Thread: How to keep the "industrial" look when finishing

Have you considered sand blasting the surface? It will be slightly rough, but certainly "industrial".

Firstly, define 'industrial'. Is that industrial or or distressed industrial?

If it's the first, then maybe a top glued up out of short segments of timber, obvious fastenings, contrasting metal and that sort of thing. I'd even be tempted to think of using MDF, as that really is industrial, maybe with some filled faux bolt holes or wiring grooves and a ghosted outline of some sort of machine and finish the table with a recessed angle iron frame sprayed with that two-tone hammered finish

However, the last thing you want in a dining table is a top that's a pain to keep clean, so I'd avoid leaving it too rough.

There's often a very narrow gap between something looking "industrial" and just plain "crap".

I would also not advocate rough saw. As well as cleanliness issues, things will tend to catch and fall over on the rough and uneven surface, and one of the most important things is that whether we like it or not people do put their elbows and arms and hands on a table and rough sawn will be very uncomfortable. I think MS in on the right track with some of his suggestions. Maybe use old roofing or flooring timbers, fill the cracks and mail holes with a contrasting fill so they stand out etc but definitely finish it smooth. It doesn't have to be highly polished smooth but still smooth.

I was recently asked to make a hall table, cabriole legs, painted ....but a distressed top. It goes against almost all of my preferences but a request is a request. I used crackle finish on some areas of the top and patches on knees etc and was amazed at how good it looked! I have since taken much greater notice of such things in trendoid shops and magazines. I am hoping soon to make something similar again but this time a kitchen table, metal legs etc.
I am going to paint the table top a tan colour which will be the colour seen inside the cracks, paint the crackle finish in random patches but getting less dense towards the centre (like the hall table), paint the top in Ivory and watch the crackle finish do its stuff!
after it has all dried, and I am happy with the crackle, I'll randomly sand the edges but only down to the tan and then finish the whole thing in satin clear.
I have seen an American piece where there were multiple gaudy colours before the crackle finish and sanding the edges showed vivid red, green and yellow in the wear patches. As gaudy as it sounds ....it looked good!
fletty

Actually, some of the timber that's finger jointed, used on edge to show off the deep interlocking V's could be interesting. Ply, with the edge exposed has also been popular over the last few years (there's even a edge veneer that looks like ply edge so you can put it over your unlayered real timber...)

Depending on the edge thickness, a strip of aluminium tread plate routed into the edge so that it and the exposed fixings are in fact flush with the edge.