Chestnut Wood

[Ken G]

I know the blight wipped out 99.9% of the American Chestnut trees around the turn of the century but before that it was an extremly common wood in the Appalchai Mountains and was used a good bit for funtiure. 
Has anyone seen a rifle stocked in Chestnut? 
Cheers,
Ken

[famouseagle]

I think this topic comes around every couple of years.  The last time it was discussed there was a post from someone who believed that a few Revolutionary War period muskets were stocked in Chestnut (as well as most anything else). 

If you are considering making a gunstock from Chestnut you should make something simple from the wood first.  You will find that it is rather soft, very splintery (don't even think about carving), and rather plain.  I made a couple of Shaker-style clocks from Chestnut a few years ago and won't do it again.

Chestnut planks are available from people who tear down old barns.  You would probably have to order anything thick enough for a gunstock.  The wood can be 150 -200 years old and isn't cheap.  You may find a nice plank that looks good but is eaten away in the inside - "wormy Chestnut".  There's a good reason it was used for beams and fence posts.  It will last a long time but is seldom used for anything intricate.

[rich pierce]

There are a couple of stock blank suppliers providing a few new growth chestnut blanks.  It looks as said above that chestnut was used rarely and perhaps when musket production was high and supplies low (guns needed to arm volunteers in the Revolutionary War).

[Tom Currie]

A bit of Chestnut info for everyone. The American Chestnut Foundation has been working for over 30 years on genetic cross breeding  American Chestnut stock with Asian Chestnut trees in order to achieve a American Chestnut with the physical characteristics of an American with the blight resistance gene that the asians carry. They hope to have blight resistant stock within a few years. This tree once provided approx 30% of the forest cover in appalachia and important mast crops for critters as well as people.
   I don't know where stock blank providers are getting chestnut wood today ( other than reclaimed barn beams ) as any American Chestnut trees that still grow rarely reach 8" in diameter before dying from the blight.  Maybe they are Asian Chestnut. 

[kentucky bucky]

Many folks in "in the know" say that the chestnut blight was responsible for much , if not the majority, of the downfall of many species of game animals. The treesa were so plentiful, train cars full of chestnuts were shipped into New York City to sell by vendors each year, and country folks depended on the cash from selling them.