Barn Wood Shutters

A client of mine asked me to build him a couple sets of barn wood shutters for his bedroom. I have a local supplier of real barn wood here in the Houston, Tx. area. I was told this is 100 yr old Hemlock from the West Virginia area.

Step 1: FULL BUILD VIDEO HERE

Step 2: SQUARE OFF ENDS

I had to first square off the ends so that I have a good starting point. I used my circular saw and a cross cutting jig from Kreg.

Step 3: JOINT THE EDGES

Now I have to make sure the edges are straight so they will sit flush with the next board. I used this straight cutting jig I made for making long straight cuts with my circular saw.

Step 4: BISCUITS!

The method of joining the boards I chose was to biscuit joint them together.

Step 5: MARK FOR BICUITS

I used a straight edge to mark the points where the biscuits will be placed.

Step 6: BISCUIT JOINTER

I used this biscuit jointer for the first time here and it was incredibly easy. Just line the center of the jointer up with the mark you made on the board and Bam! Easy Peasy.

Step 7: GLUE UP

I slathered the edges of the boards with glue, making sure to get glue in the hole for the biscuit. Be sure to cover the biscuit with glue as well.

Step 8: CLAMPS

I do not have as many long bar clamps as I needed so I used ratchet straps. I made sure to put some scrap wood on the edges so the strap didn't indent the wood. It also helped close some of the gaps between the boards.

Step 9: FILL THE GAPS

I used a mixture of wood glue and sawdust to fill in the gaps. I made the mistake of not collecting the sawdust from the barn wood. I used some pine instead.

Step 10: GAPS

I like to put the glue in the gap and then rub the sawdust into it. Some people prefer to make a sawdust "paste" and then push it in the gap. I prefer to do it my way.

Step 11: END BOARDS

Now I glued and screwed some horizontal boards across the shutters to give it more of an old barn door feel. These were just for aesthetics.

Step 12: SPLIT IT UP

I assembled the entire thing as one piece and sliced it down the center at the end. I think this ensures both sides are the same dimensions and symmetrical. I used the straight cutting jig for this too.

Step 13: SAND

Time for everyones favorite part. I had to sand the glue/sawdust mixture off. I also ran the sander over the edges and corners to cut down on the splinters.

Step 14: OIL

When I sanded, it took some of the patina off of the wood. I darkened the wood a little with some teak oil. This also helped tone down the pine sawdust filler in the gaps.

Step 15: LATCH

The client also requested this bolt action latch be installed. Just a few screws and it was done.

Step 16: HINGES

The client also gave me some antique hinges to install. These shutters were pretty heavy so he asked for 10 hinges to put on. The screws that were included were too long, so I had to cut them off and grind them down on the back.

Step 17: FINISHED

Here is one set of the shutters. They ended up being 94" tall by 40" wide. Very big! I ended up making 2 sets for him in the end. Thanks!