Uses of Chestnut:
Chestnut was used for poles, railroad crossties, furniture, caskets, boxes, crates and core stock for veneer panels. It appears most frequently now as “wormy chestnut” for paneling, trim and picture frames.
Description:
The heartwood of chestnut is grayish-brown or brown and becomes darker with age. The sapwood is narrow and almost white.
Range:
Before American chestnut was attacked by a fungus blight, it grew in commercial quantities from New England to northern Georgia. Practically all standing chestnut has been killed by blight, and most supplies come from dead timber. Although there are very limited quantities in the Appalachian Mountains, chestnut logs are available because of natural resistance to decay.
Physical Properties:
The wood is coarse in texture; the growth rings are made conspicuous by several rows of large, distinct pores at the beginning of each year’s growth. Chestnut wood is moderately light in weight (31lbs./cu.ft.), moderately hard, moderately low in strength, moderately low in resistance to shock, and low in stiffness. It seasons well and is easy to work with tools.
