I think I've found four huge chestnut logs - Please advise!

[EastoutWest]

Hi everyone, this is my first post here. My name's Ian.

I have been scavenging firewood all last fall and this winter and really improving upon my chainsaw and splitting maul skills...

I've scored some good finds: A huge cherry tree, A long thick water-logged red oak, some hickory, plenty of poplar, some dogwood... anyway...

I found 4 massive logs of what seems to be American Wormy Chestnut. The forest behind my property was logged in 2009 and apparently they left behind some massive logs that had already been on the ground. These were just rolled into a ditch.

I found them the other day and gave my chainsaw a workout... the smallest section of any of them was still a couple inches larger than my 18" bar. I split one of the cuts I made and the outside of the log is full of worm holes. Darkish wood with tight grain, no smell, splits like oak, has obviously been on the ground for many years but no rot. Looks strikingly similar to the wormy chestnut on my mantle.

Link to photos (I couldn't get the images to embed): https://picasaweb.google.com/ilmontgo/Chestnut?authkey=Gv1sRgCI7ZsYzg9f-T8gE#

Anyway, I know if this is American wormy Chestnut, it's worth something. Yet I don't have the equipment to move even one of these logs, let alone 4. Plus its on someone else's property (although they obviously cast it aside).

Do ya'll think it might be feasible to cut the logs into say 3 ft sections (which will still weigh like 300 lbs) and find a cabinet or furniture buyer?

I'm just not sure what to do. It burns amazingly but I can find firewood elsewhere.

Thanks.

By the way, the logs are approximately between 2 and 4 ft in diameter and each is about 15 ft long.

 

[darkbyrd]

nice find! I don't know who you might unload it on. you'll have better luck keeping them long though. Do you know anyone with a sawmill and a tractor? You might want to get the landowner's permission to scrounge wood, even cast-aside it's someone's property. Or, keep it for the awesome firewood! Where you at? If you're nearby, we might be able to work something out.

 

[trimmmed]

Judging the size of the medullary rays, I don't think it's chestnut, looks more like an oak and a chestnut oak in particular. Just my opinion (best guess)

Any bark left?

 

[Swamp Yankee]

Depends

Assuming you have permission to take wood from the forest, be it state or private, the logs are worth far more in long length than in short pieces. Finding a buyer may still be difficult for such a small quantity.

If you don't have permission to harvest, forget about the logs, they're not yours to harvest,

Take Care

 

[burroak]

that sure looks like something in the white oak family to me.

 

[VA-Sawyer]

I have a Woodmizer portable sawmill here in Candler NC. Where are you ?

 

[rarefish383]

99.9% sure it is not Chestnut. Looks like an Oak. I have several logs in the 24 to 30 inch size range on the campus of a private school, and several more on the ground on my farm in WV, that look just like that. The ones on the farm are Chestnut Oaks, not any relation to a real Chestnut, the Chestnut Oak just has a leaf that looks similar to a Chestnut. I milled some slabs fom the ones on my farm and they are beautiful. Old wood like that may still have a value. The only thing is when milling stuff like that it is really hard on blades, there is just lots and lots of fine sand and dirt in every crevice from rain and wind.

I live in the Metro DC area, and in the 60's, we still had quite a few American Chestnuts growing off old stumps from logging. They would get about 6 or 8 inches in diameter and maybe 30 feet high and then die off. There are a few big ones left, but they are a treat to see. To be left over from logging they would have to be 50 years old or more and I don't think they could make it lying on the ground. Maybe completely submerged in water? At 18 to 20 inches they are too small to be old survivors, and they are too big to be off shoots of old stumps.

I'd contact my state or county extension service and show them a sample of one of the split pieces. I don't want to knock any pros on their judgement, but this stuff really hasn't been seen since before most of them were born. I'm a Licensed Arborist (retired) in MD and the fourth generation in the business, and I don't want to make the call. Good luck, Joe.

 

[ATH]

The best way to identify wood is to look at the end grain.

You can really see pronounced rays in Pictures 7, 8, and 9. That is oak, not American Chestnut. Additionally in Picture 1 you can really see the surface of the rays on the front facing side of that piece. These are the rays you look for in quartersawn oak.

Here are some resources:
Identifying Chestnut Wood from Tenn Extension
Chestnut ID from Hobbit House
White oak ID from Hobbit House

(just to clarify, Chestnut oak is a white oak...)