Thanks for all the info guys ..to be honest I have since had another look at it and it now looks more like Elm than Oak, the recent cutting looks to have been done with an ordinary cross cut saw ...need to ask the chap who gave it to me about that. I'm not to convinced about the distressing though as I believe this piece was hidden in the roof parts of the building so it wouldn't be on display., but I do like Zulus idea of a rough edge for plaster or lime mortar to adhere to ... that sounds good. It actually came out of the oldest pub in the village of Croston nr Preston. Originally, according to some sources, it was a Jacobian house, then later in the 1700s it became The Green Man pub and then had it's name changed to The Lord Nelson in 1805 after the battle of Trafalgar. If I can get some blanks out of it I may be worthwhile to go and present the landlord with a pen made from his pub on condition that he signs a few provenances for me.
