This Wood Is Going Extinct So I'm Using It

Indiziert: 2026-05-21

[00:00:00]I'm about to make sawdust out of one of America's most iconic woods. And here's the thing, it will soon be functionally extinct. It's shaped everything from baseball to rock and roll, and we're probably going to be the last generation to have it. And this hits me right in the heart. I live on a 3-acre property with only two mature trees, and they're both doomed. It seems to be the only kind of tree that wants to grow here, too. I can't fix the problem, but I can preserve the wood for history. So, today, we're building out of good old American ash.

[00:00:37]I like to call this a project in its most optimistic state. At this point, all I'm seeing is the material translated into the finished project.

[00:00:46]But, what I don't know is all the problems and all the wasted wood I'm going to make along the way.

[00:00:54]You see, ash can be tricky to work with.

[00:00:56]It likes to chip [music] and splinter.

[00:00:58]It's nearly impossible to plane. It's also got really prominent grain patterns. [music] So, when you're joining panels, the join line can really stand out. And because it has an open grain pattern, it will soak up anything.

[00:01:12]That's why I'm taping these glue lines.

[00:01:14]I'm building a table to replace this. We call this the snow globe table because at Christmas, the top is covered with snow globes that we've gotten over the years. It's seen better days, and it's the wrong size for the space, anyway.

[00:01:29]So, here's an AI mock-up of what I'm hoping to build, but I'll tell you right now, this is going to be the most challenging build I've ever done.

[00:01:38]Before we get too much further into this project, I need to explain what's going on with the ash tree in America. It's eerily similar to what happened with the American chestnut, which is where this story starts.

[00:01:52]Chestnut [music] trees used to dominate the Eastern United States. People say when they bloomed, it looked like it had snowed on the side of the mountains. And these things were monsters. They [music] were called the redwoods of the east.

[00:02:05]But sometime in the 1890s, a fungus hitched a ride on Japanese chestnut trees imported for landscaping and orchards. [music] The Japanese trees were resistant to the chestnut blight, but the American ones weren't.

[00:02:20]And almost 100% of the species was knocked out.

[00:02:24]The landscape we see now is completely different than what it looked like before that. And sadly, no more chestnuts roasting on an open fire.

[00:02:34]But that's chestnut. We're talking about ash, but you need to understand that first because the story of the American ash is just the second verse of the same song.

[00:02:44]You can still buy small chestnut boards on eBay, but they're really expensive because they're all reclaimed lumber and it's in high demand.

[00:02:53]I'm also wondering if someday someone will take this apart to use the ash or if the piece will be good enough to keep.

[00:03:02]Well, it's not going to pass that test with glue lines like this.

[00:03:05]Oh, well. Nothing a little bit more sanding won't solve.

[00:03:12]Right now, ash is abundant and cheap.

[00:03:15]But all I have is this 3/4 inch stock, so I need to do some gluing for these legs.

[00:03:21]Man, I wish the glue lines were this easy to remove on the panels.

[00:03:25]I'm making a taper on the bottom of these legs because tapered legs are cool. And I have to justify the time I spent making a tapering jig somehow.

[00:03:34]Details like that matter because I want this project to be a piece of history that my daughters can appreciate after I'm gone.

[00:03:40]And I really do have the best daughters on the planet. They knew I was getting tired, so they put on their coveralls and came out to help. [music] We were actually at a good point in the build to teach them a new skill. So, I put one of them to work while the other cleaned up the shop, and then they switched places.

[00:03:56]>> [music] >> Woodworking joints have confusing names.

[00:04:23]Like, is this a mortise or is it a dado?

[00:04:26]I looked it up. It turns out it's a stopped groove, I think.

