Great tutorial Purp

And I love the witty repartee!  

-Marc

Nice one Purp! And some very interesting behind-the-scenes photo's too..!

Thanks Purple, excellent article.
Now... where did I leave that petrol can and matches?

HEY PURP, Is that you in the Photo?
Where is this Hangar or what is it?

There are Two boxes in the photo are those the NST from the show?

Thanks for the comments chaps, I do hope that people find this tutorial helpful and go on to add their own.

Geminitimelord, in answer to your questions in the order you asked:

1/  I'm in one of the pictures, just.
2/  A workshop in Cardiff.
3/  Yes.

If you're rubbing with a wire brush, how long should it take to get that effect?  Also, how long does it take for water to soak the wood enough to begin working it?

Quote from: chainsaw on Jul 05, 2009, 04:25 amIf you're rubbing with a wire brush, how long should it take to get that effect?  Also, how long does it take for water to soak the wood enough to begin working it?

Hi Chainsaw,

It doesn't take very long at all for the water to soak in if you're drenching the section.  Obviously don't go mad, you want to control what you're doing, so work in an area you're comfortable with, say around 18" to 2'.  It should only take a few seconds, maybe a minute to soak in (depending on the water temperature) but you can test whether it's ready just by drawing your finger nail along the grain, if it starts to remove any material or leaves a mark, then you're more than ready.

How long does it take to get the effect with the brush?  Instantly.  You just keep working at it until you're happy with the result, it may be suitable in one passing, but then again you may need a couple of passes.

There's no hard and fast rule with this technique as there are many variables, but in general I would say that the speed is all dependent on who is doing the job and what their confidence levels are like.  If anyone wants to give this technique a try, I'd suggest that you try it out first on a scrap of timber - preferably the same timber as the build, that way you know what to expect when it comes to the real deal.

Hope that answers your question.

Thanks for this and the nice photos too.

Glad to be of service.  Hopefully you've found the tutorial and pictures useful.

Yes I have read the tutorial.... 

I'm currently outside (well inside on the computer at the minute) trying out Purple's soggy method for raising the wood grain on one of my corner post sections, however my questions in this matter are

How many goes over is it supposed to take before it is noticable?
Is it more noticable after painting or should you be able to really "feel" the grain?
and
Does it work the same way with pressure treated timber?

I have thoroughly soaked my 2x6 and taken a wire brush to it and even wire wool...
I am removing material that is not an issue just not sure that I am not removing the "harder grain" because nothing seem to be standing any prouder than it was when i started.

Well... When I was packing everything away yesterday I checked the post I had been "distressing" and there wasn't even the slightest hint of any raised grain.... lots of lines where I had used the brush and wire wool on it.  Not sure what I am doing wrong

I applied this technique to texture an outside door recently and it worked a charm. I soaked the door (water ponding on it) for about 10-15 mins before starting and just worked along the grain with a stiff wire brush. I scrubbed at it until I could see some wet 'sawdust' coming off. The grain is very obvious now.

Are you using a reasonably soft wood? Pine or fir should be fine - I could imagine it wouldn't work well with oak...
If there was any water protection treatment on the wood that would probably defeat it also. I don't think pressure-treated wood is water-repellent particularly, but I'm not sure of that.
Roughly sanding the wood to help the water penetrate may also help.

My example was stained, but I would think paint would actually reduce the effect. Do work along the grain, not across it. The kind of wire brush you want is one suitable for use on stonework.

Crispin

It's pressure treated pine...

I have seen wet sawdust coming off, it just doesn't seem to make the darker grain more pronounced at all....

You may have to resort to the blowtorch and grinder technique they used on the original set of NSTs.
Bill "the Doctor" Rudloff

Hmm. The other thing I didn't mention was that I had to move the brush along its length rather than perpendicular.
Here's the brush I used (actually this one is its twin brother):


Here's the raised grain:


Crispin