Ok. So the architect called for a 26' douglas fir beam rough hewed into
a shallow arch as an accent piece for our front porch. About 22" deep
at the ends arching down to ~10" in the middle. About 6" across.
Impossible to find in the east so we put in an LVL and I figured I'd
veneer it with two by spruce all glued up to look like a one piece
beam. Lots of work later, it's almost done. Problem is, it looks like
veneered glued up spruce. So I bought a steel brush for my drill and I
tried roughening it with the brush. Sort of works but lots of work.
Then I thought, ok I'll wet it down with a concentrated brightening
agent and let it sit for a while eating away at the wood - then use the
brush. Or perhaps rent an angle grinder and get one of those wood
carving attachments. But I think that maybe those cutters cut too
smoothly so it won't have the desired effect.

So I'm asking for advice. What is the most effective method of turning
milled lumber back into rough cut?

thanks,
Doug

In article .com,
"Doug" wrote:

So I'm asking for advice. What is the most effective method of turning
milled lumber back into rough cut?

I don't think the angle grinder would work - I've used the wood cutters
in mine and it does leave a pretty smooth surface. Plus you'll have
small swirls instead of what you're after.

Are you after the large saw blade swirls plus the fuzz? Or just the fuzz?

You could try a floor sander with very coarse grit disk - 24 grit or
heavier still - pulled along the length of the beam - then pressure wash
it to raise the fuzz.

Test, test, test before attacking your glue-up!
--
Owen Lowe
The Fly-by-Night Copper Company
__________

"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the
Corporate States of America and to the
Republicans for which it stands, one nation,
under debt, easily divisible, with liberty
and justice for oil."
- Wiley Miller, Non Sequitur, 1/24/05

One thought would be to sandblast the surface

John

On 18 Sep 2005 11:22:02 -0700, "Doug" wrote:

Ok. So the architect called for a 26' douglas fir beam rough hewed into
a shallow arch as an accent piece for our front porch. About 22" deep
at the ends arching down to ~10" in the middle. About 6" across.
Impossible to find in the east so we put in an LVL and I figured I'd
veneer it with two by spruce all glued up to look like a one piece
beam. Lots of work later, it's almost done. Problem is, it looks like
veneered glued up spruce. So I bought a steel brush for my drill and I
tried roughening it with the brush. Sort of works but lots of work.
Then I thought, ok I'll wet it down with a concentrated brightening
agent and let it sit for a while eating away at the wood - then use the
brush. Or perhaps rent an angle grinder and get one of those wood
carving attachments. But I think that maybe those cutters cut too
smoothly so it won't have the desired effect.

So I'm asking for advice. What is the most effective method of turning
milled lumber back into rough cut?

thanks,
Doug

Doug wrote:
Ok. So the architect called for a 26' douglas fir beam rough hewed into
a shallow arch as an accent piece for our front porch. About 22" deep
at the ends arching down to ~10" in the middle. About 6" across.
Impossible to find in the east so we put in an LVL and I figured I'd
veneer it with two by spruce all glued up to look like a one piece
beam. Lots of work later, it's almost done. Problem is, it looks like
veneered glued up spruce. So I bought a steel brush for my drill and I
tried roughening it with the brush. Sort of works but lots of work.
Then I thought, ok I'll wet it down with a concentrated brightening
agent and let it sit for a while eating away at the wood - then use the
brush. Or perhaps rent an angle grinder and get one of those wood
carving attachments. But I think that maybe those cutters cut too
smoothly so it won't have the desired effect.

So I'm asking for advice. What is the most effective method of turning
milled lumber back into rough cut?


How about an adz or a broad axe?

Or a scrub plane. Or a jack or smaller plane with 1/8" of crown
ground into the blade.

If you are going to buy a tool to put a rough hewn
surface onto wood, why not buy a tool commonly used
to roughly hew wood?

