Blanket Chest in Butternut
Butternut is an interesting and challenging wood to work. Although technically a hardwood in the same family as black walnut, it’s almost as soft as pine- so frequent trips to the sharpening pond are absolutely critical to getting crisp joints. I once read an article that described butternut as filling in the often neglected medium coloration category between the maples, pines, poplars on the light end and the cherries, walnuts on the dark side. Either way, it definitely looks very “Shaker”. Sadly a canker disease is wiping out these trees with most experts agreeing that they’ll likely go extinct within our lifetimes. I hope that this blanket chest will give future generations an opportunity to enjoy this magnificent wood even if the trees are no longer with us.
