chestnut for a Lenco plinth?

I'm about to embark on a replinthing (not really a 're' as it doesn't have one at the mo) of a GL75 I got off ebay.
I know I want to do a pretty high mass one and would make it out of plywood layers (with the odd MDF one). But if I can get away with it, I don't like buying materials.
Now, I happen to have a lot of seasoned chestnut lying around in very (400+mm) wide boards. Does anyone have an opinion on how suitable this would be for a high mass idler plinth? Or would I be better off not being stingy and going for plywood
Thanks

 

The only concern I would have is I wouldnt use it unless it had been kiln dried.Even well seasoned wood will split/crack in a centrally heated house as the moisture content will be too high.I had a slab of burr elm air dried for about 18months and it continued to move once brought into my house.If you can split it and bond it to ply it would help.

 

yes I was assuming I would do that. Also I'd be laminating a few layers of it. Surely this should make it much less likely to crack.

What do you think about it's sonic properties though? It's not that dense, although much more so than softwood. Very straight even grain

 

Sorry been busy for a few days, laminating it will help but you would really need to laminate it under pressure ,I am pretty sure you will find that the chestnut either fissues/gets shakes or may debond.I dont think its particlarly less dense than a standard ply.You would be better going for a high quality veneered ply and you can get a sheet for not huge sums of money and it will be rock solid and stable.I made a plinth from teak once which was like cutting steel but its still going strong and that must be 15 years.If you are going to the effort of doing this I always think you are better using best materials available as after putting in a lot of labour you will be extremely disappointed if it falls apart.