barnwood

Planer will work watch for nails! What type of wood is it? What do you want it to look like? Is it brown or grey? Pressure washing might be just the thing if you like a rustic look. If you want a new looking wood you might see if you can sell it and just get new wood.

-- http://www.woodsongsfurniture.com

I think it is poplar. I like the rustic look,it is grey. Is the planer,basically a sander and if so it will smooth it out correct?

It will cut the wood thinner and you will lose the rustic look. You might try a rough sanding with a belt sander and see if you like it.

-- http://www.woodsongsfurniture.com

how wide is it, i’ll buy it from you, thanks, bill
www.primitiques.com

Advertise it for sale. I often see ads from people wanting to buy barn board. I have used it to make mirror and picture frames and they turned out great.

-- drbob at http://www.Woodworkingtipsandtools.com

A pressure washer would take off any git and grime, cleaning the wood without loosing much in the way of thickness plus it will keep it’s rough texture. Just be careful though, if the wood is to soft a pressure washer will cut through it like it’s butter.

-- "At its best, life is completely unpredictable." - Christopher Walken

Heres a few pointers on old barn lumber. I have tore down a lot of old buildings and even built a 30×55 shop from old buildings. If it has any paint on it be careful. Old paint before the 80s can have lead, that’s something you don’t want to breathe. In that case I would probably pass on using. That’s why I prefer barns. As far as cleaning a low power pressure washer as mentioned does good if you are careful. If you don’t have a pressure washer one way I have cleaned it in the past is to get a bucket of water and pour in some bleach. Maybe a cup full in a 5 gallon bucket.just lean the wood so the water runs off. It cleans the wood good. When I use any old lumber I check for nails and then run a metal detector over the wood. You would be suprised at how many times you can miss some metal. It sounds like it doesn’t have paint on it so just remember about paint for future reference.

I just saw an ad in craigslist for barnwood for sale at $3.50 a square foot. You might want to research your options completely before spending money on expensive shop tools. You will end up needing much more than just a planer or even a drum sander.

-- Julian, Park Forest, IL

I keep a large stock of douglas fir, discards from my neighbors additions. The wood is all over 100 years.
It takes a long time to reclaim it.
1. Wire brush it.
2. Metal detector, pliers, hammer, screwdriver, whatever it takes to get it going.
3. Bandsaw into boards.
4. Surface, just like anything.

A blog entry here with pics.

http://lumberjocks.com/jocks/gizmodyne/blog/556

-- -John "Do I have to keep typing a smiley? Just assume it's a joke." www.flickr.com/photos/gizmodyne

There is a place outside of rochester new york that deals with reclaimed barn boards. The refire the boards ina kiln. not as much as the inital drying, only enough to kill any bacteria and bugs. Now this sep is more important if it’s going to be used inside a house.

When the company I was with got these boards, they where being used for draw fronts on cabinets and for cathedral ceillings ….i know what your thinking…. “barn board on the ceillings?” it all looked really cool when said and done. the home owner wanted the inside of the house to “look” like a barn. it was pretty slick looking when all said and done.

the place is ousdie of rochester in wellsville, ny. its called Barn Shadow Enterprises. they have a website www.barnshadow.com. they might have information if you contact them.

depending on what kind of look your liking for is going to depend on how your going to treat it.
the place in wellsville charged over $9 a board foot for barn boards that were not resurfaced or cleaned, they were only refired in the kiln and cleaned of all metal. the customer wanted a rustic look….. sorry i don’t have any pics.

-- Sean Buffalo, New York