Because of the blight wiping out nearly all mature American Chestnut trees, its lumber is both rare and (relatively) valuable. I just got around to planing a piece of the Antique Wormy Chestnut and was pleasantly surprised with the beauty and character of the wood. It is so sad people cannot see what lies underneath. It is believed that in 1904, a forester from the Bronx Zoo brought in Asian chestnut trees to decorate his homestead. My papa in 1908 was a house made out of chestnut wood and my papa and his friends helped cut the house down in 2012 and game me some of that wood for a chest to make so I have extinct wood. Check the bark of the tree for a distinctively dark, bumpiness seen in American chestnut trees. This "wormy" wood has since become fashionable for its rustic character. The cause of the damage is the chestnut timber borer beetle, which lays its eggs in the bark of the chestnut tree. Chestnut looks gorgeous no matter how you finish it. Wormy Chestnut identification!! Rochelle Frank from California Gold Country on May 19, 2011: My husband carves duck decoys. He searched the scrap bins at a lumber yard and asked how much the pieces with the worm holes were-- The clerk said, "That's no good, you can take it.". This will allow the American Chestnut to live on for generations to come. It will not be around for many more years and owning a true generational farm table or bench would be a great way to save the great history of the American chestnut. Trees were known to grow up to 26 feet in diameter, and if your farm had many American Chestnut trees, you were considered to be a very wealthy farmer. These beetles quickly mass produced and soon infected not only the American Chestnut, but much of the oak, pine, and black walnut tress in the Appalachians. Email Us +1.610.932.7400. The resulting larvae eat and tunnel their way through the live tree bark until the adult beetle eventually emerges in the spring. The wood was lightweight, weather-resistant, and very easy to chop and hand mill. PLACE AN ORDER. These huge beams were the main supports of an 1820 barn in Eastern Tennessee. Pat and I are dedicated to saving not only the history of the wood, but the wood itself. The worm holes you see when you look at reclaimed chestnut were created by a beetle that bored into the deadwood, finding it a great source of nutrition. Researchers have spent the past 100 years trying to revive the species, to no avail. It is liable to stain blue when in contact with metals. It is believed that only five chestnut trees have ever survived this blight. This American wormy chestnut bench now sits proudly on a homestead here in North Carolina. Thank you for your comments and props to your husband. This is a sanded piece of reclaimed American wormy chestnut. home | projects | blog. Chestnut wood is easy to work with hand and machine tools. They really turn out beautiful bowls. Topic tags/keywords: wood lumber chestnut reclaimed ohio for sale rare old vintage distressed beams hand hewn wormy. DOMESTIC WOODS Apple (American) Ash (White) Birch (Flame) Birch (Yellow) Butternut Cedar (Aromatic) Cedar (Port Orford) Cherry Chestnut (American) Hickory Holly Koa Maple … Just arrived from a barn salvage project, this Wormy Chestnut will make some beautiful furniture or flooring. The root bases below the disease were still alive, but the saplings produced did not live long. Homesteaders used the tress for not only their homes but for fencing, rails, and the nut they produced. Today there is a law against cutting down the chestnut trees, but it may be too late. Shown are the three options that The Old Wood Co. offers; on the left is chestnut finished with Danish oil, the center shows it with a liming wax finish, and on the right is their hand-planed finish. It was then that wormy chestnut was born. We take pride in saving as much of the rich history in the boards that we can, and passing that history onto our customers. Between the nail holes, discoloration, worm and insect damage, Wormy Chestnut is preferred in applications where a rustic or unpolished appearance is desired. The worm holes you see when you look at reclaimed chestnut were created by a beetle that bored into the deadwood, finding it a great source of nutrition. Wormy chestnut is insect-damaged chestnut lumber from the American chestnut tree. We also want to thank you for your advice in helping me select and understand the best wood for my project.” – Bob Goldie. We didn't know the history behind this wood until our chimney inspector, of all people, told us about the wood. The American Chestnut tree may never be seen again in all it's mass or beauty, but it can live on through generational rustic furniture. 04-26-2013 08:52 AM . Copyright © 2008-2020 Eric Meier | All Rights Reserved. I have a couch, with cool store areas on the sides, 2 side chairs, coffee table, high end table, a lamp and the dining room set with table, hutch and chairs...beautiful wood... We bought a house that was built in 1830 i found out today that the entire banister and stair case is wormy chestnut now it is off to educate myself on this wood so that i can give jt the glory it deserves and get it from under the 10 coats of paint and to see what else here is of the same wood. The blight killed off the chestnut at the turn of the 20th century so at the time there was quite a bit of chestnut on the market until the 1920's and maybe later. The trees were then subsequently harvested and converted into lumber. Wormy Chestnut is not a distinct species of Chestnut, but rather refers to American Chestnut (Castanea dentata) trees that were killed by the chestnut blight of the early 1900s, which were subsequently damaged by insects, leaving holes and discoloration in the standing trees. Are Rosewoods (and Bubinga) really banned by CITES? Wormy, Unselected, Timbers / Beams: Other Trade Names: Wormy Chestnut, Reclaimed Chestnut: American Chestnut Lumber Pricing. If I'm not mistaken, there are some beautiful thriving Chestnut trees in Buffalo,NY. The resulting larvae eat and tunnel their way through the live tree bark until the adult beetle eventually emerges in the spring. Structures built in the mid to early 1800's have pre blight chestnut without worm holes. I just love the wood but my other half wanted to have it torn out! The beetles thrived on the rich wood and multiplied rapidly. There is little regard for the history these centuries old homes, and barns have. What was once known as the queen of Eastern America—the American Chestnut tree—is now nearly extinct? I have some wormy chestnut salvaged from a 100 year old barn that I wish to use in some projects. (This is a monthly update, and your email will be kept private.). Wormy Chestnut is not a distinct species of Chestnut, but rather refers to American Chestnut (Castanea dentata) trees that were killed by the chestnut blight of the early 1900s, which were subsequently damaged by insects, leaving holes and discoloration in the standing trees. I'm a furniture maker who works in sustainable wood, green wood products from reclaimed wood. pkwoodworksstore (author) from 480 Fruit Tree Lane Burnsville, NC 28714 on May 20, 2011: That is amazing Rochelle. FYI: I receive a commission on sales generated through links to Amazon, eBay, etc. In less than 10 years, the American Chestnut was all but extinct. PLEASE HELP « back to Wood & Lumber forum. Sadly there is so much mass production that custom furniture is going by the wayside. 4 posts in 2714 days. Identifying and Using Hundreds of Woods Worldwide, POSTER: Worldwide Woods: Ranked by Hardness. Fluorescence: A Secret Weapon in Wood Identification, Bow Woods (from a mathematical perspective), Brazilian Rosewood, East Indian, and Other Rosewoods, Genuine Lignum Vitae and Argentine Lignum Vitae, BOOK: WOOD! We spend many hours carefully removing old nails, and bullets from centuries old wood. We are using it to build generational pieces of rustic furniture. I have wormy chestnut boards for the top of a farm table but need to find a wood that is similar in color to turn the legs. We just bought a home and there isn't a gigantic built in mantle/bookshelf made out of wormy chestnut. These beetles quickly mass produced and soon infected not only the American Chestnut, but much of the oak, pine, and black walnut tress in the Appalachians. Consider building your next custom piece of rustic furniture from this amazing wood. It should not be only the rich that can afford to own such a unique piece of American history. Wormy chestnut, formed when insects invaded the fungi-damaged trees, has holes and discolorations that make it even more valuable for rustic applications.

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