What to do with barn wood.

[joekwon80]

I have been gifted many many hundreds of board feet of barn wood. It's from a barn that stood for over a century and it's the wood from the inside of the barn. The outside was poached by someone before the owners realized what was going on. Is it worth planing down or would it be better to leave the original patina on it?

Never worked with reclaimed wood, but I'm interested to see what can be done with it all for the sake of preserving some wood with a long story.

 

[Bill Clemmons]

Couple of questions: What would you like to make w/ the wood? Do you know the species (Oak, Pine, Poplar, Hickory, etc.)?

The first answer will help determine whether it should be "resurfaced" or left "as is". Some pieces will look good as original barn wood. Others would not.

Second answer might help determine what you could make out of it. If it is a good hardwood, you might consider planing it down and making something new out of it. If it is a softwood, it may be more useful as "old barn wood" than it would be as new wood. Just depends on what you want to build.

One other consideration: Lightly planing old wood may not remove all the patina. In wood that old, it may be slightly deeper than the surface.

 

[Hmerkle]

Joe -
Old wood CAN be extremly hard or tough.

Working with power tools is probably easier than by hand...
That said, they may dull tools quite quickly...

Since the "Barn boards" were poached, I am guessing you are dealing with beams and other structure?

It would be interesting to see pictures of what you are dealing with, and as Bill said, what you intend to build with it...

 

[Glennbear]

As a user of recycled wood I would strongly recommend that your first step would be to invest in a hand held metal detector:

http://www.harborfreight.com/9-volt-metal-detector-wand-94138.html

 

[Hmerkle]

As a user of recycled wood I would strongly recommend that your first step would be to invest in a hand held metal detector:

http://www.harborfreight.com/9-volt-metal-detector-wand-94138.html

Glenn,
What is your opinion of the "hardness or toughness" of using old wood?

 

[Glennbear]

Glenn,
What is your opinion of the "hardness or toughness" of using old wood?

Like any other wood old wood will adjust in moisture content to it's surroundings but it has been my experience that the species I work with (fir) tends to be brittle. Old growth wood tends to have a tighter grain so that does affect workability. The upside is that it tends to be quite stable i.e. any cupping, warpage, etc. has already taken place.

 

[joekwon80]

I'm pretty sure the wood is SYP. I haven't taken a piece and planed it down yet. It looks like it's 3/4 in thickness and cupped slightly. The test piece I've brought home looks really nice as is but I have a feeling that planing it down might open up some beautiful character. Was just wondering before I planed it, if people generally like the old barn wood look or if most people use it refinished.

Thanks for all the responses!

 

[Hmerkle]

Like any other wood old wood will adjust in moisture content to it's surroundings but it has been my experience that the species I work with (fir) tends to be brittle. Old growth wood tends to have a tighter grain so that does affect workability. The upside is that it tends to be quite stable i.e. any cupping, warpage, etc. has already taken place.

Brittle - that is a GREAT word, exactly what I was looking for...

 

[Jeff]

Reclaimed wood can be really nice and it depends on what you want to do with it and the appearance that you want for a given piece(s).

+1 to Glenn's advice on a metal detector. The stuff is notorious for old nails, bolts, etc. which aren't visible.

Here's a similar thread posted recently.

http://www.ncwoodworker.net/forums/showthread.php?t=51348

Browse around here for some possibilities.

http://earlyamericanfurnishings.com/gallery

 

[CrealBilly]

Joe -
Old wood CAN be extremly hard or tough.

Same can be said for a old man

 

[Hmerkle]

Same can be said for a old man

That's stubborn not "Hard" or "Tough" :rotflm:

 

[FredP]

That's stubborn not "Hard" or "Tough" :rotflm:

correction: better known as cantankerous.:gar-Bi

 

[Hmerkle]

correction: Better known as cantankerous.:gar-bi

absolutely!