Wood Textures/Finishes

Our finishing team's mantra is: "If it ain't tight, it ain't right." Every part that comes off our K2 milling machine is pre-fit into its mating parts to ensure a tight fit. After it has been fit, you have several finishing options---from rough to smooth to bumpy to beat up.

Rough Sawn -- A rough sawn timber is one that looks like it's got a 5 o'clock shadow: it has little stubble slivers poking out in all directions. The stubble comes from the large circular saw or band saw at the saw mill. The mill doesn't plane the timber, and neither do we.

If you would like rough sawn timber, just let us know. However, don't be surprised when we question you about it. Rough sawn timber doesn't really work well in areas where you can come in contact with it because every time you rub against it, you'll end up with slivers. In addition, rough sawn timbers don't dust well. From our point of view, the joinery is much better with planed timber because all the timber sizes are uniform.

Planed and Sanded -- A planed timber is a smooth timber. Our planer planes all four sides of the timber in one pass and does a great job smoothing and sizing the timber. After the milling process, we sand the timbers to smooth any parts the milling machine may have roughed up.

Our default finish is the planed and sanded finish because the planed timbers are so nice to work with. In fact, the other finishes listed below begin with planed timbers.

Chamfered and Stop-Chamfered -- Our planer has the capability to chamfer the edges of the timber as it planes it. The chamfer it applies basically eases the edges. If you'd prefer exactly square corners, we can turn off the chamfer with the push of a button.

A stop-chamfer is an architectural detail where we chamfer the edges of the timber to with a few inches of every joint. We can use a variety of router bits for this style of chamfer.  Stop-chamfers give a timber frame a less-rustic, refined look.

Draw Knifed -- Draw knives are woodworking tools with many uses. We use them to give the edges of the timber a rough, uneven look. The draw knife finish is a relatively inexpensive way to make your timber frame look more rustic. With the draw knife finish, the faces of the timber remain smooth.

Adzed -- An adze is like an axe with the head turned sideways. This tool, according to archaeological evidence, was used in the stone age for the same purpose that we use them today: to shape wood. The shape of the blades of modern adzes range from flat to very curved.

We adze timbers to give them a rough-hewn look---like we went into the forest, chopped down a tree, squared it with a broad axe, and then refined it with an adze. The timber, once adzed, can be left rough with chunks of wood hanging on it, or sanded smooth so that it looks rustic but refined. For the sake of economy, we only adze the sides of the timber that will be seen.

Distressed -- If you used reclaimed wood from an old building, that wood would be full of dings and dents and holes. If you use new wood and want it to look like you got it from an old building, then we can add the dents and dings and holes in the shop.

We distress timbers with a variety of "tools" such as rocks, chains, and golf shoes---whatever it takes to make it look old and experienced.

Sealed -- A waxed end-seal is applied to all processed timber. The end-seal helps to regulate the drying and checking of aging timber and protects the timber from absorbing moisture into the end-grain.

Those are our basic finishing options. Let us know at the beginning if you are interested in having any of them applied so that we can give you a price right up front.