Thread: What is Wormy Chestnut?

It looks like it depends on who you ask MA.

Australian Wormy Chestnut - Britton Timbers

Wormy Chestnut | The Wood Database (Hardwood) (wood-database.com)

I've always pictured some turned items I've seen that have been made from wood that's been attacked all over by wood worm. Can't find a picture ATM.

Found an excellent example by Dale Nish.

wormy.jpg

Britton Timbers description of the origin of this timber is pretty accurate as far as I'm aware. A lot of it came from the forests burned in the Victorian alpine regions in the past 15 years. It not only shows plenty of gum veins but also often displays blackened areas. When I first came across it I also wondered where the name came from and came to the conclusion that it was the invention of some marketing guru.

Dale Nish's bowl pictured above would be turned from American Wormy Chestnut described in the link to the Wood Database in the previous post.

Originally Posted by aldav

Britton Timbers description of the origin of this timber is pretty accurate as far as I'm aware. A lot of it came from the forests burned in the Victorian alpine regions in the past 15 years.

Yeah, but what makes it 'Chestnut' other than thinking a yank term will make it sell.

Never heard that term "chestnut" used here in Tasmania
Many years ago when working at Strahan on our west coast (heartof the King Billy and Huon Pine) I'd call into an old time sawmiller Bob Crane.
I'd get his King Billy palings and other fancy stuff.
One trip he had a nice looking log sitting forlornly out in the yard.
I asked him and"oh, its got worm holes".
Knowing they can actually be an enhancement I asked him to mill it.
Beautiful timber with tiny dark holes.
He also had myrtle and was sawing scantling from it.

Brittan Bros being Tasmanian was mainly blackwood in those days and doubt they considered the use of second-rate timber.

I'd suggest the "wormy" bit was due more to a beetle long departed.
Gum veins were second-rate and was just that. "Gum veins" or "sap"

I'd agree with Aldav "conclusion that it was the invention of some marketing "

Thanks all. The Britton Timbers link confirms my original thoughts.

Almost any light coloured Euc with gum vain and bug holes can be passed off as wormy chestnut these days.

Originally Posted by Picko

Yeah, but what makes it 'Chestnut' other than thinking a yank term will make it sell.

The same thing, minus the worm holes, that makes it oak or ash.

We've often discussed common names for woods & their tenuous connections to northern hemisphere originals & there are quite a few that leave me scratching my head wondering where the connection lies. Often as not it's the leaves or some other vague similarity that earns a local tree its dubious moniker rather than any similarity in the wood, e.g. using 'ash' for something like 'crows ash' (a Flindersia, totally unrelated to the Fraxinus genus, but the compound leaves do have a similarity). I can see a vague connection between mountain ash & oak (the Quercus variety), the grain & colour can be quite similar from some angles. And chestnut can be easily mistaken for 'real' oak when viewed on the face (especially under a thick coat of varnish), so I guess if you are happy to call Eucalyptus regnans 'oak' you could extend the metaphor to 'chestnut' with just a bit more stretching of the imagination.

The story of real American chestnut is a sad one - virtually wiped out by chestnut blight introduced from Europe, with elm suffering a similar fate a bit later. Two very useful woods that virtually disappeared in a generation. When I was living in Canada I once scored a whole pile of chestnut that came out of an old building which was said to be 'oak', & it did look a lot like oak until I picked it up - chestnut is way less dense! It was used a lot for internal & external joinery because of its durability - our house, built in 1882 was full of it (300mm plus wide skirting boards, very generous architraving, plus all of the window joinery). The stuff used way back was 100% sound, of course, the 'wormy' wood comes from long-dead standing trees. I suppose it's a way of using the old trees, but I've never been a fan of defect-riddled wood. I'm happy to look on Nish's bowl as art, but I could not bring myself to use wood like that for anything 'useful'. Try as I might, I just can't view a 'defect' as a 'feature' on a piece of furniture. I grew up in an era and an area where superb woods were still readily available & defective wood was immediately consigned to the fire. If I were a generation younger I would have to moderate my views of course, wood just ain't as common as it once was & it's becoming increasingly difficult to be choosy!

I had a good chuckle when some genius came up with the marketing term "natural feature grade", abbreviated 'NFG'. I thought, yep, it certainly looks NFG alright......

Cheers,

I am equally nonplussed on the problem of timber names, and the issue seems to be getting worse, not better, with creative marketeers.

Originally Posted by IanW

... so I guess if you are happy to call Eucalyptus regnans 'oak' you could extend the metaphor to 'chestnut' with just a bit more stretching of the imagination. ...

Possibly not the best example, Ian, or maybe it is a brilliant example? The timber from E regnans is oak in Tasmania and ash in Victoria.

... Try as I might, I just can't view a 'defect' as a 'feature' on a piece of furniture. ....

Agreed. I just do not see termites as artists in residence.

Some years back a Yank rang me looking for Grey Gum. He proceeded to advise, "In the US you would chew that. What else do you call it?"
I said, "Bear food." He seemed much happier with that.

Originally Posted by GraemeCook

... The timber from E regnans is oak in Tasmania and ash in Victoria.....

Yep, well aware of that Graeme, it was the connection between (genuine) oak & (genuine) chestnut that I was referring to. The two can be very similar grossly, so if you can stretch the appearance of a eucalypt to represent an oak it's only a small step to extend it to chestnut....

Why the Vics call E. regnans (& E. obliqua & E. delegatensis) 'ash' has always eluded me. There is nothing whatsoever in the gross appearance of the leaves or bark or growth habit that suggests 'Fraxinus spp.' to me, and even a colour-blind old git with failing visual acuity like me would be hard put to confuse the woods. Is it because they catch alight so easily?

Originally Posted by GraemeCook

.... I just do not see termites as artists in residence.....

I like that - filed for future plagiarising.....

Cheers

Delegatensis. Brings back memories
Now that's series timber.
I used to make dining tables from solid 6" x 2" boards.
Sourced it from Launceston sawmiller.
He knew what I was after.
Consistency wasn't a requirement but it sure was on tap.
I'd join the boards and it would look like one continuous wide beam of ¼ sawn "Mountain Ash"
He said the best of it came from the head of gullies in the northeast highlands.
Gorgeous stuff