turning smooth cedar into rough cedar

[jim mills]

I have some really nice 5/4 cedar boards that I resawed from some huge cedar beams that I salvaged years ago. Now I want to use some of them to make board & batton shutters. I'll plane them to 1", but how can I make them look like rough cedar? Any ideas? Thanks!

[Warren Wilson]

I have inadvertlently turned smooth cedar into rough cedar by pressure washing it. Not actually the look I was going for.

[Allan Speers]

Interesting question.

Maybe you could beat on the boards with one of those old wooden meat tenderizer "mallets." You know, the ones with a bunch of wooden teeth cut into the end.

Or maybe some kind of acid wash?

[glenn bradley]

I believe he is looking for a "rough sawn" look, yes? How much material can you remove and still have usable material for your use?

[jim mills]

Thanks Glenn, yes, "rough sawn". I could remove about 1/4" of material if necessary to get the look I am after. Only have to do one side.

[Allan Speers]

I have another idea:

Drive out of state, then ship those boards back to yourself via UPS. If THAT doesn't get them roughed up enough, nothing will. :D

[jim mills]

OK, couple suggestions from others...set up a stop on the bandsaw and run the boards across the blade as close to perpendicular as possible. Well, they already look "bandsawn" from resawing the boards. Just not even, cuz I didn't use a power feeder.

Another thought...I have some 13 grit paper for the drumsander. Makes me think of some skip planed maple that I bought one time. Kinda looked like it had been wire brushed.

[Andrew Hughes]

I like that furred look also.The lumber yard next to a place I buy from has a setup that resaws for a furry look but it's not the same.
The best method Ive seen to recreate is sand blasting or pressure wash.When I was roofing at Disneyland they used sandblast setup that worked very well.
I think that maybe what your thinking but I'm probably wrong again.

[Doug Garson]

You could try this method https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y08_YOL6HcI

[Kent A Bathurst]

Yeah - I can tell you how that is done, by the big-time guys that supply the BORG, etc. for the soffit and facia that is smooth one side, and rough the other. They buy S4S, and then mess up one face.

Get a rough-cut blade for your BS - like 1 TPI, or summin close. The absolute grodiest thing you can get.

Run the wood thru the BS, and just barely skim the outer surface. You will get a rough-sawn surface on that one face.

BUT - You need to be at your finished dimension. If you run 5/4 and resaw to 4/4, I don't think you will get the same finish with the blade buried in the wood as you will if it is skimming the outside face. Try it and see - may be OK for you.

And - if you are just skimming the outside surface, then there is nothing you can do to collect the dust - - it will be Old Testament plague of locusts all over your shop. You have been warned......

[Jerry Miner]

We do this pretty regularly in our shop---usually by scratching with a bandsaw as described above (lowest tooth count you've got). It can also be done with a Sawzall or similar. It is sometimes more effective to go over the work twice, in opposite directions. Practice on scrap.

[Keith Weber]

You could run it through a Harbor Freight planer!

[Jake Elkins]

well if money is no concern: try this (http://www.timberwolftools.com/tools/makita/M-9741.html)

[Mike Ontko]

Resawing on a bandsaw with a slightly loose blade will produce that look, though like you've already mentioned, you'll want to control the feed rate as much as possible to get a consistent pattern.

[edit]...by "a slightly loose blade" I really meant to say, "...with less tension on the blade..."

[Art Mann]

My house is Western Cedar and is almost 30 years old. Consequently, the really thick 5/4 by 8 inch wedge shaped siding is no longer available locally. I have had to manufacture some replacement siding from 2 X 8 inch lumber. To rough up the surface so it looked like the original, I used a 4 X 24 inch hand held belt sander with 60 grit and sanded the wood across the grain. It didn't match perfectly but was close enough so that the opaque stain blended it in perfectly.

[jim mills]

Thanks for all the suggestions. Consistent texture is key, and is what makes most techniques difficult at best. I bet that makita tool suggested by Jake E. above would work, but not worth the investment for me. I could just buy the lumber for the cost of the tool.

[Jerry Miner]

I have that tool, and it is useful for accentuating grain but does not produce a "rough-sawn" texture--- I don't think it would work for you here. So I just saved you $500.00. You can pay me later:D