Well folks it did not work out as I had hoped. The boards were too narrow and rough, with wind shakes and structural faults that made me worry for the safety of our collection when displayed. I did mill them down, but the best boards had been set aside for a deer stand the owner wanted to make. As an alternative, I'll use dimensioned lumber to make a shelving set, then paint it with latex, and beat it with chains, and scratch it with a scraper, then as a final touch put some paint on a plastic coffee lid and use high pressure air from the compressor to splatter a contrasting paint over it to give the appearance of barn-stored age and use. Did this on an imported bed headboard to make a neat bedroom catch-all. Turned out nice and really old looking. A good overly-heavy coat of shellac or other clear coat will complete the job, and deep in my heart I'll know our little collection won't crash to the floor some night. On a bright note, Miss Penny and I have fodder for several smaller projects planed and ready to go when we need them. Re-purpose folks! It's a blast and is essentially free! Don.

When I went to get barn wood from my father-in-law's fallen barn, I found my brother-in-law had burned it. Poo on him.