Monday, November 16, 2009

Are Chestnut trees good for firewood?

The nuts were once an important economic resource in the U.S., even being sold on the streets of larger cities, as they sometimes still are during the Christmas season (usually "roasting on an open fire" so their smell is readily identifiable many blocks away).





The wood is similar to oak wood in being decorative and very durable.





Due to disease, American Chestnut wood has almost disappeared from the market.





It is difficult to obtain large size timber from the Sweet Chestnut, due to the high degree of splitting and warping when it dries.





The wood of the Sweet Chestnut is most used in small items where durability is important, such as fencing and wooden outdoor cladding ('shingles') for buildings.





In Italy, it is also used to make barrels used for aging balsamic vinegar.





The bark was also a useful source of natural tannins, used for tanning leather before the








The wood is straight-grained, strong, easy to saw and split, and lacks the radial end grain found on most other hardwoods.





The tree was particularly valuable commercially since it would grow at a faster rate than oaks.





Being rich in tannins, the wood was highly resistant to decay and therefore used for a variety of purposes, including furniture, split-rail fences, shingles, home construction, flooring, piers, plywood, paperpulp, and telephone poles.





Tannins were also extracted from the bark for tanning leather. Although larger trees are no longer available for milling, much chestnut wood has been reclaimed from historic barns to be refashioned into furniture and other items. "Wormy" chestnut refers to a defective grade of wood that has insect damage, having been sawn from long-dead blight-killed trees.





This "wormy" wood has since become fashionable for its rustic character.





It can burn so it is a firewood but it is more valuable than that!!

Are Chestnut trees good for firewood?
Sure, once they are dried out.


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