Hi All,
My life has changed a bit in the last 4 months. Besides income adjustments, I've gone from being a homeowner with a cool shop building to living in a church provided parsonage. But thank God, the parsonage is quite nice and I am getting closer to doing some woodworking in the basement.
I also have some really nice folks to care for in the parish and one of them just gave me a handful of walnut boards that are 30+ years old. In my work there are stories for everything and these boards are no exception. It turns out that they were acquired by his father, who had been a finish carpenter, to be used for some woodworking project. They were moved many times over the years and now I'm the fortunate woodworker to receive them.
The thing about the walnut boards is that they are covered with dust from being stored in a barn loft for many years. Add in some bird droppings, checking, along with the rough sawing and you get the picture. A couple chipped edges though gave me a peak at some beautiful color on the walnut. Admittedly, they are not in the most ideal condition, but it will be exciting to see what can be usable stock out of them. I'll try to add a couple pictures real soon.
I'm thinking I should use a stift brush on them first and then maybe wash them down with just enough water so the grit on the surfaces won't damage my tools. All of the boards are rough cut and need to be surface planed.
My concerns are primarily with controlling possible warpage and I'm wondering how long I'll need to let them dry out from the cleaning. Right now the boards are bone dry.
Any thoughts?
Jim