Burning wood to "enhance" its appearance

When they do it on TV to give an “aged” look to pine doors, it always makes me snicker. Just looks blotchier than pine normally looks. Although I have seen some turnings on this site where it looks like it has added a nice effect.

I’m skeptical, Shane. Can you link an example?

-- "hold fast to that which is good"

I see it done on HGTV. I don’t like it either.

-- Willie, Washington "If You Choose Not To Decide, You Still Have Made a Choice" - Rush

Like the others above, I saw the HGTV “quick tip” door they “blotched”. I’d say they botched it. Looks like crap.

-- Just a man with his chisel.........

It’s a little tough to get just right, but you can sand it back. If it’s blotchy you need do a better job feathering.

it’s not for every project, but it can work well.

-- There is nothing like the sound of a well tuned hand plane. - http://timetestedtools.wordpress.com (timetestedtools at hotmail dot c0m)

To me it looks tacky.

-- Jerry

I think it was Patrick Leach that burned some transitionals. They didn’t look so hot afterwards…

-- Don't anthropomorphize your handplanes. They hate it when you do that. -- OldTools Archive

@Smitty, LMAO

-- There is nothing like the sound of a well tuned hand plane. - http://timetestedtools.wordpress.com (timetestedtools at hotmail dot c0m)

The only kind of wood burning that I like is pyrography. When someone knows what the are doing with pirography the end result can be a beautiful piece of art.

helluvawreck aka Charles
http://woodworkingexpo.wordpress.com

-- If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away. Henry David Thoreau

I have made a couple of rifle stocks from silver maple. The variety of silver maple that I had does not take stain well and looks like crap if left natural but I had pretty good luck coloring it by lightly burning or scorching it with a propane torch. I have one of the guns in my safe if you are interested I will take a picture later today or in the morning and post it or email it to you. I would advise a little practice on some scrap first it is really easy to over do it.

-- A tube of calk and a gallon of paint will make a carpenter what he ain't

Sprucegum jogged my memory. I did a beech .22 stock the same way.

-- There is nothing like the sound of a well tuned hand plane. - http://timetestedtools.wordpress.com (timetestedtools at hotmail dot c0m)

Sure, sprucegun. I’d like to see a photo. Helluvawreck, I think pyrography is a different thing—I’ve seen some of that which is good.

Smitty, I’ve burned a handle of transitional for firewood and even stuck an old union plane in the fire pit for fun. :-)

-- "hold fast to that which is good"

http://lumberjocks.com/projects/78741#comments

This one is cool.

I’ve been tempted to try this on purpleheart pens. I don’t want to scorch it, but after turning and sanding, a lot of the times purpleheart is just brown. Supposedly a VERY hot flame introduces oxidation and the purple comes back

-- http://www.etsy.com/shop/KandJWoodCrafts

I’ve seen some of that HGTV burning wood to age it nonsense. I think they are playing into the instant gratification mentality. No one wants to spend the time to do it right, let’s just burn it and it will look cool.

Looks like crap IMO.

-- "It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so." - Mark Twain