Finishing rough sawn pine

[WoodCzech]

I did a bar top out of reclaimed oak that looked just like that picture.  The thickness varied widely so I used a band sow to slice the back side off.  A nice side effect is that I now have a bunch of veneers with one rough sawn side which I might use in the future.

Then I jointed the back and squared the sides to it.  After gluing up the top, I used bisquits,  a hand plane was used to knock off any ridges and even out any parts of the join that didn't meet up right.  Light hand sanding with 150 grit finished look.  I think this was mentioned earlier, just a slight error on any machining of the rough sawn side will quickly and irreversibly destroy the look.  The hand planing and sanding gives complete control and takes about 15 minutes total:-)

One more thing on final finishing, since the planing exposed clean oak which was considerably lighter than the rest, I mixed up a little bit of stain to match the weathered surfaces and with a rag just stained the light areas blending it with the darks.  I also did this on the end cuts.  I like the result.

[Kansas City Fireslayer]

If your wood is already rough sawn with the blade marks to your liking I'd start out achieving the the very dark color you want first.  I would most likely use a very dark gel stain on the whole board.  Then I'd use a handheld belt sander and knock down some of the high spots to where you like it.  This will expose the raw wood but leave behind the dark gel stain in the low areas.  At this point I'd go with an amber shellac to get the golden tone you want.  Maybe add some Transtint amber dye to it as well.  Then I'd apply my topcoat.

[Phil Thien]

I'll bet that glue up started flat and smooth and then they added those marks with a grinder.

Actually maybe not as the marks run the width of the boards.

[Guest]

I have made quite a bit of progress after thinking about it for a while.  I joined the raw edges together with some Dominos which also allowed the top to have perfect alignment regardless of the thickness of the wood.



To keep the desktop flat, I decided to attach breadboard ends.  This wood is a full 3" thick and has only been air drying for a year, so I am sure I will see more movement.



I used dowels to pull the ends in tight to the edge of the board.  



My festool sander is ROS mode and 120 grit paper gave me the finish I was looking for.



I put on a coat of Minwax pre stain conditioner, waited 15 minutes then wiped on a single coat of Cabot's oil-based Walnut stain.




Exactly what I was looking for.  I will spray with a water-based satin finish probably on Thursday to allow the stain to dry.

Thanks for the help.

Chris

[museumguy]

That is an awesome looking table top. You should be very proud of it. You took your time, asked questions, figured out a solution that worked for you and now you have a beautiful piece.

[Guest]

That is an awesome looking table top. You should be very proud of it. You took your time, asked questions, figured out a solution that worked for you and now you have a beautiful piece.

Thanks for your help, this was my first project in pine in a REALLY long time, my planes were almost useless, luckily my shoulder plane had an adjustable mouth to allow the chips to eject.

Since this is pine, a belt sander would have ruined the wood, no question.  Probably would work great for a hardwood like oak.  

Chris

[joe1086]

Did you distress/sand the individual boards prior to glue up? 

The faux sawmarks look authentic...nice job.

[Guest]

Did you distress/sand the individual boards prior to glue up? 

The faux sawmarks look authentic...nice job.

No, those as real saw marks from a circular mill not far from my house.  I glued up the boards completely rough, using Dominos for alignment, then sanded them once the entire top was glued up.

Chris

[joe1086]

LOL, my bad. 

Still, looks great.

[Papa Jim]

Awsome top! Great job!