One of the popular trends today, especially in mountain resort areas, is the distressed look. Many furniture companies excel at this type of finish and the 'furniture' look in cabinetry and interior trim is much in demand today. In building a piece of furniture it is easier to charge enough to justify the time involved producing a good-looking distressed finish. However, in cabinetry we are generally faced with two obstacles. One is the amount of time it takes to produce a nice look. The other is consistency. In this article we will take a look at both of these problems.

NOTE: When developing any type of finish it very important to document each step. It is also very important to be aware of how many steps are involved. The more steps, the more time it takes, and the more room for error.

Let's begin by laying out several pieces to be distressed. It is important to develop a certain mindset during the distressing process if consistency is to be maintained. If you distress one piece at a time you must concentrate on being consistent. It is helpful to have a sample piece to refer to at all times. There are several tools that you may use to distress with. No hammers or chains please. Starting with an inshave or scorp you may quickly knock down any sharp edges (such as the inside edge of a door stile or rail). On the end grain of panels or stiles use this tool to tear or chip out some of the grain. Remember that you will sand this afterwards and the sanding will smooth and round all of your edges. By running the inshave back and forth across the grain you can create a worm eaten look. I generally don't like to use a chisel at all for distressing and so I will use the inshave to take any chunks out of the field of the panel also. In fact, the inshave is my main distressing tool. By using one tool to do the majority of your distressing you will save time and be more consistent. A warning here, however. The inshave is aggressive and can take large chunks out. If you find a larger than desired piece of wood being removed, stop. Come back from the other direction and cut the sliver off. If it is too large you will have to glue it down and then come from the other direction.

A block plane or spokeshave can also give you excellent results. Using either one on flat surfaces can achieve some nice tear out. With practice you can get the plane to chatter. Be careful with this look. It can get to be too much pretty quick.

Next, let's use a couple of awls. With an awl in both hands add the desired amount of worm holes. Concentrating on the places you took large chunks out of or where you went across the grain looks pretty good.

A linoleum knife is the best tool I have found for adding checks (cracks). Sharpen the knife to a steeper angle than the factory grind. If you want a check on the end of the panel, start by placing the tip of the knife against the rail. Press down hard before beginning to make the cut (with the grain, of course). Gradually ease up the downward pressure until you make no cut at all. To make a cut on the end of a stile, reverse the process so you finish with heavy pressure as the knife leaves the stile.

If you still need some dings go ahead and add some. But be conservative. This is where most people make the mistake of adding too many. Most anything will work as long as it has some sort of sharp surface. I use the back side of a sheet rock hammer and slap the corner of the blade against the wood. This makes a nice dent that is not easily identifiable as a hammer or chain would be.

Take a look at each piece you distress and make sure it looks balanced. This is an important step in maintaining consistency. Compare it to your sample piece. Be aware of mental fatigue and the tendency to get careless. If it is at all possible, do all of your distressing at one time. If the job will be done over a long period of time make a sample door that is distressed but not sanded. It will help you later to match your previous work.

Next we will sand the door.

Click here to go to Part Two.