Post #796759 by leevigraham on Sun, Aug 11, 2019 2:42 AM

This weekends goal was to frame the tapa from last week with some custom trim.

I started with some NZ pine fence timber (4.2m in length) which a friend gave me. I drew out a simple geometric pattern and got to work with the router.

I created a simple jig to keep the base of the router flat near the edges.

The first couple of attempts were a bit wobbly but I figured with the eventual burning it would be ok.

My plant was to use a propane torch. We don't use roofing torches in Australia so the best I could find was a welders brazing torch at the local hardware store.

Unfortunately the torch didn't make much of an impact on the wood. It would have taken ages and cost a bomb in propane bottles. I returned the torch and got a refund.

Next idea was to get creative and use an old camp cooker to slowly burn the wood.

It worked ok… but it still would have taken too long and again cost a bit in butane canisters.

Time to go old school… Real fire to burn timber… who would have thought.

I ran the board over both hot coals and flame a few times

It seems the hotter the better. Flames really help get into the router lines, heat really chars the timber and brings out the grain.

Here's the result after the burn:

I then hit the whole thing with a wire brush which softened all the edges:

Final step was to give the whole thing a diluted coat of Jarrah stain and varnish. Another quick wire brush to bring out the ridges and boom…

Can't wait to get this up on the wall.