Fence boards for 2 cases of beer!

MitchelC

MGF, Master Grumble Framer
Joined
Sep 19, 2010
Posts
687
Location
Charleston, SC
Business
Custom Framing
My luck was with me..

This past Sunday I made minor repairs of my cabin on Goose Creek. I then left to go back home. I was only a few miles from home when I recognized a very good customer removing the last planks off his fence with only a few fence posts remaining. I parked in his driveway and chatted with him. I asked him why he was taking down his fence. He said it will be replace with a "white" fence. I was interested in his old fence planks and asked him what he was going to do with 'em. He asked me if I wanted them. I said "sure, how much do you want for them?" He said " For you, TWO cases of beer... one case for all the fence planks and one case for the delivery! We walked to his back yard where all the planks were neatly stacked on a large trailer. He had almost a thousand 3/4" thick, 5 1/2" wide and 6 feet long old cypress fence boards in excellent condition. He told me he sold his business and retired a couple of months ago. His wife went visit her family relations in West Virginia. He said she always talked about having a "white picket fence". Tomorrow, a fence company will be putting up the white fence, which will take two days. His wife will come back home on the day of their 50th anniversary... two days after the fence is completed. She will be shocked. The cypress boards are now in my storage shed. lol ☺
 
Great story. Can't wait to see what you do with them.
 
Great story. Can't wait to see what you do with them.
5 1/2" wide is perfect for frames... almost 100% usable. The board can be ripped and assembled in such a way, no matter how you look at the frame, all you see is the old wood. I was told someone (sons/daughters) has a few photos the old house that was there before the home and property was sold and the new house was built on it 30-40(?) years ago. If so, and they allow me to use the photo, I will get it enlarged to 18 x 24 if possible, frame it using a couple of his old fence boards and give it to him and his wife. Doing so will definitely give them something to remember and show off...
 
The story unfolds!

Can't wait to read Chapter Two!
 
All this begs the age old question; at least to me. How do you finish the side edge once you rip the boards? You have a weathered face and a clean new side. One doesn't go with the other.
 
Perhaps both sides remain intact, and only the rabbet gets ripped.
 
Perhaps both sides remain intact, and only the rabbet gets ripped.

That's fine in this case - if you make all your frames 5 1/2" wide. I was thinking of some past thoughts on using weathered red barn wood that was 12" or more wide.
 
All this begs the age old question; at least to me. How do you finish the side edge once you rip the boards? You have a weathered face and a clean new side. One doesn't go with the other.

Cover the "clean new cut" like this:
Plank.png
 
That's fine in this case - if you make all your frames 5 1/2" wide. I was thinking of some past thoughts on using weathered red barn wood that was 12" or more wide.
If a plant is, for example, 3/4" thick and 12" wide, it would require a "little" more work, but again, all you would see is the old part of the board. How? If you want a frame 2 inches wide, rip 2" off the board... on side being cut on a 45 degree angle. Then, rip another strip off the wide board 3/4" wide on a 45 degree angle. Glue this narrow strip to the edge of the ripped 2" wide board to cover the new cut. Now, the entire board looks old, even after you cut out the rabbit.

(Almost anything is possible with wood. Several years ago, after completing a cabinet job, I was asked if it is possible to cut a perfect 2" thick x 32" x 52" oval shaped table top to replace a damaged one. I figured out how to do so using a table saw! Yes, a TABLE SAW. After gluing the oak boards together, it took me a couple of hours to make a special jig for my table saw and about the same amount of time to cut it out.)
 
Used to get barnwood out of Georgia, until the demand went down and so did most of the barns.
Here's the basic profile so no "new" wood is seen.
IMG_1768.JPG


Heineken?
 
Do you have to treat the boards in some way before you use them to kill anything creeping around inside the boards?

I have a friend who, years ago, lived in an old house with an even older barn out back. He was awakened one morning by load noises coming from his back yard. He looked out the window to see two guys tearing down the walls of his barn and putting the wood in the back of a truck they had parked on his back lawn. He yelled at the thieves who replied they didn't think anyone would mind. No beer was exchanged.
 
Do you have to treat the boards in some way before you use them to kill anything creeping around inside the boards?

I have a friend who, years ago, lived in an old house with an even older barn out back. He was awakened one morning by load noises coming from his back yard. He looked out the window to see two guys tearing down the walls of his barn and putting the wood in the back of a truck they had parked on his back lawn. He yelled at the thieves who replied they didn't think anyone would mind. No beer was exchanged.

The fence boards are cypress. No termites.
Why Don't Termites Eat Cypress? Click HERE
 
Fence bords need only 1 or 2 cuts to make moulding (plus a rabbet).
Cut about 1" off end, stand upright (cut face down) nail from side as "end cap".
So steps in WPFAY's post, but you don't have to cut out end cap if you don't wish to.
This wood does get silverfish.
 
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I wondered why I had seen so many barn wood frames with end caps. This explains it. This assumes that both sides are true and straight and the the reverse is the same as the front. If any of these aren't true, the board will need to be trued and you will have "new" wood exposed.

But what do you do if you don't want an end cap, just a flat profile or if you have to true up barn wood boards? There needs to be a way to treat the "new edges" with a barb wood like finish. Not only a finish but roughing up the surface to match, or not look new.

Any ideas.
 
experiment! i like to try a variety of stains, as well as the old "steel wool dissolved in vinegar trick". wire brushes are great for roughing up the edges. a propane torch can come in handy as well. or - build your frame, and throw it out behind the barn (or whet's left of it) for a month and see what happens.
 
The edges do not need to be "trued".
Also, if you cut down and have exposed outer edges, just paint (thick bristle brush). I use a combo of black, white, brown acrylic paint.
 
5 1/2" wide is perfect for frames... almost 100% usable. The board can be ripped and assembled in such a way, no matter how you look at the frame, all you see is the old wood. I was told someone (sons/daughters) has a few photos the old house that was there before the home and property was sold and the new house was built on it 30-40(?) years ago. If so, and they allow me to use the photo, I will get it enlarged to 18 x 24 if possible, frame it using a couple of his old fence boards and give it to him and his wife. Doing so will definitely give them something to remember and show off...

Well, DONE... I was allowed to borrow an old photo and have it enlarged to 16 x 20, not 18 x 24. I framed TWO using a few old fence boards. One was for the customer who gave me the fence boards and the other was given to the person who loaned me the photo. When I brought it to the husband and wife, they both literally cried. I told them who I got the photo from. He called and thanked them. I drank a beer with him then left. I went return the photo to the person who loaned it to me and game them the other 16 x 20 photo I framed. They thanked me over and over and couldn't believe how good it looked. I delivered these two framed photos this past Thursday. Yesterday (Saturday) someone came in who say one of the two I framed and asked me if I sell them. I told him no because I did not own the right to sell these photos, but, I told him to contact the person who loaned me the photo. So... I might gave more to frame. lol ☺
 
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