# Barnwood refinishing questions



## OmegaRed (Sep 19, 2012)

Howdy,

I'm gonnna try to first locate, then make some barnwood furniture. Probably a bedroom set, but first and foremost a bed. Nothing too intricate, but I want it to be sturdy and look good obviously! I've read some of the other bed builds and it doesn't seem to be too big of a deal.










I have a barn that caved in close to me, and was wondering how I would go about lumber selection. How would you guys pick pieces, or would you have to refinish all of the lumber? I just don't have any experience in working with weathered / color fatigued wood.


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## LeeBarker (Aug 6, 2010)

It looks like there are two colors of wood, the gray and the brown. I'd get some of each and keep them separated.

I see 4/4 material aplenty. Are there any thicker pieces? It would be good to have some of each.

If I had just one project in mind, I'd bring home more than twice what I thought I'd need. The "kinship" of certain kinds of boards reveals itself better in the shop than in the field, for me.

I would think a metal detector, the wand kind, would be a wise investment. Likewise a cheap sawblade for your table saw. The more it tears out, the better!

In this project I note how I got the newly cut ends to look gray and weathered.

You might survey your area; it is possible that you could stockpile some and sell it on CL. Picture framers sometimes look for this stuff, as well as woodworkers who wouldn't know where to get it but might have ideas for furniture like you do.

Keep us in the loop on this. Nice subject for a blog here, in fact.

Kindly,

Lee


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## bandit571 (Jan 20, 2011)

IF you have a planer, once you get about a 1/16" below the surface, something wonderful happens…..

Go to my projects gallery, and see what happens. Be warned though, these type of boards will suck in almost any sort of finish like a dry sponge. Three or more just to see any results…


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## bandit571 (Jan 20, 2011)

After a pass or three under the planer..









And on their way to a desk, all out of "barn wood"


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## OmegaRed (Sep 19, 2012)

Sweet! I was gonna stop over there last night and get some more details, but we got 12 inches of snow and a blizzard warning so that's outta the question for a while.

Thanks for the help, I'll update once I get some more news


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## chrisstef (Mar 3, 2010)

I would attack most of the pieces with a belt sander to start then send it through the planer. Theres probably a bunch of old dirt and grime on the exterior layer of the wood that will dull your blades pretty quick. You should also be able to spot most nails after a quick and dirty sanding. If youve got a set of junky kinives for your planer start with those just in case you get a nick from a nail or rock or whatever.

Barnwood and reclaimed is fun to see whats inside but make no mistakes it takes time and effort to get there. Good luck and enjoy the process.


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