Chestnut

[scrollski]

I want to buy some chestnut logs from someone in Raleigh who just cut down a Chestnut tree on Monday. The largest log is about 12" in diameter and 24" log. There is about 15 logs all about 24" long and range from 12" to 4" in diameter. What would be a fair price or this wood?

 

[Mike Davis]

2 feet long? That's not a log.

What you plan to do with it could have some bearing on the price. I guess this is Chinese Chestnut? I wouldn't think it could be worth much.

Plus it's been drying (with or without sealer) for 5 days, are the ends splitting?

I'd offer him a six pack of his favorite beverage to help load it on the truck.

 

[Russ Denz]

From what I've read recently, Jim, if it's an American Chestnut and it's not all eaten up with blight, you might do well to give the guy whatever he asks...because you may never see one again. Then again, everything you read on the internet is true, right?
Seriously, the American Chestnut was nearly wiped out a while ago and the tree guru's are trying desperately to engineer a comeback, but that's another story. But I digress...

if it was me buying a good-looking 2' log I'd try to get it for @$10 - good luck!! If we were still in NC I'd love to go with you.

Russ

 

[dozer]

I would say it would depend on what you were going to do with the logs. I usally don't pay for small logs like this they are usally free.

 

[Jeff]

I'm not convinced that you're buying true American chestnut because of the blight that essentially wiped them out along the East coast beginning in 1904. A 12" diameter live American chestnut tree would be a rare find nearly 100 years later. So maybe you're looking at a generic "chestnut" species.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_chestnut

Chinese chestnut (Castanea mollissima) produces delicious edible nuts too and a healthy tree is resistant to the American chestnut blight whereas a stressed tree may succumb to that same blight as well.

Since the tree has only been down about 1 week there may be some leaves/branches still lying around so a few pics of those may help in the identification. Like this.

http://www.mindspring.com/~psisco/www/overview.html