# Help with Barnwood and also aging wood.



## Bob765 (Feb 25, 2009)

Hi
This is my first post here!!
I have some old doors of a barn and want to make a headboad and footboard out of them. I have never worked with old wood and need some advice on 
1. How much can I sand it without losing the aged look?? 
2.Or other things I should consider when working with old wood.
3.Also I will probably need to use some new wood for the 4 square posts... what should use for them and how can I get them to look as old as the panels. 
Appreciate your help everyone.
Thanks
Bob


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## Bob N (Oct 12, 2004)

Try soaking steel wool in vinegar for a couple of days and then use it as a stain. I believe this will come very close to what you are seeking. Be sure to try it on scrap wood before using it on the real thing.


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## Dr.Zook (Sep 10, 2004)

Bob, welcome to the RouterForums. Glad to have you as a new member.


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## jerrymayfield (Sep 25, 2004)

What kind of wood ?. A picture would be nice.

Jerry


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## Ralph Barker (Dec 15, 2008)

One additional thing to consider when working with old, reclaimed lumber is the potential for hidden nails and such. Using an airport-security-style metal detection wand helps to find these little surprises befor they ruin a saw blade or your joiner knives.

Finish-wise, it may help to think about the balance between texture and color insofar as the visual appeal of the reclaimed wood. Once you've decided to which side of that issue your personal preferences lean, you can select techniques that favor that side.


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## GhanaBhuti (Aug 20, 2008)

. Making a CD Tower and
. Finishing - or Not Finishing - Vintage and Distressed Wood

Hi Folks,

Thanks to everyone for supporting this wonderful site. This is my first post. It seems appropriate as I recently made a CD case with very old and funky wood.

When we moved in 14 years ago, I found a corner of the basement that occasionally got wet. It had a couple of 11" wide 7' long 1/2" thick pine boards serving as gangways over the occasional puddles. 

The boards had a thin, unvarnished coat of walnut stain and had cleats nailed across the face every few feet to keep it dry, but many years of damp and basement had left these boards looking like a good candidate for the bon fire. 

They were, however, 11" wide antique boards, a treasure not to squander.

I decided to make a distressed looking CD case and did everything to preserve the patina and scars of a long life.

I pulled the nails and cleats, scanned for metal and then, sanded the surface - which had calcite deposits from the water and concrete of the basement - not with sandpaper, but with 120 grit Drywall and Plaster Sanding Screens in an orbital palm sander (they're like screen door fabric with grit attached). That's all the prep I did as the skin on the boards has an odd yet warm resonance that blends with all the dozen or other wood pieces in the room.

I ripped the boards down the center, used an old piece of found Walnut for the top and bottom pieces, cut a back out of old masonite and put in the shelves with pocket screws. 

I found from my chop saw scraps that this wood was so funky that you could bend it like rubber. I chose pocket screws as they 'suck in' the sides and all the weight on the shelves only pulls more and makes the sides tighter. The real caution with Pocket Screws is to make sure the wood is solid enough NOT to crack, split and crap when you drive the screws. I always think 'LOW TORQUE' using pocket screws - especially with distressed wood.

The CD cased turned out to be 7' tall, 2 1/2' wide with 13 shelves. It can hold all of my CDs, several shelves of knick-knacks and has room for many more years of purchases. It could eventually hold over 800 CDs as the knick-knacks are displaced. I added a simple cut scroll top made from an oddly matching red oak board and loaded it up. It has a magnificent, warm and 'friendly' feel. 

I also added an odd touch to the scroll top. When I chopped the ends off, one of them had a lovely brunt logo 'SouthWest' with a branded 'S' in a circle. I hot glued it to the front of the scroll top as a reminder of where this project came from.The 'ears' of the scroll top also protrude about 3/4" from the front giving it a bit of an 'Arts and Crafts' appearance.

I've thought about some types of finish, but I think a delicate rubbing of bee's wax might be the best. Come summer when wax co-operates more, I'll try it on my scraps first and see how it works. I'll let you know. Please let me know if you have another idea.

One other note of satisfaction is that this project - including the shelves - was made with 100% found materials except for the Cabinet Screws I got a Meijers at 1/3 the price of my Home Center across the road. 

Also, when I replace my camera, I'll post a photo. 

I was thinking that barn board might be similar, weathered, wetted and dried. They are often coarse planed (or not planed) before installation. If you have a friend with a surface planer - or can rent one - you might run them thru at 1/32" or as little as possible to remove splintery wood and get down to a surface less parched by sun and weather.

I look forward to seeing your projects you create.

Many Blessings, and thanks to Bob and everyone else in this thread.

-gb


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## Bob765 (Feb 25, 2009)

Thanks for the replies and welcome to you Ghana. Would love to see a photo of your cd rack.


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## Dr.Zook (Sep 10, 2004)

Welcome to the RouterForums Ghana.


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## xplorx4 (Dec 1, 2008)

Greetings Bob and welcome to the forum, Hope you find us both friendly and informative. One of the reasons folks use old barn wood is because it is weathered and if you sand it all, you will loose the original look. Granted you may be able to weather the wood some, but not like being out in the weather. Ditto on the metal detector.


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## Glenmore (Sep 10, 2004)

Bob my dad did a book shelf from barn word after 30 years still is a nice when he finished it. He just grazed it with the sander to get the rough edges down and graze the wood that shrunk on the face and sides to look like the new was coming out of the old had a pine/old pine board look then he varnished it with 2 to three coats. Like I said looks as good as the day he built it. And that is saying a lot my Grandmother is picky when it comes to things so it much be good because she still has it.


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## scraps to treasures (Mar 13, 2008)

you could lightly sand blast it with a med grain sand and I think that looks good, it really brings out the grain.


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## nzgeordie (Oct 22, 2006)

Hi Bob. Once you have matched the colour, you could also try "distressing" the new wood to make it match the old. Try wacking the wood with a bunch of old keys or a meat tenderizer to get that 'aged' look. A little like Doctor Zook's Avatar


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## rwictorin (Oct 22, 2010)

*eco wood treatment turns wood an aged look*

hi if you want to age wood a beautiful silvery patina aged look ,try eco wood treatment it works great on all the woods that i,ve used,it on, it turns all wood a aged old barn look .its easy to appy thanks rwictorin


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