I like the look of sanding rough sawn to get those semi-ugly saw marks out of the timber as opposed to hand hewn timbers, I think are best left just axed or perhaps use a slick,plane or adze to take out some rough spots,but otherwise those lovely axe marks I think are my favorite "finish". I say forget the oils and finishes, just more money and time spent with perhaps inferior results. Look to the old barns and see their unfinished beautiful timbers that breathed and dried naturally and most still performing their structural duties quite well.. Don P , I am curious what an Osborne brush is? Happen to have a pic? tb

Hmmm, my wife just finished another room today with polyurethane. It looks awesome and the timbers are glass smooth. I measured the 10x10 posts and they are consistently 9.75 x 9.75. The 3x8 braces measure 7.5" in the 8" dimension... if that gives you some idea of the moisture content. The checks in the timbers are deep and wide and probably have almost as much surface area for moisture to escape as did the unfinished timbers before they checked. We're wagering our house that the timbers won't rot from the inside.

FWIW, I think unfinished timbers and oiled timbers look great too... I love the unfinished timbers in my barns. Especially the ones where the cattle rub them smooth. I just can not, for the life of me, figure out how to keep them clean in my house (the unfinished timbers - not the cattle!).

-Thomas

Well, I looked for my osborn brush in the barn. It's in a real safe place, somewhere. Mine is an 80 grit, 4".
http://www.osborn.com/XTab.aspx?cat=ATB+Cup+Brush&grp=242TT04

I had a friend make a threaded insert and weld it in, then chucked it up in the right angle drill. That's slower than optimum but works, too fast can burn.

I've used these on rugged hewing but they can carve and distort fast
http://www.osborn.com/XTab.aspx?cat=Abrasives&grp=462TT01

This is the osborn and no finish


This is with an 80 grit flapwheel and water based poly.

The third log up is the old plate. The squirrely smaller logs were from an older building and added as basically framing to be furred and plastered over in an 1865 pop top addition. All the logs shown in both shots were very funky, they are much more "toucheable" now.

We're about to raise our frame next week. In preparation we are staining the T&G panelling with a Minwax water-based whitewash/pickling stain. I had bought some Livos intending to use that on the timber frame itself. However, I'm now thinking that the clear finished timbers won't look too great against the whitewashed panelling. It all needs to be the same shade, or have more of a contrast.

Problem: I'm reluctant to use the Minwax on the frame. I'd like an oil product that penetrates more. What about adding some white oil-based paint to the Livos and using that for a whitewash effect? Would it need to be a linseed oil based paint to mix with the Livos? (if so, any recommendations?) Or would an alkyd work? Or could I just apply the Livos and do an oil whitewash later?

A shipwright friend is putting together a house frame, sills and floor all very green alaska yellow cedar. He's putting his traditional boat application on all endgrain and worked edges to keep the checking down. His recipe:

Boat Sauce:
Old varnish, the older and thicker, the better
turps
linseed oil
pine tar
driers optional

The aim is to get as much pinetar in the mix as will paint on easily. Easy on the linseed. It's a feel thing, but one I'd guess anyone could figure out fairly quick.

And it smells good!

Zach