Comments on: Sweet Chestnut

By: Eric

Eric — Thu, 13 Feb 2025 04:03:11 +0000

In reply to Michael E. If you ever get access to the end grain, that would be the best way to try and ID the wood.

By: Michael E

Michael E — Wed, 12 Feb 2025 07:44:39 +0000

In reply to Eric.

Thanks for your reply.
I was planing some more of it yesterday (by hand, so a slow process), and I’m pretty sure it’s a mix of white oak (the heavier, dense stuff) and something else (probably chestnut). The insides are wine-blackened and the outsides painted in a heavy old red paint, so it’s hard to see what’s going on without some elbow grease. I’ll take some pictures of the grain, if that wouldn’t be an imposition…
:)

By: Eric

Eric — Wed, 12 Feb 2025 04:41:02 +0000

In reply to Michael E.

I would double check the end grain first before deciding they are indeed chestnut. It would be highly unusual to find chestnut ever being described as “very, very dense.” Since it is a ring porous wood like oak and ash, actually slow growth chestnut would tend to be lighter than normal, not heavier. I have a piece of old-growth white oak, and the big (and lightweight) earlywood pores comprise almost the entire grain structure. You can see pictures of it lower down on this page: https://www.wood-database.com/white-oak/#identification

Even though it’s white oak, the slow-growth piece in the link feels about as light as butternut! So in contrast to softwoods, where old growth lumber is stronger and denser, a lot of hardwood species tend to be lighter.

By: Michael E

Michael E — Mon, 10 Feb 2025 14:37:38 +0000

Just salvaged some chestnut barrels that have been exposed to the elements for 15 years. They were fine! The small nails used had rotted away entirely, but the wood was as solid as the day it was milled (probably 50 or more years ago, knowing the history of the building I got them from. Thought it was white oak initially, but the absence of the strong oak smell alerted me. The wood chosen for the barrels is slow-growth and very, very dense!

By: Sam Norgate

Sam Norgate — Fri, 17 May 2024 18:00:06 +0000

In reply to Joachim Mergeay. I second that - watch your tools. Immediate rust, I found much more so than with green oak.

By: Miguel Camba

Miguel Camba — Fri, 24 Mar 2023 20:49:01 +0000

It’s one of my favourite woods. Widely used in northern Spain for beams and weather-exposed elements like window covers, balcony railing, window headers and such.

It starts quite clear but over time it turns a light tan, making it the slightly humble little brother of white oak as the color ends up being quite similar, maybe a bit darker. The ring pattern is a bit different.

This is my living room low table, which I made out of 4 10×7″ (~25x18cm) pieces of solid spanish chestnut from, simply plained, weighting around 35kg each.

By: Tom Dawn

Tom Dawn — Mon, 09 Jan 2023 09:20:05 +0000

Hi there, I thought you might like some more pics of sweet chestnut including end grain. This is recycled wood, probably 50 years old and has been sanded to 240 grit then sealed and varnished, so golden tone slightly exaggerated. Note on how easily it splits is very true :-)

By: Joachim Mergeay

Joachim Mergeay — Tue, 01 Nov 2022 22:26:54 +0000

the wood is loaded with tannins, so it stains purple upon contact with iron and accelerates rust. Use stainless steel screws. Fresh sweet chestnut sawdust will wreck your bandsaw blade and rails if not cleaned immediately.
Freshly sawn wood is yellowish and smells of pickles. Boards dry very evenly and hardly warp.
Common uses: fence posts, shingles, outside construction works, …

By: Evelyn Bowers

Evelyn Bowers — Thu, 12 Dec 2019 13:16:08 +0000

I have a beautiful piece a very dark chestnut notched in a V that is from the lower Front piece of a clock case from the early 1800s no wormy holes at that time it was given to me by my uncle and will be given to my son as he is a joiner .
My husband‘s grandfather tried for 50 years to plant the chest nuts seeds before the squirrels could get them but as each one reach six years old it would bear a few little seeds and quickly die off .

By: Liviu

Liviu — Sun, 29 Sep 2019 00:21:58 +0000

In reply to Gordon Gaines. Yes. "Hardwood" doesn't mean "wood that is hard". Any wood that isn't pine/fir is hardwood