How do you create the rough cut mill looking texture?

How about sand/soda blasting the surface?

-- Lew- Time traveler. Purveyor of the world's finest custom rolling pins!

Ahhhh now that makes sense.

There are probably a lot of different systems all of which give a slightly different look.

Some ideas …

• When you flatten the initial face of a board on the jointer, take just enough passes to get the board to sit flat. (That’s proper jointer technique anyway.) Then when you plane the board to thickness, take all of your passes off of the other side. This will leave a board with some mill marks, and some smooth spots on your show side. The obvious drawback to this idea is that the board cup/twist/bow due to the taking all of your planing passes from the same side. But, then again, if you T&G it, and nail it to a floor, it’s probably not going anywhere.
• Build yourself a “surfacing” machine not unlike the drum sanders that some of the guys here have built, but with a circular arbor, and some sort of cutting or grinding attachment to give the sawmill look. (Sounds dangerous.) Joint/plane as normal and send your boards through your surfacing machine.
• A variation on the surfacing machine idea … get yourself a crappy table saw with a dull blade that will leave lots of marks, set up some featherboards so you can run your stock through on edge, put the guards on the saw. Again, joint/plane as normal to get even stock.
• Use standard distressing methods (chains, rocks, hammers, sandblasting) in conjunction with whatever idea you use to get the regular “sawmill” pattern.

How do I achieve rough cut and rough scraped wood? I’ve been working for the past year or so to not achieve rough wood when I work it. Making good wood look bad is no-problemo for me. I must be a natural! 8-)

-- Greg D. -- the price of freedom is tolerance

You can make the rough cut look buy setting up your fence on a band saw and running the board backwards so it rubs against your blade.

-- W James Brokenbourgh Custom furniture maker http://artisticwoodstudio.com/

please write this down carefully, whack the wood at regulo mark 99 for twenty four hours beating constantly with a sock full of cold grits ,and the rub down with an elderly naked lady for four hours on both sides .Then when allowed to cool down,a final wipe down with a dirty diaper full of wet sawdust and donkey fur .Then a final pass over with scalding hot leg irons or chains to texturise the surface, then soak the completed project red beetles urine about forty gallons should do for a week,then leave over the next forty years to dry out in the desert sun.And if that doesn’t work I really have nothing better to suggest.PS please don’t block this message as it may one day save a few bucks to someone.and as a half live morphined Scotsman this is ultra important. Alistair

-- excuse my typing as I have a form of parkinsons disease

Your great Alistair!

-- W James Brokenbourgh Custom furniture maker http://artisticwoodstudio.com/

I always new it but am too shy to shout or proclaim it from the rooftops .That is till I discovered Morphine loosened the tongue somewhat, or in this case the keyboard LOL .Alistair

-- excuse my typing as I have a form of parkinsons disease

Keep shouting it works

-- W James Brokenbourgh Custom furniture maker http://artisticwoodstudio.com/

Thanks guys… I am trying to find the image on my phone showing what I’m talking about specifically. As soon as I locate it I will post up.

I have to say the old circle mills are becoming a thing of the past. First off the running of one and care for the saw (Sharpening, Hammer, Swedging) are becoming a lost art in this modern era of band milling. Also Circle saw mills not being able to compete with modern efficiency are slowly going out of business or upgrading to band saw. Lumber with circle saw marks from the saw mill surely are harder to find. This will become more of a prominent question as time continues to pass.

-- There's many a slip betwixt a cup and a lip.--Scott

For the scraped floor look, several of the power planers actually have alternate blades to help with that. Not my aesthetic, but perhaps a tool you could use.

-- Dan Lyke, Petaluma California, http://www.flutterby.net/User:DanLyke

Hey fellow Texan…...come home. We’ve got lots of mills where you can buy it that way!!

-- Gary, DeKalb Texas only 4 miles from the mill

In the past I’ve taken an old 10” sawblade, laid it on the bench and tapped down one tooth just a little with a wood mallet. then skip 4 or 5 teeth, bend another, then run the wood through and it somewhat simulates the old sawmill look. Of course the sawblade is useless for real work after that so mark it in some way.

-- Les, Arkansas, www.woodthatrocks.com

Go back to the original surfacing method – a hand adze? It’s on my agenda to make one and learn to use it. The demonstrations I’ve seen are remarkably fast. Not rough cut but still a random hewn look. Wouldn’t scale to production but could be fun (and quiet) in a smaller shop.

Tim

-- Tim Lawson http://www.ptwoodschool.com http://www.timlawson.net