--

FF

If I had to do this, I think that I would try to find a local saw mill and
get some "real" rough sawn lumber, then make a thick veneer out of it, maybe
by planning one side, and then cover the beam with it. It's quite difficult
to make a smooth board look rough sawn. You just can't get it that rough and
random looking enough so that it looks real, at least not without a whole
lot of effort and time.

--
Charley


"Doug" wrote in message
oups.com...
Ok. So the architect called for a 26' douglas fir beam rough hewed into
a shallow arch as an accent piece for our front porch. About 22" deep
at the ends arching down to ~10" in the middle. About 6" across.
Impossible to find in the east so we put in an LVL and I figured I'd
veneer it with two by spruce all glued up to look like a one piece
beam. Lots of work later, it's almost done. Problem is, it looks like
veneered glued up spruce. So I bought a steel brush for my drill and I
tried roughening it with the brush. Sort of works but lots of work.
Then I thought, ok I'll wet it down with a concentrated brightening
agent and let it sit for a while eating away at the wood - then use the
brush. Or perhaps rent an angle grinder and get one of those wood
carving attachments. But I think that maybe those cutters cut too
smoothly so it won't have the desired effect.

So I'm asking for advice. What is the most effective method of turning
milled lumber back into rough cut?

thanks,
Doug

I had to roughen some lumber to use for bat houses.
An angle grinder at a low angle works really well. It will take a little
practice to get it even, but I am sure it can be done. A regular grinding
wheel, not a woodcutting thing.

Doug wrote:

So I'm asking for advice. What is the most effective method of
turning milled lumber back into rough cut?

Chain saw skimmed along the sides.


--
dadiOH
____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.06...
....a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico

"Doug" wrote in message
oups.com...

So I'm asking for advice. What is the most effective method of turning
milled lumber back into rough cut?

What does "rough cut" look like? Band mills produce a different look than
circular saws, and neither looks like hand-hewed or pitsawn. The answer is
to make the outer surface of your beam out of the outer surface of the
lumber that looks like what your client thinks is rough cut. One good
surface per board, miter to join almost invisibly.

Sandblasting and wire brushing, especially after charring, make nice
weathered looks, if that's what you're after.

On 18 Sep 2005 11:22:02 -0700, "Doug" wrote:

So I'm asking for advice. What is the most effective method of turning
milled lumber back into rough cut?

Scrub plane, with an especially pronounced crowned iron. if you don't
have one, make one from your roughest #4. Break all the rules of planing
and work short strokes, varying the pressure to make long scallops, not
a smooth surface. You're trying to emulate adze work.

You can also use a Japanese spear plane (like an engineer's scraper) but
this is _the_ most difficult-to-use-well hand too I own! A curved
spokeshave or travisher might do it too, but the scrub plane is easier.


Don't wire brush or blast it. That will make it look _weathered_, not
rough-cut. The shaping will follow the natural resistance of the timber,
which in most softwoods means that annual ridges effect.

George wrote:
"Doug" wrote in message
oups.com...

So I'm asking for advice. What is the most effective method of turning
milled lumber back into rough cut?

What does "rough cut" look like? Band mills produce a different look than
circular saws, and neither looks like hand-hewed or pitsawn.

OP first said the architect called for rough hewn. Later that was
morphed into rought cut which is not the same appearance. He first
must decide what he wants it to look like, then figure out how
to achieve that effect.


--

FF

Doug wrote:


So I'm asking for advice. What is the most effective method of turning
milled lumber back into rough cut?

thanks,
Doug

Didn't they chop or saw down a bit, at right angles to the long dimention,
at intervals of a few feet, then take a broadaxe and work lengthwise to
knock off the chunks?

So maybe hit it with an axe or saw every 2 or 3 feet, and then take the
scrub plane idea people have suggested and hog off some wood - leaving
traces of those right angled cuts.

Replicas of 15th-19th century nautical navigational instruments,
Restoration of my 1919 Herreshoff S-Boat sailboat, and Steambending FAQ
with photos:
http://home.comcast.net/~saville/index.html

wrote:
Doug wrote:

Ok. So the architect called for a 26' douglas fir beam rough hewed into
a shallow arch as an accent piece for our front porch. About 22" deep
at the ends arching down to ~10" in the middle. About 6" across.
Impossible to find in the east so we put in an LVL and I figured I'd
veneer it with two by spruce all glued up to look like a one piece
beam. Lots of work later, it's almost done. Problem is, it looks like
veneered glued up spruce. So I bought a steel brush for my drill and I
tried roughening it with the brush. Sort of works but lots of work.
Then I thought, ok I'll wet it down with a concentrated brightening
agent and let it sit for a while eating away at the wood - then use the
brush. Or perhaps rent an angle grinder and get one of those wood
carving attachments. But I think that maybe those cutters cut too
smoothly so it won't have the desired effect.

So I'm asking for advice. What is the most effective method of turning
milled lumber back into rough cut?



How about an adz or a broad axe?

Or a scrub plane. Or a jack or smaller plane with 1/8" of crown
ground into the blade.

If you are going to buy a tool to put a rough hewn
surface onto wood, why not buy a tool commonly used
to roughly hew wood?


I think Doug needs to get his description in
order. the subject says rough sawn and the he
talks about rough hewn. The two are not
synonymous and certainly don't look the same. Not
sure why anyone would want a rough sawn surface--a
flat surface that consists mostly of stringy
pieces of wood that are 1/4" or so long. Hewn
wood is mostly smooth, but not flat if it is rough.

On 18 Sep 2005 11:22:02 -0700, "Doug" wrote:

Ok. So the architect called for a 26' douglas fir beam rough hewed into
a shallow arch as an accent piece for our front porch. About 22" deep
at the ends arching down to ~10" in the middle. About 6" across.
Impossible to find in the east so we put in an LVL and I figured I'd
veneer it with two by spruce all glued up to look like a one piece
beam. Lots of work later, it's almost done. Problem is, it looks like
veneered glued up spruce.

So I'm asking for advice. What is the most effective method of turning
milled lumber back into rough cut?


We had to do this once on a much smaller scale. We were trying make a
6" x 12" x 8' mantle look rough sawn. We took a hand saw and holding
on to both ends of the blade, dragged it down the length of the beam.
You have to keep repeating this over and over until things start to
blend together.
Something as large as you have, I might try dragging a chain saw as
someone else here suggested.

Mike O.

Put a worn out band saw blade on backwards and feed your stock
past it at a skewed angle (or something like that).
Many years ago when I worked in a millworks shop we milled cedar
and cypress parts for doors and windows and then I ran the stock past
the bandsaw blade to give it the rough cut lumber look.

Robert


Doug wrote:
Ok. So the architect called for a 26' douglas fir beam rough hewed into
a shallow arch as an accent piece for our front porch. About 22" deep
at the ends arching down to ~10" in the middle. About 6" across.
Impossible to find in the east so we put in an LVL and I figured I'd
veneer it with two by spruce all glued up to look like a one piece
beam. Lots of work later, it's almost done. Problem is, it looks like
veneered glued up spruce. So I bought a steel brush for my drill and I
tried roughening it with the brush. Sort of works but lots of work.
Then I thought, ok I'll wet it down with a concentrated brightening
agent and let it sit for a while eating away at the wood - then use the
brush. Or perhaps rent an angle grinder and get one of those wood
carving attachments. But I think that maybe those cutters cut too
smoothly so it won't have the desired effect.

So I'm asking for advice. What is the most effective method of turning
milled lumber back into rough cut?

thanks,
Doug

Shoving a 26' beam through a bandsaw should be fun.

"Knotbob" wrote in message
oups.com...
Put a worn out band saw blade on backwards and feed your stock
past it at a skewed angle (or something like that).
Many years ago when I worked in a millworks shop we milled cedar
and cypress parts for doors and windows and then I ran the stock past
the bandsaw blade to give it the rough cut lumber look.

Robert


Doug wrote:
Ok. So the architect called for a 26' douglas fir beam rough hewed into
a shallow arch as an accent piece for our front porch. About 22" deep
at the ends arching down to ~10" in the middle. About 6" across.
Impossible to find in the east so we put in an LVL and I figured I'd
veneer it with two by spruce all glued up to look like a one piece
beam. Lots of work later, it's almost done. Problem is, it looks like
veneered glued up spruce. So I bought a steel brush for my drill and I
tried roughening it with the brush. Sort of works but lots of work.
Then I thought, ok I'll wet it down with a concentrated brightening
agent and let it sit for a while eating away at the wood - then use the
brush. Or perhaps rent an angle grinder and get one of those wood
carving attachments. But I think that maybe those cutters cut too
smoothly so it won't have the desired effect.

So I'm asking for advice. What is the most effective method of turning
milled lumber back into rough cut?

thanks,
Doug

I think you must make a decision between rough sawn, rough hewn, and
distressed. Probably need to try a sample of each to decide. The advice
you've received so far will help with each. Rough sawn will require
resawing or roughing the face with a saw (duh), bandsaw, chainsaw etc.
Rough hewn requires hewing the timber with an adz, plane, scoop, gouge,
or whatever you have. Distressed is cutting, incising, beating with a
chain, drilling worm holes and smearing with various "staining agents."
It's the look you're most comfortable with. For me I would narrow the
beam on a bandsaw by one kerf each side for the rough sawn look. I have
powerwashed soft woods for a raised grain look, but I don't think thats
what your looking for. I'm a big proponent of 4.5" Makita grinders, but
you'll really have to be "random" to get a desired effect. Good luck.
Tell us what you decide on.

Jerry

On Mon, 19 Sep 2005 01:06:53 GMT, "CW" wrote:

Shoving a 26' beam through a bandsaw should be fun.


especially one that is already installed.




"Knotbob" wrote in message
roups.com...
Put a worn out band saw blade on backwards and feed your stock
past it at a skewed angle (or something like that).
Many years ago when I worked in a millworks shop we milled cedar
and cypress parts for doors and windows and then I ran the stock past
the bandsaw blade to give it the rough cut lumber look.

Robert


Doug wrote:
Ok. So the architect called for a 26' douglas fir beam rough hewed into
a shallow arch as an accent piece for our front porch. About 22" deep
at the ends arching down to ~10" in the middle. About 6" across.
Impossible to find in the east so we put in an LVL and I figured I'd
veneer it with two by spruce all glued up to look like a one piece
beam. Lots of work later, it's almost done. Problem is, it looks like
veneered glued up spruce. So I bought a steel brush for my drill and I
tried roughening it with the brush. Sort of works but lots of work.
Then I thought, ok I'll wet it down with a concentrated brightening
agent and let it sit for a while eating away at the wood - then use the
brush. Or perhaps rent an angle grinder and get one of those wood
carving attachments. But I think that maybe those cutters cut too
smoothly so it won't have the desired effect.

So I'm asking for advice. What is the most effective method of turning
milled lumber back into rough cut?

thanks,
Doug

I guess what I want is a beam that looks old barn beamish, weathered
and distressed are prolly more what i had in mind than rough hewn.
Just something old and natural looking rather than 2 by 10's glued
together.
I've had lots of good advice, however, it's up in place so it's kinda
difficult to put it through a bandsaw now. My wife is skeptical about
sand blasting - seems a bit messy. Perhaps the chain saw would work
(I'm going to have a sore neck tho').
I'm still kind of partial to the concentrated wood brightener - you
know, the stuff for cleaning an old deck. Might make the appearance
look stringy and fibrous but that beats smooth.

I'll let you know how it turns out.

