big barn wood

ticomic · Post by **ticomic** » Thu 09 Aug, 2007 12:15 pm

Yo! Greetings from chilly Québec! I am not a framer, nor do I plan on becoming one. I would like to frame just one 24X36in. canvas of my boat to put in my wood shop in the barn. I have many 8in+ wide boards salvaged from a barn that collapsed. Thing is the width is excessive, I feel. If I rip a board down to a 4 or 5 in width, is there a finish I could put on the cut side to make it less obvious? I would like to keep the uncut side inwards. A friend suggested I rip a quarter-inch strip and glue it to the cut side with non-penetrating wood glue in order for both sides to be similar in colour. Any colouring tips or opinions about the glueing-on idea would be appreciated. Merci!

mick11 · Post by **mick11** » Thu 09 Aug, 2007 3:11 pm

Hi and welcome to the forum.

IMHO the best finish for this is to sand to a fine finish, then use a sanding sealer to raise the grain all over. Then sand again and finish the whole thing with a few coats of bees wax. Allow each coat to dry for 24 hours, then buff and apply the next coat.You could use a high quality antique paste wax for the final coat.

ticomic · Post by **ticomic** » Fri 10 Aug, 2007 1:43 pm

[quote="mick11"]Hi and welcome to the forum.

IMHO the best finish for this is to sand to a fine finish, then use a sanding sealer to raise the grain all over. Then sand again and finish the whole thing with a few coats of bees wax. Allow each coat to dry for 24 hours, then buff and apply the next coat.You could use a high quality antique paste wax for the final coat.[/quote]
Yo!
Thanks for your time. However, maybe I forgot to mention that I wish to keep the original texture. This eliminates any form of sanding, and application of finishes. My only concern is to hide the cut side and have all 4 sides look original. If I rip the board in half, and glue on a 1/2 in strip over the cut, then succeed in making the less obvious possible glue joint, I would have a frame that is old all around . Think it might work? It's the uneven grain that makes me hesitate: these things have been weathering going back to square nail time......
Cheers!
Gary - Baie-Saint-Paul, Qc Can

markw · Post by **markw** » Fri 10 Aug, 2007 1:56 pm

you may be able to age the wood using a hot air gun + wire brush to open the grain. - staining the wood might also help.

kev@frames · Post by **kev@frames** » Fri 10 Aug, 2007 9:14 pm

if you can find someone near you who does the "hot dip" caustic strip of paint/warnish etc from old furniture, doors etc, ask them for a can of the sludge from the bottom of the dip tank. Careful its caustic. Paint it on, wash it off a couple of days later = instant aged timber

we used to do this with some mouldings we had from a supplier that had a contract with a firm pulled down old churches etc, they bought the timber, and sent the boards off to be rough cut into frame moulding.

It was really popular, with the nail-holes and all, but likewise we often got a "new cut" side showing half the time, so needed to "age" it.

The old tricks are the best. We have a few of these hot-dip people in the UK, im presuming you have them in CA too.