working with waney edge

[TEO]

Hi there, has anyone here got any experience of working with a waney edge?
In particular how to keep the bark on a piece of timber.
I've had a request for a waney edged table top type thingy, it's to go on the remains of a wall after a knock through so it'll look a little like an island unit sticking out into the new enlarged space. I've got my eye on a piece of oak that should come up nicely with a bit of attention, it's been wood-mizered to about an inch thick and will probably end up about 18-20mm after planing.
I had thought of finishing by flooding it with Danish oil but then what do I do about the bark, can't wipe off the excess and polish that, what to do?
Any ideas pls?
Thanks,
T

 

[Chris Knight]

I doubt very much if you will be able to keep the bark on. As the wood dries, it will fall off.

Apart from how rubbish and kitsch it will look anyway with a bit of bark on it, I have to say that at 18mm it seems very thin for such a rustic look, I would have thought 50mm would be more the sort of thing.

 

[TEO]

I know! Some of my favorite people specialize in rubbish and kitsch, I was thinking of dusting off my woven yoghurt bib and braces for when I do the work.

As for the thickness; yes I'd certainly go thicker if it were handy however the wall it's going to sit on is only 12" thick so I'd sort of hoped the proportions wouldn't be too weird.

I did express my doubts at the start but "no they've definitely seen it done before" the only way I could see of making it stable would be to take the bark off then glue it back on. Maybe Roy Underhill will have a solution, I love watching his stuff just never thought it would apply to me.

Cheers,
T

 

[Digit]

Wait for the bark to fall off then glue it back on! :lol:

Roy.

 

[TEO]

I had also thought that the best way to start the day a la Roy Underhill would be to stride though the centre of town with a box of tools in one hand and a socking great axe in the other.

 

[woodbloke]

Leaving the bark on is just not a good idea (as Chris has pointed out) If you have to work a wany edge, remove the bark to leave the edge of the sap and then leave it there. You'll then have to contend with having a load of sap on your project which again, is not recommended as the sap is where all the little bugs n'beasties like to lunch - Rob

 

[TEO]

Ok thanks everyone, you've pretty much confirmed what I was thinking.
Luckily when speaking to the clients about it I wasn't too gung-ho and haven't promised any more than to do some research, "ask around" and see what's what.
May never happen, but then again sometimes you've just got to give it a go, with all the proper caveats in place we'll all be happy.
Cheers

 

[Ironballs]

As Chris has said leaving the bark on at that thickness is unlikely to be a good result, but despite what Rob has said you can find the right piece for the right job (no offence Rob).

My local timber man has amongst other things a stash of waney elm in various thicknesses and lengths, at least a couple of these would make a superb mantelpiece as they're very thick and chunky and the bark is thin and already dried to twittery.

You just have to think right piece and right application, I buy a reasonable amount of waney edge timber and in most cases the bark will peel off after a while. Waney edge oak will almost always be a disaster as the bark will fall off and the sapwood is unattractive

 

[TobyB]

Waney edges can look very good without the bark but leaving the sapwood etc ... Tim Stead did this a lot with thick bits of elm especially, and I like much of his furniture. Not sure a thin bit of oak would have the same effect however.

http://www.timsteadfurniture.co.uk/

He treated all his work with linseed oil/turpentine as a finish ...

 

[Sean Hellman]

I have used woods with the barks still on down to 9mm in one case. You will have to find the right bit of wood, preferably felled in the winter when the sap is down. Most sawmills I know grind the bark off before milling, to make there blades last longer. I had 20 cube of burr oak milled up for me to make into mirrors etc, I worked with the waney edge and just sand down to round and smooth everything off. So when people ask me for waney edge stuff I say yes, but the bark will not be on but the same shape and profile will be there.
Do not worry about the Danish oil, it will soak in usually in large quantities.

You'll then have to contend with having a load of sap on your project which again, is not recommended as the sap is where all the little bugs n'beasties like to lunch - Rob

What about lime, sycamore elm, etc the little bugs love them just as much as oak sap.

 

[OPJ]

Going back to Rob's comment on the use of sapwood, there must be something available on the market today that you can use to 'treat' or poison the sap before applying a finish?

I would personally remove the bark and leave the natural edge, as Rob says. It may look attractive if the bark stays on but, it's not the kind of surface you would want to casually graze yourself upon as you walk past! :?

 

[TEO]

Thanks for your help everyone and TobyB thanks for the Tim Stead reminder, he made beautiful stuff, something to aspire to.
Cheers,
T