# chestnut



## frodo (Jan 29, 2015)

buddy sent me a 4''x6''x8''  chunk of chestnut

 tenon off of a beam 

as you can see it has dried and has splits.






my question,  can i inject glue into the cracks and clamp this together ?

would it work to soak the wood, inject glue and clamp it tight.? 

or is this wood fireplace bound ?

this is what I have in mind


----------



## mako1 (Jan 29, 2015)

I think that piece is toast.The blank for the  piece in the pics was glued up using 5- 1" boards It would probably be more stable that way.Cool bandsaw  project.


----------



## nealtw (Jan 29, 2015)

There is no fixing it but you could rip it down and see if the inside is better.
Nice boxes, you do want to be more careful with the glue on the last glue up.


----------



## bud16415 (Jan 29, 2015)

That piece of wood is what we call heart wood in the mills around here. It came from the very center of the tree. All the good slabs were cut off around it. Heart wood is sold for cribbing and to places to make skids out of here. 

The time to make such a nice project wouldn&#8217;t be worth the risk of it cracking IMO. 

Make something rustic from it or add it to the fire wood pile.


----------



## frodo (Jan 29, 2015)

bud16415 said:


> That piece of wood is what we call heart wood in the mills around here. It came from the very center of the tree. All the good slabs were cut off around it. Heart wood is sold for cribbing and to places to make skids out of here.
> 
> The time to make such a nice project wouldnt be worth the risk of it cracking IMO.
> 
> Make something rustic from it or add it to the fire wood pile.




my thoughts also,


----------



## nealtw (Jan 29, 2015)

The cracks are from drying to fast, what does the other end look like


----------



## oldognewtrick (Jan 29, 2015)

Slice some thin pieces like a loaf of bread, use them to make a veneer for a table top/counter top and cover it with clear resin...just a thought.


----------



## Sparky617 (Jan 29, 2015)

I wouldn't burn a piece of chestnut.  The American Chestnut was killed off by a blight years ago. It is beautiful wood, it may not work for your projects but it is certainly usable for something besides firewood.


----------



## bud16415 (Jan 29, 2015)

Chestnut is a beautiful wood. When we pulled up the nasty carpets and pads in our house there was a nasty dirty painted wood floor and I announced we were going to sand it and see what we had. I was almost outvoted as everyone just wanted to slap something new over it. 3 days of sanding latter we had a beautiful chestnut floor. 

I think Frodo should start a new thread with photos of his chestnut block showing all sides and dimensions and we can all think of things he can make out of it. I guess this thread is already going in that direction so we can do it here.


----------



## elbo (Jan 31, 2015)

before I threw it into a fireplace, I would try injecting it with glue, like you are thinking of. you can get a plastic throwaway irrigation syringe from your dentist. It looks something like a hypodermic needle syringe , but made entirely of plastic with a curved end on it (no sharp needle )
After injecting the glue use your air compressor to blow force the glue deep into the wood, then clamp it the best way possible, and keep your fingers crossed
Use a white glue so it doesn't set too fast
Uncross your fingers after a couple of days, and saw the wood as you want
If it doesn't work, toss it into the fireplace and all you've lost is a little time
If people take a piece of rotten wood, (spalted) and make beautiful projects from it, why not try to do something with that piece you have?


----------



## frodo (Feb 1, 2015)

.........................


----------



## nealtw (Feb 1, 2015)

This would cost more than it's worth but this the proceedure
http://www.ellisflutes.com/shop-notes/vacuum-resin-infusion-one


----------



## slownsteady (Feb 2, 2015)

nealtw said:


> This would cost more than it's worth but this the proceedure
> http://www.ellisflutes.com/shop-notes/vacuum-resin-infusion-one



A good read. Not something you usually run across, but interesting stuff. Beautiful instruments; Check out his home page & listen to some samples


----------

