Blasting wood?

[dobbslc]

My lovely wife has just bought an old coffee table that needs cleaning up, its got a large lump of oak as the top that needs woodworm treatment but the legs need to come off and be cleaned up. Question is can I blast it with glass bead?
I have a 20kg tub of it and the pot, compressor etc but haven't really done any blasting before.

 

[eLuSiVeMiTe]

Probably gonna go very fluffy and need plenty of work with sandpaper to get it ready tom finish.

Easier to miss out that step and sand.

Have a test before committing on some scrap

 

[reb78]

I steam cleaned our decking with my steam pressure washer. Came up a treat. Might be better than blasting?

 

[hotponyshoes]

Pressure washing works well,
A patio attachment works for getting old paint off as well.
You could get some baking soda from the supermarket and try that for a small test run blasting?

 

[Kram]

Wood is soft so Id expect it to put holes through it. Sanding wood be better?

 

[dobbslc]

Ok maybe making work for myself then!
The boy is taking g the top off now so we'll have a look.

 

[brightspark]

dont do it . it will only take out the soft grain and leave it rippled and uneven unless you want it to look weathered and rough

 

[gaz1]

you want an industrial sander for that if you want to clean it back to original

for the legs use a belt sander

 

[Gragson]

IMHO the current leg affair does not look in keeping, the oak top could look nice with some chunky legs

 

[GrahamGKD]

I would use a cabinet scraper on the top - works a bit like a plane with a very fine cut but won't rag up the grain.

He calls it a card scraper in this video - I just included it to show how it works. I sharpen mine with a file.

 

[tom2207]

do the rough with a da , then revert back to proper sanding done a lot of boats that way , Ive an electric Metabo DA that does that sort of thing very well , a belt sander would do it too . Blasting would leave a very distressed top , now if thats the look your after , and its waxed it can look great , Ive seen a coffee table with railway sleepers as a top done that way , but it was very textured at the end.

 

[Bullet2012]

Can it be soda blasted ?

 

[tom2207]

Can it be soda blasted ?

There was a guy round here that used to blast wood with polystyrene balls , shot gun shot size in water but I never saw the results , he reckoned he could do church pews and things like that .

 

[brightspark]

it can be done but its not worth the hassle

 

[Lazurus]

Oxalic acid works well on oak if it has water marks or stains. But as above simple sanding through the grits is the way to go, and a nice Danish oil finish. Bootiful.

 

[Keith 66]

You can blast wood but results vary, timbers with alternating hard & soft grain such as pine types will show extreme wear showing as prounced ridges along the grain, Timbers that have homogenous hardness growth rings such as mahogany wont wear as much, Oak would be somewhere between the two. I used to use a small blaster for restoration work in boats & you had to be very gentle with it when using fine blasting grit. A friend used to use crushed walnut shell media which gave superb results with no damage.

 

[dobbslc]

Thanks for all the replies!
I've sanded the legs now as setting up any blasting gear would have taken all day! I've also carried out a few repairs as the guy we bought it from had run posi drive screws through the tops of the legs at all angles

I've removed them and counter sunk them as it'll be painted, also the centre strengthening bar had come loose and he'd driven a screw through it but missed!
A bit of glue and a couple of panel pins had it sorted.
The top had long hex head screws driven straight through from the finished top side too!!!


I'm not sure if I'll be able to get some No12 slotted screws to replace these or just screw and peg the holes.
Opinions on the best way forward here as I'm definitely not a "woodest "

 

[eLuSiVeMiTe]

Thanks for all the replies!
I've sanded the legs now as setting up any blasting gear would have taken all day! I've also carried out a few repairs as the guy we bought it from had run posi drive screws through the tops of the legs at all angles
View attachment 264933
I've removed them and counter sunk them as it'll be painted, also the centre strengthening bar had come loose and he'd driven a screw through it but missed!
A bit of glue and a couple of panel pins had it sorted.View attachment 264934
The top had long hex head screws driven straight through from the finished top side too!!!
View attachment 264935

I'm not sure if I'll be able to get some No12 slotted screws to replace these or just screw and peg the holes.
Opinions on the best way forward here as I'm definitely not a "woodest "

As it's already screwed I'd plug them

Take some cores out from the underside where the center support is for a good match.

 

[angellonewolf]

done quite a few wood items in the front room there are pics on here of them all i got for nothing or next to nothing

all had problems water marks scraches even a deep burn mark all donewith a belt sander through grades then pad sander again to fine grade then wax applyed with wire wool up to 7 coats on one of them all come out great and are still in the front room quite a few years later
poss not the easyist way but tryed and true

im on the look out for a side cabint but been looking for a little while missed a few

 

[4String.]

There was a guy round here that used to blast wood with polystyrene balls he reckoned he could do church pews and things like that .

Bet the congregation loved that when they were on the second verse of All things bright and beautiful .