How To Remove Bark From Live Edge

What is Live Border Wood?

What is live edge wood? When a tree is cutting down and cutting into long sections or logs it is so inserted into a horizontal band saw or portable saw mill. It is then cut horizontally forth the length of the log into one.5″-3″ thick sections or strips.  These sections, or slabs as they are called, are then stacked in the same society as they are cut but are now separated past spacers to permit air gaps between the slabs assuasive them to dry out.  They can also be inserted into a kiln to speed up the drying process before processing into furniture. Attached to the outside edges of these slabs is tree bark.  Now this tree bark one time removed volition reveal the bare slab tree edge which is referred to in the industry every bit "live edge".  To make clean upwards these edges and keep them as natural looking equally possible follow the instructions beneath.

How To End Live Edge Wood ?

Nosotros stopped using chisels and wire brushes iv months ago to clean up our alive border slab wood. Why? Information technology required as well much time, left us with ugly edges, and took a toll on our hands, wrists, and elbows. Later on seeing and then many people in the woodworking community ditching this outdated method and switching over to The Restorer, we finally got one for ourselves. With The Restorer, we're now able to procedure exponentially more live edge in a much shorter corporeality of time, all while avoiding any aches and pains in our artillery.

Live Edge Wood Tips

Hesitant to have my communication? No problem. I go it. Us woodworkers often accept to make sure we spend our difficult-earned money on the right tools. That often comes with reading a lot of reviews and making sure they come from people who are really in the game. Well, I can assure you nosotros aren't but deep—we're neck deep. Hahaha! My name is Marker and—along with my wife—I own Siroh & Ivy (sirohandivy.com). Nosotros're a Pittsburgh-based home decor creative that specializes in custom alive-edge charcuterie boards, coasters, and tables. While we only started the concern in late 2020, we're experiencing high demand for our products. To requite y'all an idea, we're in a spot now where our newest goal is to make at least 150 charcuterie boards every two months—and that's simply one of our products. We're getting accepted into bigger and bigger shows. We're getting more custom table orders. We're having to step outside of our condolement zone and learn so many new skills. With that, we're having to process more woods than always earlier, which means we're constantly reviewing our methods and figuring out how to do things not only better but faster.

When nosotros started working with alive edge wood slab, nosotros knew our mode would not include leaving the bark on the wood, peculiarly for items that needed to exist nutrient safe. We wanted that natural await without being too rustic. Beingness new to the woodworking profession, we turned to YouTube and constitute video after video of people using chisels and wire brushes to clean upwardly their edges. They made it await relatively effortless, so we got ourselves some tools and and then nosotros got to work. Nosotros would take a series of chisels, apply a mallet to wedge them in between the bark and the sap/ heartwood, and and so strip the bark from the wood. We'd so go back with the chisel to scrape off the majority of the bark and cambium that remained. After that, we'd take a wire brush—past mitt—and brush the rest of the live edge wood relatively make clean.

What is a Natural Alive Edge

This process got quondam very apace. Here are only some of the issues we ran into with this method: • The bark didn't ever come up off as one intact slice. Information technology often simply crumbled or bankrupt off into smaller pieces, especially when working with eastern cherry. Since chisels aren't very wide, this resulted in a lot of mallet work to knock the majority of material off. As well, chisels could easily slip and autumn. • When you did use a mallet to wedge the chisel betwixt the bark and the wood, information technology would ofttimes cause the chisel to strike down also far and hard causing deep gouges in the wood. If you work with live border wood, you know it can exist difficult to make up one's mind just how thick the bawl truly is. • Using a chisel to scrape the remaining bark and cambium from the edge was slow going, majorly tiring on the hand/wrist/elbow, and also left deep scratches/gouges. • Similarly, using a wire brush by hand was tiring and often ineffective. It simply didn't have the ability and speed needed to remove the material. Plus, a larger wire brush but never did the trick when it came to cleaning upwardly healovers, knots, and voids.

How to End Live Edge Wood | Bawl Removal

Live Edge Slab Woods

Alive Edge Forest

BUY Alive Border RESTORER TOOL KIT

Despite my frustration with the chisel and wire brush method, I connected to utilise it for the unabridged first yr of our business. Information technology was something that—though I despised it—I understood and was comfy with it. Then, I started seeing people using this really neat tool in their Instagram posts. They were holding what appeared to be a paw-held drum sander. Aside from the ergonomics of the tool, what stood out to me was the ability. I watched this thing clear away dirt and crud from alive edge wood like it was zilch. As my wife and I started setting new goals for Siroh & Ivy—including finally moving into alive edge wood table building—nosotros knew needed to procedure more than wood than we e'er had. Information technology was going to take giving up my old ways for something newer and better. So, around Thanksgiving, nosotros finally invested in The Restorer. Bye-bye hand-held wire brush limited by my own speed and ability. Hullo, The Restorer with your ergonomic grip and adjustable speed command. Besides, bye-cheerio chisels! We ditched them and started using a drawknife. Now, once I clamp down my live edge wood to my workbench, I apply my super sharp drawknife. I tin can use 2 hands and the ability of my arms, back, and legs to pull the pocketknife along the live edge, hands removing the majority of the bark. This thing just slices and wedges its way correct through, leaving barely any marks. Later on the majority of the material is removed, I then grab my Restorer, equip it with an fourscore grit nylon drum, set the power to max, lock the trigger, and easily run it forth the entire length of the edge. I never finish being amazed at how this tool so rapidly and easily removes all the remaining bawl and cambium, smooths out drawknife marks, cleans up bumps/voids, and adds character to the edge. It's seriously like a hot pocketknife through butter.

What a Natural Live Edge Should Look Similar

Just the other 24-hour interval, while prepping for an upcoming iii-solar day show, I was able to use The Restorer to clean up the live edges of 25 charcuterie slabs in nether 4 hours. Not only did this let me to move on to the rest of the processing faster, only I too had no hurting or fatigue in my hands, wrists, and arms. I'1000 telling you, The Restorer has turned my least favorite part of milling into the part I love doing the most. Past looking at my pictures, you tin see the difference is in more than but the time and the physical demand. Considering of the drawknife and The Restorer, my live edge is cleaner, retains more than of the natural shape, and is pretty much free of tool marks, which makes sanding much easier later. With The Restorer in my arsenal of tools, I'm much more confident and capable of meeting the demands of our customers. I don't think I could process live edge wood in any other way again.

Restorer Customer Service Review

Before closing up the commodity, I'd be doing y'all a disservice if I didn't tell y'all about the not bad customer service The Restorer team provides. When yous invest in their tool, you too invest in their team. Y'all can contact them by e-mail, online chat, phone, or through social media. Every fourth dimension I've had a question, they've replied rapidly with cracking advice. When I did have one random wire castor drum that broke, they immediately sent me a new one. What's more than, every time we requite them a shout-out on social media, they share our work and encourage united states of america. The Restorer squad goes above and beyond to make yous feel confident with your investment.

How to Finish Live Edge Forest | The Last Word

So, if y'all want to process cute alive edges in a mode that's fast, efficient, and easy on your body, I would 100% recommend—no—urge y'all to pick up a Restorer for yourself/your business today. If all of the possible accessories intimidate you, just start with The Restorer and the 80 grit nylon drum, which is what I use most of the time. You won't be sad that you did.

Written by Mark Cunzolo Owner of Siroh & Ivy sirohandivy.com @sirohandivy on Instagram and Facebook

Source: https://www.restorertools.com/live-edge-wood-slab-how-to-clean/

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