[Gotspiccoli]

So as I posted before, I aquired a whole trailer load of old chestnut boards. I have almost no experience with wood working but I am interested in learning. I got a miter saw from a friend and decided to sell the wood so I could buy more tools. Problem is no one was interested in buy the wood so I decided to start building things and selling those to buy tools. I will post pics once things are completed and sold. My question in the mean time is I have one project that requires both sides of my boards to be visible. While the fronts of the boards look amazing the backs (I believe I heard it reffered to as rough cuts) looks grey and no matter how much I sand the wood it does not look much better. I was wondering, I don't have a planer yet but I maybe able to use a friends. If I run the boards through a planer rough side up will it come out looking nice on both sides? Any advice? sorry for no pics my cell phone busted and it will be a bit before I can take any more.

 

[Dave Paine]

If you plane a rough surface it should come out smooth.

I do not know how deep the "grey" goes so this may or may not be removed. If the grey is due to oxidation/weather it will likely be removed. If it is the natural colour of the heart or sap wood, it will not be removed - unless you plane off the entire area.

In many species sap wood is lighter than heart wood. Sometimes sap wood is cream/white compared to heart wood e.g. walnut.

 

[Gotspiccoli]

Thanks for the info I will try to get to a planer in the next couple days. I would def say it is weather based as this wood was sitting in a barn for a very long time. We I route the rough side it takes it right off but I could not tell how a planer would look. Thanks again! Pics to come as I have built a pool cue holder, almost done with a fishing pole holder and now I am moving on to a weird fruit holder (you'll have to see it) all jobs where comissioned so I am happy!

 

[EWerner]

To see the color of a rough sawn board use a block plane or better yet a scrub hand plane. Some people bring them with them when they go to a lumber yard as they are intent on finding the right color and grain pattern. Would like to see those pictures of the pool cue and the fishing pole holders. Have fun.

 

[dt1050]

it should plane out, the catalpa I used recently was out side and was weathered, it took a lot of passes to get the grey out. I have used old pieces of pallets to make picture frames, ya know what those look like after they sat outside for a few years. run them threw a planer, looks like new. if you never used a planer make sure you take small passes and support the boards on both sides to eliminate snipe. I also like run 1 side through a joiner first. I like to keep the wood running smooth threw the planer and not have it drifting side to side. good luck dt.

 

[Steve Neul]

If you had just a board or two I would say use a belt sander but a trailer load, I would buy a small portable planer. They are pretty cheap.

 

[Gotspiccoli]

thanks for all the info guys. Right now money is really tight so I will not be buying many tools until I get cash in from these projects. Its almost 100% profit since i am getting the wood for free so I am trying to turn out as much work as possible. I am hesitant to use a hand planer as I have no experience with one so I am going to hit up my friend that owns a planer. He seems to know what he is doing so here goes nothing lol. I will be installing the pool cue holder tonight at the clients. I will make sure to get pics and upload them late tonight. I know the pool cue holder is pretty rough it was my first project ever. The fishing rod holder is starting to look amazing. I only see one mistake in the whole thing and it is pretty well hidden. Thanks again for all the info!

 

[JMoo7]

My dad taught us to use bleach straight to lighten up wood and for stubborn places use wet sanding technique along with bleach. Worked well on a high traffic wooden deck.