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Condition: 150 years old - fabulous
Manufacturer: hand hewn American chestnut
In our world, if a craftsman were to apply half as much effort, patience or pride to his work as was devoted to the job of making the one piece you see in this listing, we would shake our heads and say he is a master at his trade. Unfortunately for us, today's hectic schedules and the 'profit first' attitude of the business world in general, no one can afford to spend the time or even learn the skills that were required one hundred and fifty years ago to make this single piece of timber, but that does not mean we can not visualize the effort and be in awe of the work and the workers who once crafted pieces like the piece of hardwood our photos display.
Can you figure out what it was used for? Here's a hint. The ends are cut to form the first half of a joint that will lap against, or junction into another piece of timber, which has a similar shape at the ends. Once the pieces were set in place, they were fixed together by means of someone using a large wooden hammer and driving a hardwood pin through the hole in one piece, into the hole in the other. It worked sort of like a giant nail, only much cooler.
Here's another hint. This piece of wood is actually either the top or the bottom of a square framework and that framework sat inside a square opening in a stone wall that was part of a barn built sometime during the 1850's. Notice that the hand cut diamond shaped holes in the face of the wood only go half way through the piece. Well these same cutouts were duplicated on the opposing timber with the diamond holes in the top piece facing down at the ones in the bottom piece.
Figured it out yet? Well, it’s not an easy thing to guess, so I'll stop teasing.
After the framework was ready, squared off pieces of hardwood that had been hand shaped so the ends would fit down into these diamond holes and when all of them were in place, KAZAAM! They had made a screen or cage over the window opening that would keep their farm animals from entering or leaving that part of the barn.
Can you imagine doing all that work for just one barn window? Well there were eight of the same frames in the just main barn on this farm. Sure the builders could have just taken a handful of sticks and nailed them to the frame from the inside or out, but the craftsmen back then had too much pride in their work to even dream of taking such a shortcut.
Measuring 4 inches thick by 9 inches wide by 6 feet long, not counting the extra length for the tenon cut at each end. Chestnut. Wormy American Chestnut Hardwood. Imagine the possibilities???
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