Monday morning mystery
Found in an old wooden mechanic's workbench drawer, this set of steel comb-like things are a mystery to me. The various comb thicknesses range from .018" to .040" and there are no markings on either them or the steel case. I think they might be a set of shims for some use but what?
Update: The readership sure pulled through on this one, turns out they are a set of combs for applying a faux-finish oak grain to otherwise featureless wood such as poplar, giving the impression of a higher quality wood. Done right, it can be quite convincing.
9 comments:
they may be combs for air conditioner coil fins, my guess anyway.
A good suggestion. I guess that could possibly be considered if they could date the steel and find out if it was around the same time as the invention of the air conditioner.
They are woodgraining combs for painting oak grain onto other woods
Yes, painters woodgraining combs,I have a set just like them.Some effects are just beautiful and valued far above natural grained wood. A real work of art can e created.
Yep, woodgraining combs. I use a much smaller version of the triangular one shown here to (attempt to) match grain in old picture frames that I restore:
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=316726
Thanks for that. I've got some of these and couldn't find what they were.
https://myoldtools.blogspot.com/2020/04/painters-woodgraining-comb.html
The woodgrained paint effect was very popular on English narrowboats in the commercial days, usually referred to as "scumbling".
Agreed - they are graining combs specifically for creating a tight-grained oak effect. Here is a currently-available set for reference.
https://www.fauxbrushes.com/WD-5.html
There are also graining combs to replicate other types of wood, but they tend to have flexible blades like the triangular one linked in an earlier post. This allows them to create the natural variations in wider-grained woods by varying pressure on the blade.
Updated- Thanks all! I was aware of that technique and my 1940 house has lots of faux-finish trim. Now I better look on Youtube for instructions on how to use them! Not a mystery anymore!
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