-Doug

On 18 Sep 2005 19:29:12 -0700, "Doug" wrote:

I guess what I want is a beam that looks old barn beamish, weathered
and distressed are prolly more what i had in mind than rough hewn.
Just something old and natural looking rather than 2 by 10's glued
together.
I've had lots of good advice, however, it's up in place so it's kinda
difficult to put it through a bandsaw now. My wife is skeptical about
sand blasting - seems a bit messy. Perhaps the chain saw would work
(I'm going to have a sore neck tho').
I'm still kind of partial to the concentrated wood brightener - you
know, the stuff for cleaning an old deck. Might make the appearance
look stringy and fibrous but that beats smooth.

I'll let you know how it turns out.

-Doug


sandblasting is likely to be your best bet. have it done by a
competent contractor. they'll handle keeping things clean.

"Doug" writes:

I'm still kind of partial to the concentrated wood brightener - you
know, the stuff for cleaning an old deck. Might make the appearance
look stringy and fibrous but that beats smooth.


You can try a steel bristle brush. This will wear away the soft wood
between the grain. Dent it with a hammer, etc. I use tinted wax
(Briwax) in the cracks to add age.

The brush works with soft woods - e.g. pine.

--
Sending unsolicited commercial e-mail to this account incurs a fee of
$500 per message, and acknowledges the legality of this contract.

"Doug" writes:


[...]

difficult to put it through a bandsaw now. My wife is skeptical about
sand blasting - seems a bit messy. Perhaps the chain saw would work

sand blasting isn#t a bit messy. It's very messy.

--
Dr. Juergen Hannappel http://lisa2.physik.uni-bonn.de/~hannappe
Phone: +49 228 73 2447 FAX ... 7869
Physikalisches Institut der Uni Bonn Nussallee 12, D-53115 Bonn, Germany
CERN: Phone: +412276 76461 Fax: ..77930 Bat. 892-R-A13 CH-1211 Geneve 23

"George E. Cawthon" wrote in
:
snip

I think Doug needs to get his description in
order. the subject says rough sawn and the he
talks about rough hewn. The two are not
synonymous and certainly don't look the same. Not
sure why anyone would want a rough sawn surface--a
flat surface that consists mostly of stringy
pieces of wood that are 1/4" or so long. Hewn
wood is mostly smooth, but not flat if it is rough.


Rough sawn is a common surface treatment in the western U.S. Available at
almost any good lumberyard, and frequently used as trim and siding.

I haven't really lived elsewhere, so I couldn't comment on what's
available.

Patriarch

Duh! Now that I'm payin' attention to the details I will revise my
comment to using a 2 man buck saw (doesn't everybody have one?) and
skin the side of the beam with it.
Robert
CW wrote:
Shoving a 26' beam through a bandsaw should be fun.

"Knotbob" wrote in message
oups.com...
Put a worn out band saw blade on backwards and feed your stock
past it at a skewed angle (or something like that).
Many years ago when I worked in a millworks shop we milled cedar
and cypress parts for doors and windows and then I ran the stock past
the bandsaw blade to give it the rough cut lumber look.

Robert


Doug wrote:
Ok. So the architect called for a 26' douglas fir beam rough hewed into
a shallow arch as an accent piece for our front porch. About 22" deep
at the ends arching down to ~10" in the middle. About 6" across.
Impossible to find in the east so we put in an LVL and I figured I'd
veneer it with two by spruce all glued up to look like a one piece
beam. Lots of work later, it's almost done. Problem is, it looks like
veneered glued up spruce. So I bought a steel brush for my drill and I
tried roughening it with the brush. Sort of works but lots of work.
Then I thought, ok I'll wet it down with a concentrated brightening
agent and let it sit for a while eating away at the wood - then use the
brush. Or perhaps rent an angle grinder and get one of those wood
carving attachments. But I think that maybe those cutters cut too
smoothly so it won't have the desired effect.

So I'm asking for advice. What is the most effective method of turning
milled lumber back into rough cut?

thanks,
Doug

Rough sawn a surface treatment? I thought that's how they got it out of the
tree. I suppose they charge extra for this "surface treatment"?

