How to get hand hewn look

[hymie123]

I'm restoring an old oak door which was hand hewn. I've removed some trim around the door and the wood surface under the trim hasn't been hand hewn. How can I get a hand hewn look? I've heard about using power planes and have done some testing on a piece of scrap, the look isn't the same as what I have on the door. Have been reading about a "adz" but don't own one or know if this would yield similar look to the surrounding area. Are there any recommendations as to how to achieve this look?

The lighter area in the photo is the area that needs to be hand hewn.



The wood frame around the iron work below is the trim I am removing




Thanks

Jim

 

[Mike Davis]

A small very sharp hand ax will make the marks you need. You may have to practice on some scrap wood.

 

[hymie123]

I hadn't though about using an axe. I imagine I would scrape it across the surface slowly chipping away at the wood until the desired look was achieved?

Thanks

Jim

 

[Mike Davis]

Look at the original and try to copy the look of the cuts. Try making a series of vertical cuts about 3-4 inches apart. Then lay the ax almost parallel to the surface and split out a chip to each stop cut previously made.

 

[hymie123]

Finally completed the restoration of the hand carved doors doors. Revived the iron work using a technique from Scott Smith. Wire brushed the iron with an attachment on a grinder and finished with BLO. Overall very pleased with how the doors turned out. The NCWW forum was very helpful in selecting the correct finish for the doors and techniques for restoration. I ended up using Waterlox Marine. Seriously considered Sikkens window and door which I hear is fantastic but I had more experience with Waterlox products so I stuck with them. Still a mystery as to what kind of wood the doors are constructed from. Scott Smith tested, what I had thought was Oak but it turns out it isn't Oak but some kind of closed pore wood from an extremely large tree.

 

[awldune]

Looks great! What tool did you end up using?

 

[hymie123]

I decided to leave the trim in place and make small cutouts in the trim pieces around the door hardware. I used a sharp chisel to make similar marks in the wood over the very small area where the trim was removed.

 

[thsb]

looks great!