When I started building our home tiki bar, The Laki Fallout Shelter, one of the most daunting tasks was creating the trim to cover the chair rail seams and where the walls meet the ceiling. I wanted this trim to be routed wood with accents of bamboo, so I had a lot of work ahead of me--130 feet of work to be exact. This might just be your handy-dandy guide to doing it yourself!
Let me preface this "how-to" with the caveat that before this project I had never used a saw, a router, or worn safety goggles for any length of time longer than a Chem 115 class. Now, let's get down to business. When you see the Atom Symbol ⚛that indicates this was my product choice during the build.
Necessary Items:
1. Purchase wood, knotty pine or 'common wood' in width and length of your choosing.
⚛ 1"x6"x10' at Home Depot, Common Board roughly $5.00 per length
2. Purchase stain in the walnut family: Special Walnut, Walnut or Dark Walnut
⚛ Minwax: Special Walnut, no protective cover component
3. Purchase router and bit
⚛ Bosch: https://www.boschtools.com/us/en/boschtools-ocs/palm-routers-gkf125cen-193841-p/
⚛ Irwin: https://www.lowes.com/pd/IRWIN-Marples-3-8-in-Carbide-tipped-Dish-Carving-Bit/1000234727
4. Purchase Circular Saw or other means to cut lengths
⚛ Porter Cable: https://www.lowes.com/pd/PORTER-CABLE-15-Amp-7-1-4-in-Corded-Circular-Saw/1000135815
5. Purchase work horses and clamps
⚛ Blue Hawk: https://www.lowes.com/pd/Blue-Hawk-14-44-in-Plastic-Saw-Horse-1000-lb/50333339
⚛ Irwin: https://www.lowes.com/pd/IRWIN-QUICK-GRIP-4-in-Clamp/1000209415
6. Purchase tools for burning wood to achieve desired aged look
⚛ Blue Hawk: https://www.lowes.com/pd/Blue-Hawk-Stainless-Steel-Coarse-Wire-Brush/50021974
⚛ Bernzomatic: https://www.lowes.com/pd/BernzOmatic-High-Intensity-Trigger-Start-Torch-Kit/50126437
LFS Note: Do yourself a favor here and buy the more expensive one with the map gas. I burned out and killed the less expensive, propane model in under 30 feet of wood.
7. Purchase Finish Nails
⚛ Any type, small size will do
Process:
1. Measure and cut boards to lengths of sections, ensuring reduction for corner overlap if not mitering.
2. Decide upon pattern and draw on each board, measuring to ensure consistency.
3. Clamp boards to saw horses so you can use two hands on the router.
4. Adjust the bit on the router to ensure your depth of cut isn't too great (tool will kick!).
5. Route all sections and test fit on wall.
6. Use the burning tool to age the wood. Burn to desired amount and brush off the majority of the carbon. The stain will not stick if there is too much carbon residue. I burned the wood to where it was mostly black, but not entirely, this is completely up to you. When you stain you won't really see the burn, the process is more to enhance the wood's grain and age appropriately.
7. Stain the wood using a sponge brush (I found this easiest). I applied a single, heavy coat in a temperate climate. If the stain pools and it is too cold or too hot, it will end up looking shiny and probably not the look you want. You can always sop up the extra stain with a rag but I actually left it pooled in the recessed areas and liked how it turned out, minus one board I had to stain on a cold day.
8. Wait ample time for the stain to dry (plan on 36-48 hours) before nailing it to the wall
9. Use finish nails to apply directly to wall studs. I personally just bought the nails and hammered them in. You can see the nail heads, but I plan to put a bit of brown paint over them eventually. Honestly, finish nail heads are so small you can barely see them.
10. Have a Lapu Lapu in honor of your favorite, non-construction lady who helped you with this ⚛
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