I have been matting and framing paintings done by my grandmother for a while now and will need to be making a frame or two of barnwood.
The wood is douglas fir that was milled by Great grand dad about 1906 from his property in Montana.
My question is what to put on the finished frame to keep it from splintering and yet, not loose the soft grey color. I have 3 planks 7' and 1 " thick at varying widths. I am no expert at frame making, so these frames will be simple and rustic to go with a wagon train painting.
Any suggestions will be considered and greatly appreciated. Thanks a bunch.
cinnabar
Any finish will alter the look.
what ever you choose try a test on some scrap to see the results.
If the wood is rough it may be hard to get the finish to go on smooth.
Water based poly may be the best for not changing looks.
Why any finish at all? Inside and out of the weather, the wood will not be subject to rot. Sunlight/light will only enhance the grey. You would want to keep it from direct sunlight anyway to help protect the painting too. I have done many frames for the wife that are unfinished, some from rough wood and some from nicely surfaced wood.
I would need a picture to give you any advice. :D I really just want to see the wood. I have no idea.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/25346/DSC_1556.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1471362407)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/25346/DSC_1555.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1471362182)
I am letting the wood "speak" as my dad would say to get the best idea as to the cuts. The frame(or frames) is a panoramic shape.
My concerns are that the wood is rather crumbly and I am not sure if it will benefit to seal or try to preserve it for future handling. I guess time will tell.
Quote from: LeeB on August 15, 2016, 10:36:15 AM
Why any finish at all? Inside and out of the weather, the wood will not be subject to rot. Sunlight/light will only enhance the grey. You would want to keep it from direct sunlight anyway to help protect the painting too. I have done many frames for the wife that are unfinished, some from rough wood and some from nicely surfaced wood.
I like the above answer.
If your afraid the wood will crumble there are three choices that I know about. CPES, which is really thin penetrating epoxy, Minwax wood hardener, and super glue. Do your research and if you pick one, test it before using it on the show wood.
I finally got the first round of frames done, simple and rustic like I wanted. No treatment on the wood, just handle with care.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/25346/20180325_120342.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1522094529)
Nicely done! Great looking non-finish!
Very nice!
How did you put them together.
Can we get a close up of the painting?
Jon
Is that a staircase they're on? Looks pretty steep.
The stair case is not as steep as it appears, must be the angle of the camera. ;D
This is the only photo of the construction process that I have.
The inset frames are sized to hold the matted print, backing and Plexiglas (to keep it light).
Since the wood had a lot of knots and thin spots, each inset was marked for the pre drilling according to the barn wood's texture.
A couple barn wood pieces had to be shimmed due to lack of cooperation with the inset. That was way more work, but I only had to do it on one frame. Then clamp, glue and screw to fasten.
The print of the wagon train is actual size of Grandmothers mural proof, 3"X27" in watercolor.
These are going to my siblings as late Christmas gifts.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/25346/20180324_152545.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1522204940)
I've finished all of my barnwood(hardwoods) with General Finishes High Performance FLAT. It will darken the color a bit as any finish will, but it can also bring out the color and actually look better. It's a good finish to try.
If your wood is crumbly, don't use it, it's rotted. If it's just splintery, that just means it's brittle. I've had old straight grain cedar fence boards like that.
Thanks Brad_bb for the tip on finish. I still have more wood to make into frames and might give your suggestion a try.
The wood is not rotted at all, just splintery. Still gives off a pine scent when cutting.
Found out from my cousin that the engine used for the mill was an Advance Rumley that they used for threshing as well. The wood was cut about 1902 and the buildings went up shortly after.