Steady Craftin videos are made with the help of DIRECT SUPPORT: www.patreon.com/steadycraftin (You'll also get access to the printable 3D scans of my original sculpted figures, MP3s, exclusive behind-the-scenes videos, shop discounts, and more.) My family and I are so grateful that I get to do this.
Great work. I love how how positive and genuine you are.. Hard to find these days. Strong work my friend. Keep it up. We need more people like you out there.
Crafsman your sound quality is SO Good! I know you know a lot of people come here for ASMR purposes (myself included) and want you to know the quality of your videos is top notch.
TheCrafsMan SteadyCraftin If you are in the midsts of some steady craftin and you notice a really cool or pleasant sound, share it with us! Also, for more asmr (but perhaps at the cost of learning crafs) you could go on more tangents, telling stories or anecdotes; asmr is often more about how something is said than what is said, which is why people can enjoy asmr in foreign languages.
CrafsMan, if you "look into" ASMR, be sure to look into "unintentional ASMR". The ones which are intentional ASMR seem a bit odd. Your videos are more like Bob Ross video, where you are learning something, and they happen to be very relaxing too. Looking forward to seeing more videos of yours.
I love watching your vids! I am new at woodworking and your instructions are easy to follow and a joy to watch! Thank you for being natural and smooth!
I liked your video, good job. Your technique with the chisel, wire brush, gouges, sand paper, and etc, was how I was taught to do this too, more than 50 years ago, and it works fine on smaller projects. Several years ago though, someone saw a hallway coat rack/boot storage bench thing that I had made, just as you were showing with chisels and sandpaper, and asked me if I could do the walls, a bar, and a back bar for them in a rec room in a walkout basement. I thought it would be a fairly large project, but I had no idea yet. When I went to look at the job, it was huge -- my whole house would of fit in that room. The bar was like 80' long, the back bar too, with mirrors, shelves, cabinets, you name it, and now they wanted the adjoining bathroom done too. They wanted it all nice with new wood that wasn't splitting, or rotting too, so finding an old fence or barn to tear down wasn't an option either. As long as it was new, and all matched, but looked like the wild West, swinging bat wing doors too, Yikes, I could see myself weathering these boards for the rest of my life. They had had a lot of carpenters and contractors there before me, and every one of them chickened out. I almost did, while thinking about if I was going to do this job over the weekend, I had maybe the best idea that I've ever had, and I'd like to share it with you. I tried this out first as an experiment before I gave them an answer. What I done was took some 2"x6"s 6' long and drilled through them the 6" way near each end and put large eye bolts through them. then I screwed each 1"x 6" to them,perpendicular at each end with three staggered, heavy duty deck screws, sunk fairly well, like where you had in the video for effect. Kind of like a 6' wide fence panel, but the 2" bys were on the very end with two eyes on each end the direction the 1" bys ran. I live in the country out on dirt and gravel roads. My idea was to hook a chain in the eyes and drag them a bit. I've got it down to a science now after refining the original idea a few times. I don't know how to make videos, or I'd make one of this. Here are most of the refinements that I added to this technique since I first invented it years ago; - not all dirt and gravel roads are the same, you don't want too many big sharp rocks like 3/4 bn ( like you see in crushed rock drive ways, you may think you just don't need to go as far, but that's not the answer either, it just gets too gougey before you wear down the sap wood enough. The best thing I've found is a road with mostly small chips, and fines, and a few natural gravel ( rounded, not chipped or crushed pebbles and small stones in it. Once you've located the road you want to try, (most any road will work, just some work better), Don't go too far the first time, just 20 or 40 feet, then go turn your panel over and see what your getting, and make decisions on how much further you'll go from there. Same don't go too far again before you look it over, just know where you started and where you were were when you thought you were about 2/3rds done. It may be 100', or it may be a mile or more, no two dirt roads are the same. You don't want to be 100% done yet because the back end of your panel will get most of the wear. You need to now unhook the chain, turn the truck around and hook on the other end of the panel, and drag it right back to where you started. If you are happy with the wear, you can load it up and drag future panels from the same starting point, and back from the same point in the same weather, then your boards should all match. Once you have this established, you don't have to check them all the time, you can even hook several, four or five is plenty, panels together like a train, and do them all at once. You may decide that you want a concrete block or spare tire on each panel, whatever, just so you do the same thing to all of them. Remember that 3/4bn rock that I mentioned, well that is what my driveway, and area in front of the my shop has. I don't drag o that, much at least, maybe just into the shop then over a little concrete, but I do lay all those panels face down in the drive way and walk around on them a bit, then pick up the right side a few feet and drop it then the left, then I hook a light chain to them and drag them by hand into the shop over a little crushed rock and a ways on broom finished concrete. Then, still on the floor, I turn the whole panel over and sweep the heck out of it -- dirt roads are dirty, I may even blow them off with an air compressor. Then I go ever it with a drywaller's long handled sanding block and pretty coarse paper. Also before I worry about taking the panels apart, I slide three or four 2" bys spaced under the panel to take the bounce out of the part between the eye bolt 2"x 6"s, then I have made a few tools with broom handles and short (8") 