How can I get a milled board to look rustic?

[torontoadguy]

I recently bought a some nice furniture grade hardwood in 4' lengths and different species. They have all been roughly milled. I want to make a bench but I would like to have a reclaimed rustic look, not the finish just the board. Any suggestions?

 

[Doug B]

Take an axe, chainsaw or arborteck to it.

Soon have it looking rustic.

 

[mtr1]

A certain amount of aging can be faked if you have a few basic tools like a spokeshave, sharp fist sized rocks, and a chain-mail burnisher.

First take your spokeshave blade out, and place it back in so about 1 mm of one corner sticks out, then run this across the grain in a kind of sawing motion. This will give the appearance of a pit-sawn board, but be careful doing this, spokeshaves have a tendency to roll over onto ones fingers. Then take the sharp rock and rub, and occasionally knock the edge of the board. This will age the edges. Then sand any bad chipping or frassie bits, and burnish the whole board with the chain-mail to a shine. Should look fairly rustic after this, but how you finish this board will add aging to an extent also.

 

[marcros]

Rico used a powerfile on one episode of Le Salvager. Well, actually on most episodes of it to make things look a bit aged and rustic. the other thing that you could do is to get an adze and use it carefully.

 

[AndyT]

You could sell your nice boards on here and use the proceeds to buy some second hand scaffold planks.

 

[bugbear]

A heavily cambered plane iron, very sharp, leaves a pleasing tool mark.

BugBear

 

[Giff]

We used to do this a lot for film sets.
1.Sandblasting or beadblasting.
2.Very course / stiff wire brush on an angle grinder. Then a finer one to finish. It will follow the grain.
Geoff

 

[Jacob]

Work over the surface with a blow lamp and then brush off the charred bits. It looks more interesting than you'd expect, as it raises the grain (burns out the soft parts).

 

[sawdust1]

Hi all, I do this allot when making antiqued furniture and have various tools to make the job easier. Its best to use as many different tools to give a varied distressed effect. No good if all the marks are the same. Firstly 10 inches of cord with 6 old keys tied one with small keys and one with large keys bash the timber by swinging them at the timber in different directions avoid uniformity . Another piece of cord with 6 short pieces of metal i have used some 6 inch offcuts from brass library strip again bash the timber with this. An old 4 inch hand planer blade fixed to a hand axe handle to chop off nicks on the edge and face of the boards. Also if you want do go further and you are spraying the finished boards then you can use patination fluids to give shading to corners and mouldings. Best to practice your bashing technique first as to little will not look right, its best to over do it then sand back. Hope this helps

 

[Giff]

Are these in the Festool catalogue ? )

 

[marcus]

If you want the authentic grey colour of old (exterior) wood you can try dissolving steel wool in vinegar for a couple of days then putting that on once you have banged it about.

 

[Benchwayze]

I recently bought a some nice furniture grade hardwood in 4' lengths and different species. They have all been roughly milled. I want to make a bench but I would like to have a reclaimed rustic look, not the finish just the board. Any suggestions?

Leave it out in the weather for a month or six.
Alternatively, if it's for an outside bench, and it's durable, leave it with no finish, and let the weather do the work.

That's what I do, but then I don't have to work to deadlines. :mrgreen: