Cerused Rift Oak

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Roy G

Roy
Senior User
Was reading the paper this morning and came across an article about a decorator. There was a picture whose caption described a table as being made of "... cerused rift oak..." which I had never heard of. Looking up in the dictionary, I find Ceruse listed as a lead compound used in paint. The rift part I can understand but the ceruse part is sort of mysterious. Anybody know what they are talking about?

Roy G
 

Raymond

Raymond
Staff member
Corporate Member
So it looks like cerused oak is what used to be called limed oak.Roy G

Yep, our native tongue of English is not called a "living language" just for the heck of it. By using the archaic word "ceruse", the author of the referenced articles are trying to revive a term for use in modern times. We all do this to some degree or another - that is what makes the English language one of the greatest, the most comprehensive and the hardest to learn.

However, I digress from the main topic. All three articles show another aspect of woodworking that I was not familiar with. Thank you, Roy and Jeff, of the introduction.
 

CrealBilly

New User
Jeff
I never heard of the term Cerused before. But I can say the finishing technique that Jeff posted is called glazing today or another form of glazing. Basically you take a pigmented oil glaze, smear it all over the board then wipe it off against the grain. What's left is the glaze in the grain. Allow ample time for the glaze to dry then top coat with your favorite oil finish. I reckon it could be done with water based glaze also but who want to deal with raised grain also?
 

JasonG

New User
Jason
I once came across this site with pictures and an explanation of how to 'do' cerused (or limed) oak. I followed it exactly, and it came out very nicely. The key is to get those wire brushes and to brush out the soft grain. it's a bit time-consuming, but simple enough. Get the oak stained and then lock in the stain with shellac. Then i used briwax 'liming wax' over the whole board, really press it in the grain. Then wipe the whole thing off, then finish with a clear coat of something (wax works). It's a great look.

I'm enclosing the link, which is much more detailed than my explanation:

http://www.ornamentalist.net/2010/12/ebony-limed-oak-step-by-step.html

Jason
 

Graywolf

Board of Directors, President
Richard
Staff member
Corporate Member
At one time it was called white wash, pickeling, limping, and a host of other names that made everyone want it. I'm not saying it's a bad thing, but none of it is new.
 

MikeH

New User
Mike
It's funny but I initially thought that Roy misspelled Reused. Learn something new everyday! Thanks Roy!
 
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