sandblasting

cracked

hi all ,
something a little different to wrap ure brains around-
i recently used a woodmizer mobile bandmill to beam
some felled oaks to use in the building of our new home.
question is this- what is the best way to finish the rough
sawn beams ? i am thinking of blasting with walnut or some
similar product but could really do with some advice on the whole
thing.
thanks in advance,
cracked

A country home

cracked wrote: »

hi all ,
something a little different to wrap ure brains around-
i recently used a woodmizer mobile bandmill to beam
some felled oaks to use in the building of our new home.
question is this- what is the best way to finish the rough
sawn beams ? i am thinking of blasting with walnut or some
similar product but could really do with some advice on the whole
thing.
thanks in advance,
cracked

kriky, i hope you find a knowledgable person. . . get the mods on this one, , , I had to read it 3 times to see what you were doing:D
good luck in your build.

muffler

Might be better of in the woodcraft forum.

Moved.

CJhaughey

cracked wrote: »

hi all ,
something a little different to wrap ure brains around-
i recently used a woodmizer mobile bandmill to beam
some felled oaks to use in the building of our new home.
question is this- what is the best way to finish the rough
sawn beams ? i am thinking of blasting with walnut or some
similar product but could really do with some advice on the whole
thing.
thanks in advance,
cracked

It depends on what kind of finish you want, rustic, modern?
You could get them planed and use them that way or maybe an adzed finish might suit?
Is the oak green or seasoned?, remember the oak will start checking as it dries and you will end up with cracks.
It will need about 1 yr of seasoning for every 1" of thickness.
So I guess you firstly need to decide what kind of look you are aiming for and then narrow the finish down from that.
I take it the finish from the bandmill is just slightly rough?

cracked

thanks cj,
trees are on the ground over 20 yrs(but only recently beamed) so are air dried however i have yet to stick a meter on them. desired finish is rustic - probably just as well because they are too heavy for a planer thicknesser. you are correct to say bandsaw finish is only slightly rough so not a huge amount of finishing needed. what is an adzed finish and am i on the right track with the blasting thing?
thanks,
cracked

SpitfireIV

An adzed finised is similar to a textured finished you'd get with a gouge, an adze is really just a big, heavy gouge, so depending on the amount of time you put in you'd get a fairly textured or a smoother finish.

cracked

very interesting, will do a trial. any opinion on the sandblasting?

CJhaughey

Oak is pretty tough stuff and I fear that you might find that blasting with crushed walnut will be slow and unproductive.
If it was me I might be tempted to use an electric plane on a very low cut and see what kind of finish you get, it would only need very light sanding then, or perhaps a handheld belt sander ?

Double Barrel

Sweat equity. .....A sharp broad axe will do the job. http://www.gransfors.com/htm_eng/index.html

Thumbs up to the electric plane.
Hard currency .... A Mafell ZH 205 ... but they cost the proverbial arm & Leg. Makita makes a very good electric beam plane the KP312, a big 12-1/4" hand held planer. The smaller 1806B, a 6-3/4" model with plenty of power will do the job also.
How big are the beams and how many do you have to dress?
Are they structural or decorative ?

cracked

got beams, got trusses, got heads, even got door frames! in total we are talking somewhere in the region of ten-fifteen tonnes of oak, with some of the sections 12" sq and fifteen ft. long . all the beams are well capable of being load bearing but to give my architect an easy life only the king trusses i am planning will actually carry weight. anyhow it all looks good in my head..............!