Texturing wood with wire brush in angle grinder?

[Jamie Buxton]

I'm thinking about texturing a wood surface using a wire brush in an angle grinder. I see brushes in the shape of a flat disc, spec'd for use in a 4" angle grinder. Anybody with experience with something like this?

[Jerry Miner]

Yeah, Jamie, I've done this a bit (did a piece yesterday to match some existing textured trim).

The trick is getting an even texture. It's easy to dig too deep in some places, so practice on scrap, and keep a light touch.

We also have the Makita 9741 (a $500 dedicated wire brush machine), but it is slow and best at very shallow texturing.

[Ben Abate]

Yes this is one method I use to distress wood. Another useful way is to lower the iron in your plane and sort of chop down with it. I know it doesn't sound like it's good for the plane but it replicates ax or adz very well Softer woods are easier like pine,cedar and so on. I've used cedar timbers a few time to reproduce older looking mantles.

[John K Jordan]

I'm thinking about texturing a wood surface using a wire brush in an angle grinder. I see brushes in the shape of a flat disc, spec'd for use in a 4" angle grinder. Anybody with experience with something like this?

Perhaps describe the the thing you want to texture including the size and the type of wood. I use a variety of ways to texture (including wire brushes, powered and hand-held) but these are on round things made on the lathe and might not apply. The type of wood makes a big difference.

JKJ

[Larry Edgerton]

Sandblaster is another option. Different texture but interesting, and can be done on an assembled piece.

[David Zaret]

i recently did a lot of this on some old barn wood... i had to plane it to build doors, a mirror and such, and wanted to put the texture back in. what i ended up doing is stacking wire wheels on a homemade arbor (all-thread, bolts and washers), chucking it up in a big drill, and carefully wire wheeling the wood with the grain. as already stated, it's hard to be consistent, but i like the inconsistency and actually gouged it randomly on purpose to make it look more authentic. wear a full face shield, and a respirator, and ideally, do this outside as it kicks major dust.

in my case, it was 1850s pine barn siding, and after a few coats of watco, i'm really happy with the look. link to pics below..

https://www.icloud.com/sharedalbum/#B0yGh7fzTJI1uJJ

[Andrew Gibson]

If a light texture is needed a "cup brush" in a drill works well. I recently finished up several pieces of oak furniture with heavy grain, not distressed but emphasized. These were actually modern designs, stained black with satin finish. I would post a picture but I have none on this computer. The cup brush worked very well.

[Ole Anderson]

I have inadvertently brought out a strong grain pattern in my wood deck board with a pressure washer...

[Jamie Buxton]

What I'm working on is a live-edge slab table. The slab in places had unsightly bug damage on the outer layers of the sapwood, so I cut it off. The edge now looks too "finished". What's in my mind's eye is that the top of the slab is fine-sanded, but the edge is not, just like an unmodified slab looks. Maybe a wire brush can bring back that unfinished texture.

The slab is big enough that I can barely lift it, so bringing it to a bench-mounted tool is pretty much out of the question.

I've seen those cup brushes, but I'm concerned they'll leave swirls marks on the wood. I think I want to leave scratches that are straight-ish, like the wood fibers are already running.

[Andrew Gibson]

Shaping Live edge or mimicking it is a totally different animal. My opinion is you need to use the grain lines of the slab to help guide the shape becayse these of course follow the outer shape of the tree. How rough or refined you want it is a personal choice.I typically do this with a palm sander and hand sanding, as well as rasps and or scrapers to achieve the desired look. wire brushes are good if you want to remove bark, but I don't think they are very good for shaping. Here is a picture of my coffee table. With a little live edge I built last year.

357707

[Larry Edgerton]

That is the very situation that I use the sand blaster for, easy to blend, easy to be uniform on non-uniform surfaces. I will carve it until it looks like a natural form and the blast for a bit of texture and blend into the untouched parts.

[David Zaret]

i had a tough time with the sandblaster. on the soft pine, it just made the wood look .. sandblasted, not "aged." on the old oak, it did a better job, but was so messy that i went back to the wire wheel. i'd love somebody to make a youtube video showing how it should be done, because clearly i need better skill...

good thread!

--- dz

[Larry Edgerton]

It is messy. You would turn the air way down from what you would blast steel. There are many mediums to use besides sand for different effects, crushed walnut shells is one of my favorites. You just have to play a bit. Pine always sucks, but I hate pine anyway so no problem for me.

The thing is if you are using a wire wheel, you have to work with shapes that a wire wheel will get to so that limits what you can create. I like to do the edge, get all the nooks and crannys the way I want them for finish, then sand the top and bottoms. I don't really blast the daylights out of it, just make the carved areas look older and clean up the natural edge of any loose stuff and give it an overall uniform look between the cut parts and the natural. Slow and easy is the key. Before finish I will knock any points off with a scotch brite pad and make it look a little worn.

I like what you did with the barnwood.

[John C Bush]

I use a layered flap sanding disk for re-sculpting live edges. They are for metal finishing but remove a lot of material quickly and with control. Got em at HF. 80 grit is aggressive and 120 leaves a nice finish. Rasps, files and rifflers are good for fine sculpting. I use the wire cups to leave striations and walnut shell blasting to clean up the edge prior to finishing.

[mark mcfarlane]

I have inadvertently brought out a strong grain pattern in my wood deck board with a pressure washer...

Me too, with my gas powered pressure washer. With the right nozzle, works very efficiently to remove the softer wood. Also did a good job drilling holes in sandstone and an old plastic garage can. Oops.

[Tony Gomez]

I've done this to distress wood for an old look. I used a radial fine brass wire brush. The cupped brush isn't a good option. This method works best with wood that has high contrast in grain density. For me, this was pine. I further aged the look chemically with iron acetate (steel wool soaked in vinegar) and then topped with wax. This process kicks up a TON of uncontrolled saw dust, so do wear a good particle mask even if you are able to rig up a dust hood.


IF you use a sand blaster, be very careful with the dust if you use actual sand instead of granite or walnut shell or non silica based material. Silicosis is a nasty lung issue.