Project Information
My wife has been hounding me to make what she calls a "nick nack" shelf. She drew up some simple plans and I started in on it. Then the requirements came. It needed to look really old and abused. Terrific. I hate that look. I had a piece of oak with a LOT of sap wood in it, so I decided to use that.
The dimensions are 24*24 square on the outside and 6 3/4" deep (6 inches with a 3/4" face frame). Everything on the inside is dadoed. My dado sled came in really handy. Since this is a perfect square, the cuts mirror each other and were easy. I tried my best to make it look like crap. She wanted the face frame on slightly crooked so it looks like it's been dropped a few times. I put some dowels in as well to make it look old, but they only go in about 1/4 of an inch and serve no purpose. I dinged it up with a screw driver here and there as well.
It's stained with Minwax weathered oak, and it took on a really grey appearance. Despite her instructions NOT to finish it, I put on two coats of Arm-R-Seal. I was going to knock it down with some steel wool, but she couldn't wait and hung it while I was at work. It way to glossy.
Even though I hate doing the "rustic" finish, I must admit, my wife has a good eye. We live in a very old house and it fits in quite well next to the 110 year old mantle. Also, I think it's harder to make something look naturally crappy than it is to finish it "correctly"
The dimensions are 24*24 square on the outside and 6 3/4" deep (6 inches with a 3/4" face frame). Everything on the inside is dadoed. My dado sled came in really handy. Since this is a perfect square, the cuts mirror each other and were easy. I tried my best to make it look like crap. She wanted the face frame on slightly crooked so it looks like it's been dropped a few times. I put some dowels in as well to make it look old, but they only go in about 1/4 of an inch and serve no purpose. I dinged it up with a screw driver here and there as well.
It's stained with Minwax weathered oak, and it took on a really grey appearance. Despite her instructions NOT to finish it, I put on two coats of Arm-R-Seal. I was going to knock it down with some steel wool, but she couldn't wait and hung it while I was at work. It way to glossy.
Even though I hate doing the "rustic" finish, I must admit, my wife has a good eye. We live in a very old house and it fits in quite well next to the 110 year old mantle. Also, I think it's harder to make something look naturally crappy than it is to finish it "correctly"