Do it Yourself Rustic Barn Board Cabinet

Starting a part time business making primitive furniture was unimaginable last year at this time. I had a few tools but could not even cut a board with a hand saw. In fact, I still can’t. But here I am with a garage full of sawdust and $3000.00 profit to show so far this year. Barn boards are not just used for siding anymore. Somewhere among the flea markets and garage sales I started thinking about making crafts and furniture out of old barn boards. My wife and I also watch HGTV at 10 AM every morning to see a country crafts and furniture show. The primitive and rustic look seemed like something I could make. I know I’m not a finish carpenter so this rustic look seemed like just the niche for me.

I acquired several truckloads of free old barn boards from an Iowa corn crib someone had tore down. I purchased a used planer and took about 80 years of wear and weather off the boards. This produced a uniform thickness of boards and an aged patina. I purchased replica square nails from Rockler’s to make the cabinets look authentic. Glue and stain I already had in my garage from past projects. I purchased a gallon can of polyurethane sealer for a smooth finish. With some trial and error I came up with some planed and stained cabinets 56 inches tall, 24 inches wide, and 13 inches deep. I took them to an antique dealer. To my surprise he bought everything I had made and asked for more. I was in splinter city big time!

I also started making primitive 3 foot benches out of unplaned barn boards. By adding a real horseshoe as decoration to the side they were a hit also. I expanded to making some primitive shelves and simple wall cabinets. Then I made small picket fence panels for indoor or outdoor use. I was making up to $800.00 for each load I took to the dealer. He marked up my projects about 50% for his asking price.

Now finding barn boards on a regular basis for free is not always easy. Being a lucky person I asked my neighbor if he knew where I could find a barn to tear down for the lumber. He just happens to be a farmer. He gave me a barn. It’s about 100 years old and at least 30 feet by 40 feet. Using old barn boards has its drawbacks. Many of the boards are warped and hard to plan down to size. There are numerous nails that can dull the blades on a planer in a second. Termites are often found in these old buildings.

An alternative to using old boards is to purchase new pine. New pine boards are not very expensive and very easy to cut and assemble into a cabinet or some other project. The problem is finding out how to make a new pine board look like it’s a 100 year old weathered board. When I started looking for the answers to aging new pine boards I found that there were a lot of people seeking the same information. I found a few sites on line that gave me some clues to creating that aged look. I searched sites selling rustic and primitive furniture and finally found one that had the best reproduction pine furniture I had seen. When I emailed the craftsman to find out how this was accomplished, I was told that he used pine boards and after that it was a secret. At that time I knew I had a challenge on my hands. I love a challenge!

In my favor I have a cousin that repairs furniture for a living. I emailed him and he gave me some good advice and a list of materials to use. General Finishes makes all sorts of wood stains, both water based and oil. They have a great selection of milk paints and glazes to create an aged look. Crackle finishes will give your projects an old weathered look. One important piece of information was the use of Zinsser Seal Coat used between coats of stain to prevent them from rubbing off or running together. I contacted General Finishes and they were nice enough to send me free samples of the products I needed to age my wood projects. And it worked! I’m very happy with what I have accomplished so far.

If you’re interested in making reproduction furniture I would suggest looking at the General Finishes website. They provide good advice on how to use their products and examples of use also. You can place an order on line from their site. Zinsser Seal Coat is sold at Menard’s. Also, Dad’s Paint Stripper is the safest paint stripper I have found and is sold at Wal-Mart. Rockler’s has replica square nails in an assortment of sizes. Rockler’s also sells General Finishes products.

By taking some new boards you can experiment on techniques of aging new boards to make them look old. I used a very dark stain in areas to make it look almost burnt in places. Distressing new boards will be necessary also. I took a regular hammer and tapped and sometimes hit strategic places on the edges of boards. By looking at a cabinet you can imagine where it may have been used the most over the years. I sand or plane edges of high use. I scrape and plane off edges and corners. I used a small drill bit to imitate worm holes. By looking at an older piece of furniture you can get some ideas. Using new boards is easier than finding and planing old wood.

Be sure to use caution with any chemicals. Read the instructions on any power tools. Safety should always be first! Eye protection is a must.

The following is a partial list of some tools needed for making rustic projects:
Table saw for ripping boards.
Planer.
Hammer.
Hand Plane.
Tape Measure.
Wood Clamps.
Nails and Glue.
Brushes and Rags for Staining.