Question
We are about to produce a line of furniture for a retailer who wants a distressed finish. On the prototypes we used a piece of wood with nails driven through it and a chain. What other types of tools can be used?
Forum Responses
Make sure you concentrate the distressing to "obvious wear areas", for example: corners, bottom of legs. Look at the piece and think of the areas most touched and prone to damage. Other tools: wire brush (brass), awl, burning torch, draw knife, spokeshave... use your imagination.
Comment from contributor A:
Some distressing techniques I have seen:
1. A piece of chain, 8" to 10" long, attached to a wood handle and used to knock dents into the wood. You can also weld a few hex nuts, square nuts, etc. to the chain.
2. One major manufacturer utilizes specially made steel outfeed rolls on a Weinig moulder. The rolls have a pattern of arcs deposited onto the surface with an electric welder. The resulting output looks enough like sawmill saw marks to have fooled the buying public for some 30 years or more.
3. I've also seen a planer with random deposits of weld on the outfeed roll.
1. Take a 2" piece of stock, attach chains around the top, and carefully tap the stock with a hammer to make inconsistent patterns.
2. Take a 1 1/2 - 2" piece of stock and put drywall screws in a cluster on the top end, and carefully tap the wood inconsistently but with the grain feathering it to make it look like natural worm holes.
3. Wipe the worm holes with a dark brown stain, preferably on just the holes in step 2, then sand or clean with thinner or minineral spirits.