[00:04:32]But, does it really matter? I mean, as long as it works, who cares what it's called? It's good to learn those things, but the only people that will ever correct you are the gatekeepers that want to protect the art of woodworking from Well, honestly, I don't know what they're trying to protect it from. Maybe panels that aren't square because you didn't brace them correctly, and somehow you're going to give us all a bad name, or maybe totally obvious join lines like this one you're seeing here, which doesn't incidentally matter because it's going to be on the inside of the piece of furniture, and no one will ever see it anyway. But, one of the reasons this channel exists is to show you that wherever you are in your woodworking journey, it's okay. You belong here.

[00:05:14]And if you're thinking about starting, I highly recommend it. I mean, sure, watch some safety videos, but then just jump in. It's the best way to learn.

[00:05:35]I suck at using the circular saw.

[00:05:39]While I'm breaking down this plywood for drawers, let's get back to why the ash tree is dying out all across the United States.

[00:05:48]So, we talked about how the chestnut blight [music] came into the country on live trees and killed all the American chestnut trees.

[00:05:55]To make sure that never happened again, regulations were placed on the import [music] of live trees, but they didn't apply to cut lumber. And sometime in the 1990s, a little bug made its way [music] to our shores in shipping materials, probably pallet lumber or shipping crates that hadn't been kiln-dried. [music] It was discovered just outside Detroit and for 25 years, it's been making its way across the country.

[00:06:22]The villain in the story is the emerald ash borer beetle. They plant their larvae beneath the bark of ash trees and those larvae feast on the cambium layer of the tree.

[00:06:34]The cambium is basically the tree's highway system for water and nutrients and without it, the tree can't survive.

[00:06:42]Faith hasn't taken this news well. In fact, this is me talking to her about it and I know she looks bored, but honestly, it's just hard for her to talk about. Now, if you peel back the bark, what do you see?

[00:06:54]I see squiggles and lines. Squiggles and lines. Do you know what made those? Um like a termite?

[00:07:00]It wasn't a termite. It was actually an emerald ash borer beetle. This is just one random place. If I cut anywhere on this tree, I'd see the same thing. What does that tell you about this tree?

[00:07:10]That it's going to fall over.

[00:07:12]Eventually.

[00:07:15]I sent her inside to get her coveralls and grab her sister so we could do some woodworking, hoping that maybe it would cheer her up.

[00:07:22]Peyton, next to the dado.

[00:07:25]The cosish?

[00:07:27]It's called a dado. Who calls it a dado?

[00:07:30]Woodworkers like you.

[00:07:33]Hey, do you want to go on a girls out night with the girls out? No, I have a dado with my boyfriend though.

[00:07:42]What am I supposed to do with this kid?

[00:07:45]At least she's in a better mood.

[00:07:50]I need [snorts] some more.

[00:07:55]>> [sighs and gasps] >> So it's soft.

[00:07:59]Building drawers is pretty fun, especially when you have well, at least one of my kids is helping.

[00:08:09]>> [music] [music] >> Look at that. Perfect fit.

[00:08:29]Ooh.

[00:08:30]Not so much from the front.

[00:08:32]Did anybody else see that coming?

[00:08:52]I know it's just ash, but knowing how soon it will be gone, I feel like I shouldn't be allowed to work with it.

[00:08:59]And here's why. I just messed this up. I placed the spacers wrong, and now I have to take them off, wasting more wood.

[00:09:09]I'm not upset because of what I spent on it. I mean, ash is cheap right now, and I know how to make some money.

[00:09:15]But I'm running out of material, and so I have to use these plywood spacers, which are not ideal because with the wood movement, they could pop off, and that's why I'm making these little slots.

[00:09:25]But here's the bigger reason. You may be thinking that with all the dead trees, the market is about to be flooded with ash lumber. I thought that, too. But the truth is, all that lumber will be unusable because it's going to be case hardened, which is what happens when the wood dries unevenly. It will never be stable, no matter what you do.

[00:09:47]So, buy it now because it's pretty.

[00:10:01]>> [music] [music] [snorts] >> In the next video, we're going to build the top, and all I can tell you for now is it's really not going very well.

[00:10:26]Um in the meantime, why don't you watch one of these videos? They're fun, especially this one.

[00:10:33]>> [music]