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CHESTNUT
Castanea spp.
my samples --- colors are accurate throughout except as noted on the sample plank of Chinese chestnut
both sides of a sample plank of American chestnut --- the poor quality of this wood sample is fairly common in samples obtained from the IWCS.
end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above
two planks and a closeup
the other sides of the two planks above, and a closeup
both sides of a small plank cut from one of the larger ones above
end grain and end grain closeup of the plank directly above
plank and end grain
end grain closeup of the piece directly above
Spanish chestnut sample plank and end grain
end grain closeup of the piece directly above
both sides of a sample plank of Chinese chestnut --- the color shown is too orange
end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above
wormy chestnut veneer --- this is a particularly fragile veneer. I don't know whether that's true in general or just of the lot I bought, but this a lot of this stuff just falls apart in your hands.
burl veneer
burl veneer
NOT a raw wood color
a flooring sample of "southern chestnut" that has been finished in a hard, shiny, finish that clearly has deepened and enriched the color. I consider the vendor unreliable and am not completely confident that this even IS chestnut.
the piece directly above, after I sanded off the finish --- now that the finish is off, I see that the grain is almost identical to that of the Southern chestnut directly below, although the color is clearly much lighter --- this was a thin plywood layer, so I could not get an end grain pic
flooring sample and end grain of "Southern" chestnut
end grain closeup of the flooring sample directly above --- note the very indistinct separation between early and late growth, which is completely unlike the other samples above --- SO ... I'm not convinced this IS chestnut, but can't say for sure one way or the other. The fact that the side grain is almost identical to the sample directly above argues in favor of it being chestnut, BUT ... both of these are from flooring dealers and flooring dealers are absolutely the LEAST reliable vendors in the world when it comes to proper identification of wood.
web pics
plank with wet and dry sections
wormy planks
clear planks
planks
plank specifically listed as American chestnut
both sides and a closeup of two American chestnut planks --- interesting how all 3 pics have sigfificantly different colors
curly plank
chestnut listed as "chinkapin" --- both sides of a plank and a closeup
chestnut listed as "chinkapin" --- both sides of a plank and a closeup
chestnut listed as "chinkapin" --- both sides of a plank and a closeup
chestnut listed as "chinkapin" planks
"chinkapin" planks from the BogusColorVendor so I have no confidence in the color
listed as "golden" chinkapin
veneer
veneer sheets and closeup --- these are from a vendor whose pics make many woods look green regardless of the actual color of the wood, so the green color is highly unlikely
fiddleback veneer --- I've never encountered fiddleback chestnut myself and this is the only pic I've ever run across
wormy chestnut veneer
wormy European chestnut veneer, all from the same vendor
wormy chestnut veneer --- my wormy chestnut samples above are from the lot that these pictures were taken of and as you can see, the vendors pics shown here are WAY off in color (mine are corrected and accurate)
burl veneer
burl veneer from a vendors whose pics make many woods look green regardless of the true color --- the actual wood is certainly more tan than green, although it could well have a noticible green tinge
listed as "flamed" burl veneer
american chestnut
american chestnut reclaimed planks --- very old which probably accounts for the deep brown color
American wormy chestnut --- 3 views of the same board
more American wormy chestnut planks
flooring made from reclaimed chestnut planks
wormy chestnut pen blanks --- yellow/orange color is very unlikely
european chestnut planks
European chestnut veneer
European chestnut veneer, all from the same vendor
European chestnut veneer sheet closeups with both levels of enlargement. These are all from the same vendor as the lot directly above
two views of a big block of spalted chestnut. The listing said "sweet" chestnut. Personally, I've never eaten any chestnut trees, so I couldn't tell you whether this is really sweet or not.
veneer listed as sweet chestnut
spalted
a batch of spalted chestnut turning sticks. The listing said "sweet" chestnut.
pen blanks
wormy chestnut pen blanks
listed as Brazilian chestnut, but I'm wondering if this is to chestnut what Brazilian Cherry (Jatoba) is to cherry (it isn't). Correspondant Paul van Rijckevorsel tells me this is NOT chestnut and I believe him.
listed as horse chestnut
flooring