#HTE

An Unusual Power Tool That Can Set Your Wood Designs Apart

Something we saw a lot of at Holz-Handwerk are new ways to add visual interest to wood. Some companies have developed proprietary methods that they use in their factories to produce visually distinct wooden panels; others have developed tools that a craftsman can use on-site to alter the material’s surface in a unique way.

One such tool is the Handbürstmaschine (“portable brushing machine”) Rustika B-1800, a burly 1800-watt power tool armed with rotating wire brushes. 

It’s manufactured by Braun Maschinen (not that Braun), and this U.S. distributor has it at USD $2,150 for the tool and another $370 for the heavy-duty wire brush option.

As you can see by the photos, the brushes rotate sagittally (i.e. like a ferris wheel) rather than axially (i.e. like a record platter or floor-polishing machine).

That orientation allows you to work the facegrain of a board, following the direction of the grain to achieve this interesting effect:

The sample pieces at the show felt rough, but not splintery, to the touch; I imagine they did some kind of light secondary sanding, but it definitely wasn’t with a rotary or random orbital sander as there weren’t any telltale marks I could see. I’m guessing they’d have used either a linear sander with a soft head or a young apprentice with soft hands.

Here’s where it gets crazy: As I’m looking at these samples, I come ‘round to the side and see this:

What the eff. I’ve too seen lumber-core plywood before, but it’s typically five layers, where the core is sandwiched between two cross-grain layers which are each faced with a veneer. But this here is just a core and two thick-ass layers.

So who makes this stuff? I figured whomever produced it had to be at the show, so I went looking. Stay tuned.

More from Core77’s coverage of this year’s Holz-Handwerk Show!