4"x 4" blocks. One has a dozen or so deck screw that weren't driven all the way in, then cut of with a grinder so they stick out 3/8" or so. You lift the block with the broom handle and drop it in random places, and you'll get fake worm/woodpecker holes. Another just has random stuff, part of an old broken saw blade, a couple of fencing staples, a bent over nail etc. And a third one has different sizes of large bolts driven in at all different angles. You don't need a lot of drops with these last two tools, dropping and walking on it in the crushed rock done most of that, just a drop here and there for areas lacking enough. There rest I do pretty much the same with the paint and water, the only difference is if I am going to be using those boards in a wall type of situation, I use a long handled paint roller to apply it generously to the whole panel at once, then go over it right away with a soft nylon kitchen broom with the grain to help get it down in everything, then go over it with a sponge mop before it dries, also with the grain to take some off the high areas. I don't usually burn it, but have with a weed burner. Sometimes, also when I'm on the sponge mop step, I may have a different shade of color mixed up, and I'll dip the mop, squeeze most out, and give it subtle highlights here and there. Usually, I don't burn it, I have a few times with a weed burner, I'm sure its harder to pinpoint what you are aiming at, but it works ok in a broad brush sort of way. I sound like all of this is how I always do everything, but the truth is, I don't think that I have ever done or followed the exact same steps ever on any two jobs. I just try really hard not to vary any of what I'm doing on the same job much. The boards that'll I'll be using for trim, and shelves and such, I take off of the panels and on the work bench before I get to painting and staining them. I have a little metal meat tenderizer hammer that has a different texture on each end, smooth parts, and a mold seam on each side, the handle, metal, is even a good dinger. I go down both edges with it, and even put a few digs on the back and/or wire brush, heavy sand, etc, if I think the back will show much, like the back of a cupboard door when open or the under side of most shelves, especially high ones. Then I pretty much follow the same steps as before, just with a mini roller, paint brush, small sponge, and rag and do all sides of this lumber and stack it separately. Make sure when you are done with the steps in this paragraph, that you put all of these little tools a few different grit pieces of sand paper, or emery cloth, and a quart or more of your mixture in a five gallon bucket with a lid, and take it and a little table to set up by your saw station when carpentering. When you make a cut, you will expose uncolored new wood, and some will show. I just Find it so much easier, and a much cleaner looking job, to make a cut, doctor up the cut and color it right then, it only takes a few seconds, if your finishing stuff is all laid out and ready, even if that cut never shows, it beats trying to hunt down those exposed places later, packing stain in the house, or trying too get that runny stuff on door trim or cabinet bottoms, without making a mess, or taping off, ect. When all of that is done, I take the panels apart, up on saw horses, inspect each board closely, put a Qtip of dye in the screw holes, and stack the lumber on spacers, then as I load it to take to the job, and again as I use it at the job, I shuffle it around so that it's all mixed up and unlikely that many of the same boards from the same area all end up next to each other, no matter how hard you try, each panel will come out just slightly different, but if you apply them to the wall as they came off the panels in order, you will see transitions -- but mixed, no problem, it's character then :) I Didn't start out to write a book, but I nearly have, I just wanted to add this Mr Crafsman, so that if you need several of these boards, or one of your viewers do, you could save hours, or days, or weeks, Hell years for me when I thought of it. The first time that I ever tried this method, me and two teenage helpers, dinged a stained two big semi loads of boards in less than two five day weeks, and they all came out beautiful ,and we got some other things done too, like making stamping blocks, reinventing the wheel, and other odds and ends, and now that I'm better at it, or at least already have the plan, I think that I could even cut that time in half. I would say that even if you just had 10 or 20 boards to do, this would save you time, let alone a hundred. I wish that I could make a RU-vid, I'd show you, but maybe if I'm lucky, you'll give this a try, and say, "Wow, that worked so damn, good, I'm gonna make that video for that guy. If you do, it'll be a way better video than I could ever make-- you have a very pleasant voice, seem like a cheery nice guy, and are a pleasure to listen too.
Hey Brad! Thank you for watching! That's a very interesting technique you've described! Talk about a good way to distress a large area (or lot of boards) quickly! The only thing somewhat close to that that I've ever heard for distressing planks is to lay them out flat, throw some gravel and sand on them, and invite the community over for a dance party. Once the party is over, clean off all the gravel and dirt, and you should have some worn-out looking boards. LOL! But to be honest, your idea sounds a lot easier, and you wouldn't have to worry about buying food and drinks. You might should try a RU-vid video! You never know what might happen! :D
I don't know if you'll get the reference but listening to you reminds me so much of my favorite"band/s" artist george clinton's parliament/funkadelic p-funk family I'm just expecting you to come out with "then you gotta put your sunglasses on so you can feel cool" "now stay tuned for star child and lollypop man " I freaking love it so chill to vibe out and listen to you talk about woodworking it's like two of my favorite things combined
That was the best diy I’ve seen on aging wood, mainly because of his enthusiasm. Reminds me of that cool uncle that would take the time to show you how to find the extraordinary in the ordinary. I like this method though. Much faster.
