop.com

real nice… looks very elegant, yet with presence

I’m a bit shocked at the price tag on reclaimed lumber though… I thought the idea of reclaimed is that it’s not as clean as ‘new’ and would cost less…

-- When in doubt - There is no doubt - Go the safer route.

I’m sure most reclaimed lumber is cheaper. American chestnut however is extinct . . . and thus commands a premium price.

As my dealer told me . . . if the chestnut tree was still around he would probably price it somewhere between poplar and oak. As a hardwood, it’s not all that special . . . but since it’s extinct . . . . :-)

I hate to nitpick, generally, but though it is correct that American Chestnut is no longer available commercially it is not extinct. There are a few trees out there that have proven blight resistant and a few non-resistant trees still manage to put up shoots. My dad has one or two doing this on his farm.The shoots generally get the blight before they reach any kind of size, unfortunately. There are organizations out there working on blight resistant trees however. My favorite is the American Chestnut Cooperators’ Foundation. They can be reached here: “http://ipm.ppws.vt.edu/griffin/accf.html”. For a pretty modest donation they will send you ten seeds from their trees that you can plant on your property. Only about 1 in 10 seeds have the blight resistance though, so it is a bit of a gamble, but the donation funds their efforts to find more blight resistant trees, and as a woodworker I like trees.

I’ve read that chestnut usually wasn’t the first choice for furniture. It came into its own in greenwoodworking. It’s rot resistant so it made great fence posts, shingles, barn sills, etc. It usually splits clean and straight so it was great for shingles and other things. It’s moderately tough but not real heavy so it’s good for light construction uses. I’ve carved a few spoons from reclaimed chestnut fence posts. They say the nuts are the sweetest tasting chestnut on the planet.

Sorry, this wasn’t meant to be a rant or a soap box session. Just trying to share a little info.

-- "I asked my wife if I look dorky in the video below where I'm planing that long piece of wood. Her reply: "It's all dorky."" - Mitch Roberson from his blog Furnitude

No problem. I didn’t want to get too much into the details . . . so I just went with extinct. :-)

I did get to learn a bit about the chestnut tree history as well as what’s being done these days to bring it back. Interesting stuff . . .

Oh, I forgot to mention that my spoons have become very dark over time. Like a few shades above walnut dark. If that happens to that piece it will definitely look rustic.

Nice job, and it looks wonderful.

Doug

-- "I asked my wife if I look dorky in the video below where I'm planing that long piece of wood. Her reply: "It's all dorky."" - Mitch Roberson from his blog Furnitude