Are grey, weathered boards abrasive?

[Jeff Hallam]

I recently got what I consider a good deal (although maybe not gloat worthy) on some thick pine, oak, and mahogany pieces.

The thing is, some of them look.. well.. dirty. I can't actually see real dirt or rocks, but it is a darker patina than the typical weathered grey that I'm used to. This seems like a silly question but if there are no rocks visible is it ok to joint and plane these?

You can tell me if its gloat worthy, I paid $500 for 35 b.f. of Mahogany, 150 b.f. of clear Pine, and 65 b.f. of Oak.

Here's some pics:

Jeff

152045

152046

[Bruce Page]

Make sure there are no nails or screws, give them a good scrubbing with a wire brush & compressed air and you should be good to go.

[Gary Breckenridge]

And you may want to use some of your older planer or jointer blades.:)

[george wilson]

If it is CLEAN,with NO SANDY residue,the weathered surface should be softer than the wood within. Just old cellulose fibers. Vacuum it off well. Old,grey wood often means it was outside for years,where rain could splash dirt on it if close to the ground.

[Van Huskey]

My approach when I have some questionable surface is to hit it with one of my old hand planes, you can figure out pretty quickly how tough it will be on blades.

[Jeff Hallam]

Ok, thanks for the advice everyone. I don't really have spare planer or jointer blades that I want to go through the trouble of setting up so I will do my best with a wire brush, vacuum, and air compressor. I can't wait to see what this stash looks like when it's freshly cut!

[Joe Chritz]

You can also crank up a belt sander with a 36 grit belt and take off the outer edge.

Joe

[Philip Rodriquez]

+1 on the wire brush - followed by a +1 on the belt sander. Weathered boards will damage your blades.