American chestnut from creeks

[hatchoil]

A freind of mine has several thousnad bd ft of chestnut and some type of oak that is now extinct. It was a dam in a creek in WV, about 8 yrs ago we tried to  mill it with a band mill after pressure washing. The lumber has soaked up alot of very fine sand which cause the blades to go dull extremely fast so we quit and the lumber is sitting in a warehouse. Is there anyway to mill this stuff and is it even worth milling because it will be so hard on WW equitment? I have a swing bland and slabber and someone told me that they had a special ripping chain that would work on the sandy timbers.

[Ron Wenrich]

It would be worth something.  Seems like you're talking about some old growth timber.  At the very minimum, it would make nice wainscoting in a rough cut form.  But, the real money would be for cabinets or flooring, IMO.  Surfacing would be a problem, but I wonder how far in the sand goes.  You might be able to edge it out.  Sand should only be in the tiny crevices.  With your blade, you're dragging sand through the cut, which doesn't help. 

[dustyhat]

What about one of them chainsaw mills with a carbide chain, i dont know maby a thought.

[dustyhat]

Sorry, after reading more carefully i guess you done got a big chainsawmill. you might try getting someone with a de barker to get a few layers down for you.

[deepsouth.us]

IMO it's well worth your effort. I've given up trying to post pics here, but I can email photos of the kitchen shelving we did from American Chestnut if you'd like

[sandsawmill14]

IMO it's well worth your effort. I've given up trying to post pics here, but I can email photos of the kitchen shelving we did from American Chestnut if you'd like

dont give up on the pics it easy once you figure it out

[WLC]

The chestnut is quite valuable.  Well worth the trouble you will go to to get it sawed up.  It is usually better to saw it straight out of the creek than to let it dry out.  Won't crack and check as bad.  I've helped drag a few logs out of creeks before and that's what we always did with it, but it was all sawed on a circle mill and not a band mill.  Wormy Chestnut is my favorite lumber.  I hope and pray that one day it will begin its journey back to the dominant species it once was.

[thecfarm]

If going to market it,any pictures,history of the *DanG? That really helps on the bragging rights of the wood.

[hatchoil]

Do you think that it will mess the blade up on my swingmill?

[Ianab]

It's wont damage with the blade, but it's going to dull the carbide tips a lot faster.

More sharpening, and the tips are going to need replacing sooner. But that's not a deal breaker if the wood is valuable.

[Chop Shop]

I dunno about the lucas, but I mill lots of OLD dry wood and submerged stuff on a Mobile Dimension.   It dulls faster than green/clean but it eats the stuff up.

I have insert teeth and its a breeze to sharpen/replace them.

I seem to recal that the lucas has fixed teeth?    So do you have to send them in to have them retipped or just replace the blade?

Seems like I would see about having an insert tooth blade made for the lucas.


I have a Hudson bandmill also, but me and bands dislike each other.   :(