Suggestions for a "Rustic Bookshelf"?

[elfick]

I'm trying to come up with an idea for a rustic bookshelf built-in... I scoured houzz and the web but found scant few examples.

I'm thinking weathered pine 2x for the side panels with solid pine edged plywood for the shelves to give it a beefy look.

Anyone have any other thoughts ideas for a "rustic bookshelf"?

Thanks!

 

[Thompmd]

In Indiana there’s a lot of 100yr old barns guys will salvage and use the wood which usually has been exposed, sometimes some old paint etc. lots of times they used wood from the farm so it’s Oak, Ash, Maple,Walnut, whatever was close and they needed removed. Most of it is 1x8”.

Another thing is pallets, I used them on. Wall in my wood shop. It’s generally only 1/2-3/4” but works nicely for trim. It also has some of the nail heads left.

Don’t know if this is a little secret but before you install paint the background black of you could use roof felt depending on location. We also varied the thickness a little on the wall.

On the lower part of the wall I used galvanized sheets(I didn’t but have seen ppp use the same barn roofs so the metal is aged/somewhat rustic). I also used black Walnut to make wainscoting panels around the galvanized.

The flooring I used Cypress with a few pieces of Walnut inlaid and I used square head nails from house of antiques(make sure to run a/grain to avoid splitting, pre-drill) but it definitely makes for a rustic look.

BTW, since everything doesn’t line up(rustic) I’m a D-fine “rustic” carpenter lol. Good luck

 

[Packard]

Lots of photos with varying degrees of rusticity.  Some look like Farmhouse modern to me.  Many are an amalgam of woodworking and welded steel components. 

Most seem to have dark stain applied.  The craftsmanship is deliberately rough and lacking finesse.
https://www.google.com/search?q=rustic+book+shelves&client=firefox-b-1-d&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwinnL7znZTvAhWCnOAKHSzgBlwQ_AUoAnoECBYQBA&biw=1600&bih=786

 

[ultane]

Be careful with old barn wood. SO’s sister and brother-in-law used some in their house and the wood was infested with wood borers. It was a costly mistake.

 

[Packard]

I agree with Ultane.  Keep a  sharp eye out when harvesting lumber.

A friend was remodeling his bar/restaurant and he offered me the rough sawn boards that made up the walls as a board and batten paneling. 

I started to pry off the boards and found a zillion cockroaches and I decided to leave the lumber in place.  It would not be worth the headache of dealing with cockroaches.

 

[sancho57]

I like building rustic furniture.

If you have a 850 planer with the undulating head , it really rusticize ( [big grin]) a piece of furniture. [big grin]. I use te 850 along with a dremel to give the project a rustic beat up look.

Also the finish helps to. That is what brings it all together. So it depends what kinda "rustic" yer wanting to make it look like.

lemme go find some photos and maybe they will help

Ok the first photos is of a rustic side board Im building. This is NOT completed. Still got alot to do.  Currently Im concentrating on setting my shop up and then I will complete it.

This side board/ bar, is 7' long 3' wide, made of 2" thick pine. I used te 850 planer and dremel on this. I used some dark chocolate wax for the finish. I bought the wax from a local store they sell rustic mexican furniture and pottery an buy the wax by the 5 gallon bucket. They sold me a qt to do this project. From what they told me ya cant get this wax in the US they bring it in across the border.
Thats not to say you cant do the same thing with Antiqwax or some other furniture wax.

The next one is a bed I made for my daughter the head board is barn wood the base is walnut used the 850 to make the walnut look rustic and the ply is hickory, the finish is sprayed with enduro semi.

Nest is a rustic wine rack I made out of birch. They wanted a rust hand made look. Once again I used the 850.  Stained it with Mohawk finished umber, sanded it to 180 then finished with a mixture of 1/3 acrylic- 1/3 mohawk finishes umber and 1/3 acetone.

I hope this helps.

 

[sancho57]

Oh yea forgot to mention if ya want to make it look old like antique old stain with Van Dykes Brown (Mohawks is what I use bc I can't find the flakes to make my own and its pretty good on its own)

finish with 3 coats of button polish , a type of shellac, not orange shellac that you buy at Blowes etc. Its called button polish ( I use Liberon buttons and make my own).

Then brush on 3 coats of button polish sand very lightly ( I use 400 gt sand very very gently you could also use 4x steel wool) sand after first coat as i described. Sand again even gentler after 3rd coat just to know down any bubbles etc that may have happened brushing the polish.

Then use a clear coat of wax, I buff it on with a old T-shirt . gives it a bit of a shine.

anyway I hope this helps. As I said it all depends on what your looking for

 

[elfick]

Thanks for the input everyone!

[member=10147]jobsworth[/member] That's amazing! Thank you so much! The thickness and build style of the sideboard combined with the color/finish of the wine rack would pretty much be exactly what I was imagining.

I guess I need to pick up an 850  [big grin]

Much appreciated!

 

[Crazyraceguy]

Be careful with old barn wood. SO’s sister and brother-in-law used some in their house and the wood was infested with wood borers. It was a costly mistake.

That is a very legitimate concern. The supplier that we use does a kiln drying process to the barn wood after it has been de-nailed and inspected. This kills anything that may be hiding out. It does cost a bit more than some other sources, but it is worth the peace of mind.
Plus there are more choices of the final outcome. You can get them totally rough, all edges/faces straight off of the barn, or you can get them skip-planed on the back.  You can also get more processing if needed, straight edged, planed to a consistent (thinner) dimension for interior wall covering, even ship-lapped. This is great for homeowners who aren't equipped to do that kind of thing.

 

[nclemmons]

Can you find any heart pine?  A friend builds lots of tables and bookcases from it in Charleston, SC.  They really are nice.  Purchased one for each of my kids. 

Also has used Cypress and cedar, typically from torn down barns. https://landrumtables.com/

 

[sancho57]

one thing I learned about using barn/recycled wood is they may have some critters in them wood worms I tink they called them in the UK. I used some salvaged wood while I was there. Bought a 100 years old green oak beam 6" x 8" x 8' had it rough cut to 1 1/4" once I started prepping the wood I noticed little holes magically appearing. They were the result of wood worms. I found some stuff to treat the wood that will kill them.

Just saying its something be careful of and look out for

[member=20971]elfick[/member]

Nah you dont need a 850 to create a rustic look, it helps but ya dont need it, chains, hammers, files all sorts of things you can use to make something rustic