Hey Craftsman, you know what? I think you woke something up. Thank you for sharing this is exactly what I needed for something that I've been working on. It just wasn't right having this nice old barn door having these iron pipes all this character and then this backdrop all nice and pretty and shiny that just doesn't work. Maybe I'll make a video on what I'm going to do and give you credit for the ideas because quite frankly I want to say thank you in a special way! Love your style keep doing what you do man.
I love this dude! He is able to state things in laymen's terms--none of this fancy crap that is partial advertising. His voice and vernacular are different from the mundane and ordinary.
I have used some stress techniques on over 70 beams for a new construction project. Some of those beams were over 25 ft. long. That's a lot of sawdust and labor. Learned some little tricks from your video. Thanks for your tips and tricks. Learning every day @ 71+ years.
Very nice work. I like the fact you do almost all work by hand - with brand new gloves non-the-less. I never thought about taking out the soft wood with a chisel and I sure liked your advice to not burn things with a torch that should not be burned! Excellent video.
You are a true breath of fresh air with your down home ways. I've been missing Texas and by the sound of it , you must be from Louisiana so that's pretty close to home LOL. Love your work and please! please! pleas! Take care of yourself. In another viddy you mentioned a health scare😵💫 Dont mess around with things. We need you around, you nake so many of us feel so much better about life.👍👍
This is a really cool technique, the blackwash and toasting really makes it look like the kind of sun and wind weathered wood you find in the arid southwest around old mining sites.
I always love watching your videos, Crafsman! You've got a wonderful smooth voice, you have these neat ideas for cool projects to do by hand, and everything is infused with such a positive attitude. A new video from you is always a great start to a great day!
Feedback like this means so much to me, and helps keep me energized about trying to do more videos in the future! Thank you so much for your kindness, and for watching the videos I put out!
The chisels work nicely. For a larger board, you can try blasting it with a pressure washer at fairly close range to get a similar effect. I learned that cleaning my back porch a few years ago -- making it look aged was not what I intended, but it was what I got!
Very informative and interesting to watch the process you chose to use in 'weathering' that board of wood. One of the best I have seen yet, you even covered the sap wood. It looks just like an old worn-out floor board.
Loved the gentle ambient sounds from outside juxtaposed with you working the wood over. I'd love more content about your personal projects, like the figures, or maybe a process video where you show us a complete craft using multiple techniques. Anything you produce is going to be great CrafsMan :)
TheCrafsMan SteadyCraftin of course, that line is yours! Thanks for the awesome video content that's both entertaining and educational, I can't get enough!
Thanks for the awesome video Crafsman! Just the look I've been after so hoping it'll give my tired oak veneer bedroom suite some character - but don't stress, I'll test first! ☺
Oh for real that’s nice Crafsman. I’m about to do some work on a few projects and I think this technique will really add something special to them. Thank you for what you do and thank you more for the way you do it.
"My name is your host, the Craftsman". LOL. Love it. BTW, though you are correct and you use water as your carrier, "acrylic" actually means that the base is made of plastic, which is great as it's durable and waterproof when dry.
Did my whole living room, thanks Mr Crafsman! I burnt mine black, wire brushed the soot off, 50/50 white paint n water, painted, wiped off paint, then sanded. Looks like old grey barn wood. I'm doing what you did here for the barn doors..maybe test some polyurethane ontop to see how that looks.
WOW!!! This is absolutely brilliant!! The watered down acrylic paint really looks great after you've roughed up the wood. I really appreciate your explanations, too. That tip about blunting the end of your nail to prevent splitting really makes sense! I will use that in the future! Great video! You are inspiring! You are so gifted and talented in so many ways!
"...make a brand new piece of wood look brand..old." I enjoy how you get directly to the point, and it feels like the Crafsman is looking over my shoulder saying, "See here?"
I’m currently doing a pallet wood wall. This’ll be helpful on the newer pallets. As for a video idea: how about making a cement tabletop or cooking dinner with the craftsman?
This is so cool! I'd love to try it. The dollar store near me has all kinds of little wooden boxes, signs, picture frames, etc. I like them but they look too new. This is perfect:D
This is what I was envisioning when I began coming up with my aged cowboy revolver project. I can't wait to make the grips look like they've been sitting in a ghost town in the desert for a hundred years.
Great job! It made my day to see another crafsman vid! So I went to see if I missed any on your channel and I can't believe it, I missed 4! So it's good day when you can watch 5 crafsman videos!
Just came over to comment that I was hoping you were doing well as we hadn't heard from you lately. Had a pleasant surprise Hope live is treating you well!
Thank you so much! Things are going well, although somewhat busy. I definitely haven't forgotten about y'all, and want to keep on with these videos. :)
How about an update video on those bricks you made for the outside of the house? Finished the project? Night time sky observation video would be again as well.
