David wrote in message
....
Thank you Lobster for that, (cornish fisherman) ? To fill in a big gap
in my request, the idea is to clean timber, I make furniture from
scaffold boards, and what i would like is an effect similar to that
found with beach found timber. If sand blasting is rather messy is the
pressure itself enough to erode the wood, that is if it is high
enough.

Yes, I think you will get exactly the effect you are looking for. We
sandblast timber regularly, almost always oak though, which would be
harder than your scaffolding boards. It gives a rough, aged sort of
effect. A bit more blasting would create a bigger difference in the
grain, more like beach timber. It is not ideal but people seem to prefer
to it to cut timber in old buildings, which otherwise shows regular saw
marks or would have to be planed and sanded. We replaced a big oak beam
in a house last week where the joists were still in good condition. The
joists are black since the room was originally used as a forge. The new
beam sticks out like a sore thumb! When the oak floor is down we will
sandblast the whole lot, including the underside of the floorboards.
There will still be a difference in colour but overall the effect will
be more uniform. One thought though, I wonder if this would be suitable
for furniture since the rough surface would be prone to collecting dust,
making it harder to clean.

--
Holly, in France.
Holiday home in the Dordogne,
website: http://la-plaine.chez.tiscali.fr