How well does very old wood hold up if reused for cabinets? (see details please)?

Question

I'm remodeling my home and recently removed nearly 500 board feet of 16' oak 2 x10's (full dimensioned). Many of the boards have deteriorated at the ends, but after experimenting and cutting one into various sizes of smaller dimension boards, there is still a great deal of usable wood, including a 12' length of 2 x 4.

This was a very slow growth tree, and the grain is very tight and straight; most of it is much better than the finest quality hardwood I’ve seen available today. There are only 8 knots in the entire lot!

That's where my question comes in. This wood was harvested 160 years ago in the 1850’s (yes, it held a floor up for a century and a half) and while I've built a couple of sets of kitchen cabinets with success, it was always new wood.

Answer 1

Although I am not a carpenter, I had my husband remodel my kitchen.  He had made the original cabinets and we never got around to adding new doors to the cabinets.  My trims around the cabinets were red oak. We were able to salvage those pieces and add in some newer oak pieces.  I dont believe that we had any shrinking nor warping.  However we found that we had to drill first and then place the nails in  because the wood was over 30 years old.  Because we had just varnished the red oak we were able to have the old blend in with the new.  Anyway, different shades is expected in same type materials.  Good luck and I believe that you should be happy with your remodeling adventure.

Answer 2

In my experience very old wood makes wonderful cabinets. On one job the property owners wanted/needed long lengths of walnut and were not able to find it anywhere. Finally they were able to locate an old barn in either Kentucky of Tennessee that was framed in American walnut. They bought the barn, had it dismantled and shipped west. Once finished the wood made some of the finest cabinets and mill-work I have ever seen. Go for it!

Answer 3

If the wood came from interior demolition & has  not been exposed to the elements , Its about as cured as it can get.

Doubt very much if it would bow even  when resawn into boards.

Then again , who cares, that can be  fixed....you have a treasure there.

Found some  great old stuff at an old lumber yard & used it sparingly, like fine old wine.

From the tight, straight  grain you describe & the lack of knots

think it might be chestnut ?

If you are in farm country & the house is that old... some  chance it could be, in which case you ..really.... have something there.

In any case " antique " wood is in high demand & as you said

is better than any a hardwood you can find today.

Best regards

Answer 4

It should hold up very well.  Although, I have found the older wood (30+ years) is difficult to nail.  You can use nailless joints (dovetail, etc.)

My niece and her husband own a business that specializes in tearing down and rebuilding old cabins (100+ yrs) and barns.  They also sell a lot of the wood that has been milled into flooring and for cabinets.

Check out the website.

Answer 5

It would be a shame to turn 160 year old wood into cabinets.  try something a bit more,  try someting a tad more.  or sell it and buy even more lumber with the money you get and build even more cabinets

Answer 6

Sounds like a goldmine. I used old pallett wood. some of it oak or birch, as the slats on my front poarch rail. It looks fantastick. I used screws and predrilled all the holes so I wouldn't crack the brittle wood. If you dont use the wood, someone will buy it from you for top dollar...especially the longer pieces. Try planing a few boards, I bet they will be beautiful. Build on!