"Patriarch" wrote in message
. 97.136...
"George E. Cawthon" wrote in
:
snip


Rough sawn is a common surface treatment in the western U.S. Available at
almost any good lumberyard, and frequently used as trim and siding.

I haven't really lived elsewhere, so I couldn't comment on what's
available.

Patriarch

What is this Briwax and how does it look? I'm planning on staining the
beam a sort of raw umber (dark brown) colour - the tinted wax sounds
interesting.
The brush is what I have tried with a drill, however, it doesn't cut
away at the wood very deeply. Which is why I thought the brightening
agent would be a good idea to help break down the wood fibre.
The chain saw idea is also something I will try. And as Fly-by-Night
said - I'll test first.

thanks all.
Doug

"CW" wrote in
k.net:

Rough sawn a surface treatment? I thought that's how they got it out
of the tree. I suppose they charge extra for this "surface treatment"?


Of course! It's a business, after all. And the sawn surface is on one
face only.

Patriarch

"Doug" writes:

What is this Briwax and how does it look? I'm planning on staining the
beam a sort of raw umber (dark brown) colour - the tinted wax sounds
interesting.

Briwax is one of several brands of finishing wax. It comes in several
different colors, including:

clear
light brown
Goldon Oak
Rustic Pine
Tudor Brown
Dark Brown
Antique Mahogany

http://www.mannwoodcare.com/briwax.html has it for $12 for one can,
$22 for 2, which seems to be a good price. I have never ordered from
them before. I have paid about $15-$16 a can.

It's a wax, and you can put it on any surface. If the surface is
porous, the color will absorb better. In other words, it works better
if the wood isn't finished. At worst case, you can have clumps of wax
in the corners, where there would be little wear. I like it for
simulating age - it can be used to add "crud" in the crevices. There
is a solvent used (there is a new low odor blend called Briwax 2000)
and after drying, the wax becomes harder.

The brush is what I have tried with a drill, however, it doesn't cut
away at the wood very deeply.

Depends on the wood. Maple and cherry has a very hard grain, and it is
not very porous. Pine is soft, and you can distress it easily with a
stiff brush. You have to go with the grain, as the softer wood is
distressed, and the harder rings remain.

I was thinking of those stiff steel wire brushes they use to scrub
brick and welding joints.

--
Sending unsolicited commercial e-mail to this account incurs a fee of
$500 per message, and acknowledges the legality of this contract.

Contact Sheridan Forest Products in McMinnville, Or - That's what they do
for a living...

Schroeder
"Doug" wrote in message
oups.com...
Ok. So the architect called for a 26' douglas fir beam rough hewed into
a shallow arch as an accent piece for our front porch. About 22" deep
at the ends arching down to ~10" in the middle. About 6" across.
Impossible to find in the east so we put in an LVL and I figured I'd
veneer it with two by spruce all glued up to look like a one piece
beam. Lots of work later, it's almost done. Problem is, it looks like
veneered glued up spruce. So I bought a steel brush for my drill and I
tried roughening it with the brush. Sort of works but lots of work.
Then I thought, ok I'll wet it down with a concentrated brightening
agent and let it sit for a while eating away at the wood - then use the
brush. Or perhaps rent an angle grinder and get one of those wood
carving attachments. But I think that maybe those cutters cut too
smoothly so it won't have the desired effect.

So I'm asking for advice. What is the most effective method of turning
milled lumber back into rough cut?

thanks,
Doug

This is more just FYI/future reference for anyone, since you have the
beam in place already. I found this by accident (browsing Bosch's
website):

Rustic planer blades
http://www.boschtools.com/tools/tool...=58037&I=59707

Don't know if such blades are made for the more "generic" 12-15"
planers out there, but it's pretty cool in concept...

-Chris

Doug wrote:
I guess what I want is a beam that looks old barn beamish, weathered
and distressed are prolly more what i had in mind than rough hewn.
Just something old and natural looking rather than 2 by 10's glued
together.
I've had lots of good advice, however, it's up in place so it's kinda
difficult to put it through a bandsaw now.