Restoring/finishing old shiplap

[Paul Schechter]

I'm remodeling my 120 year old home and I'm trying to save/re-use as much of the historic materials as possible.  Demoing an exterior wall gave me a decent amount of shiplap.  I wanted to use it as the siding of a mechanical chase, but unfortunately the results have not turned out quite as nice as expected.  I purchased a planer and took off a minimum amount of the surface on one side of the shiplap and then installed.  I then Shellaced the new shiplap siding and the result was slightly more multi-colored then I wanted--see pictures.  I love the oxidized wood look, but also wanted to take off the rough exterior of the wood.  Planning the not perfectly flat shiplap resulted in different degrees of oxidation remaining.  The un-tinted shellac I applied then accentuated the color differences.    The most notable differences are on the ends, where some have been cut and others not.  What do you think, does it look good?  If not what should I do to correct it?  My first instinct is to lightly sand everything and apply a stained polyurethane, to even out the color palette. Thoughts?

p.s. the vertical board is not shiplap, but from old hvac duct that was probably installed in the 60s.  I planned and shellaced this as well, and the results are much more even.  I'm not sure why it is different than the shiplap.  The only thing I can think of is that the oxidation went deeper into the wood, so planing the outer layer didn't have as much of an affect.

[BonPacific]

What's the goal? It looks rustic, but that's what you get when re-using old wood. I think it looks fine, and seems to fit the space in the pictures next to the brick. I wouldn't bother trying to make it all look consistent, because at that point you might as well just get new wood.

[ClassAct]

Personally, I like it as it provides an accent against the brick and more modern look of the kitchen. Rather than hide it, what about emphasize it -- turn it into a "story wall" with pictures of the house from its past, or bits and pieces of older hardware that you've replaced? It turns the wall into a great conversation piece and shows you respect the history of the house while you dod your reno.

 

[Brendon_t]

Looks like you've got a nice chip in your planner blades.

Did you take the but of material off of the same side on all?

[Paul Schechter]

Great, thanks very much for the replies!  I've received pretty much all positive replies on the existing look (on this forum and elsewhere) so I think I'll keep it.  Maybe I just needed the outside confirmation   And yes, I am going for the more rustic, open-air look.  I took out the bedroom above the living room so the living room could have 20' ceilings with a balcony surround half way up. I also exposed the chimney all the way up, to add to the sense of height.  Eventually  I'll be doing cathedral ceilings with exposed-beam collar ties, hanging edison lights, wood stove, and many other touches to give it the look I'm after.

Also, yes I got a damn chip in my new planner, I must have hit a nail.  Do you think it's worth it to take out the blade and try to file out the chip?

[wtnhighlander]

Don't try to remove the chip, just take a second pass at the same cut height, and offset the chipped area a bit. Some planer's blades can be moved or flipped so the chip is no longer aligned among the blades, which also compensates.

 

Or use a card scraper. Planer blades chip pretty easily, especially is you work with knotty or reclaimed material.

[Pondhockey]

There are three planer blades (unless it's a spiral/helix head), right?  

For evidence on wood to occur, there must have been a nail/staple etc that hit all three blades in the same relative spot.

I'm told that the blades can be offset just a bit so that the damage is not aligned and so the three blades cover for each other.

[edit:  I think I'm just restating one of Highlander's suggestions!]