Wood brushing is not an ordinary technological process, the result of which is a change in the appearance of a joinery. Wood that has undergone similar processing takes on the appearance of an old product. In other words, it is a process of artificial aging of the mentioned material.
Antique
A perfectly reasonable question may arise: “Why all this is necessary? After all, a new product is always better than the old. But you can ask it only those who have never seen products from brushed wood. The texture of the old wood is very expressive, and furniture products from it look extremely impressive. They help create a special style and are an integral part of the interiors stylized under the feudal era. At the beginning of the third millennium, wood brushing makes it possible to make furniture that could decorate knight's castles from the Early Middle Ages. Therefore, this technology is very promising and in demand in the carpentry market. Often, whole wooden structures based on log cabins are subjected to artificial aging.
Technological features
The desired effect is achieved by treating the material with special metal brushes. The name of this process comes from the English word "brush", which means "brush". Wood brushing is achieved due to the fact that a rotating metal tool selects softer fibers located along the entire surface of the tree between the annual rings. After processing, a textured natural surface remains. Particular expressive possibilities of wood are opened during its subsequent processing with abrasive materials and tint coatings. Brushing technology is quite complex and time-consuming. But the achieved result fully justifies the effort.
Wood brushing: tools and equipment
Manually aging a wooden surface is very difficult. Ideally, wood brushing is done specifically for this purpose by a machine designed with a set of replaceable cylindrical brushes of different stiffness. But such a technique is not cheap, the retail price of such a machine is about a thousand dollars. If professional equipment is unavailable for some reason, then you can use a grinder or drill with a set of disc wire brushes. Of course, to ensure the technological process requires a special room with a workbench and clamps. In the mass production of carpentry with a brushed surface, the presence of exhaust ventilation is mandatory.
Wood brushing at home
Many craftsmen who are not indifferent to the carpentry craft tried to age wood at home. For all the complexity of the process, it is quite affordable. The master, working for himself, even has some advantages over professionals - no one rushes him. But brushing wood with your own hands requires, in addition to patience and qualifications, also possession of at least a minimal instrumental base. Need a set of metal brushes and devices that give them rotation. The drive can be either stationary or manual. It should be understood that only wood with pronounced annual rings makes sense to brush. There are varieties of wood that do not make sense in a similar manner. This is primarily beech, maple, alder and teak. Annual rings are most clearly expressed in varieties such as ash, larch, oak and walnut. Or in such exotic wood of valuable species as merbau and wenge. It should be understood that to achieve the desired result with brushing brushes alone is impossible. An expressive texture is achieved by alternating between a brush and an abrasive tool. A grinder passes over the surface and after applying tinting, from this it becomes the most contrasting. At the end of the process, the product is varnished. The coating can be either glossy or matte.
Safety precautions
Wood brushing involves the use of various kinds of electromechanical equipment. Moving parts of it rotate at high speed and can pose a serious danger. In order to avoid injuries, the workplace must be properly designed. The workpiece to be machined must be securely fixed with clamps or a stationary vice. During brushing, a lot of dust rises into the air, and sharp elements fly off from the wire brushes at high speed. Therefore, respiratory organs should be protected with a respirator, and eyes with special shock-resistant glasses. And, of course, this type of carpentry should be performed outside the living quarters. As already mentioned, the use of exhaust ventilation is highly desirable.