DIY Fireplace Mantle

[sendit]

Had a oak just fall over and die a few of months ago when the ground was saturated with rain. Finally had a little time yesterday evening to start cutting part of the trunk for a fireplace mantle. It should finish at about 8ft long 6 inches thick and 16 inches wide. Plan on leaving a live edge on it for the front. Will have to remove the bark. Here are a some pics.

[JayB]

Beautiful chunk of oak. How do you keep it from cracking/splitting while drying?

.....and God Bless America.

[Jon B]

How do you plan to secure it? That thing will be over a 100 pounds.

[Quackerbox]

Following cause this dude builds cool shat. And cause I want to build a live edge bar top

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

[sendit]

I apply a product called Anchorseal on the ends. It helps with the cracking/checking on the end grain. There is not a lot you can do with it cracking on the long grain. It’s just a matter of moisture escaping at to high of rate and the wood fibers/cellulose can’t adjust fast enough. In most cases a few cracks add a little character. It’s really a crap shoot on what a piece of wood like this will wind up doing.

I have 3/4” steel dowels installed through the rock. Holes will be drilled in the mantle and it will be slid over the dowels and secured to prevent coming off the dowels.

[twosixteens]

Good start can’t wait to see it finished up

[J&M Hamilton10]

can't wait to see it!

[oktx]

My mantel was a huge cedar that was struck by lightning at my parents house. We did the same.

[Jon B]

Excited to see how it turns out. How long do you let it dry before finishing?

[oktx]

We let ours dry while the house was being built and just left it rough cut.

[doug]

That's cool! Can't wait to see how it looks finished!

[timoub007]

Awesome as usual.
I would really like one of those mills!

[Big pig]

We let ours dry while the house was being built and just left it rough cut.

My mantle guy in Santa Anna is concerned with bugs in rough cut.?
But I like the idea of your own trees and the DYI project

Anxious to see the final product.

BP

[oktx]

My mantle guy in Santa Anna is concerned with bugs in rough cut.?
But I like the idea of your own trees and the DYI project

Anxious to see the final product.

BP

Funny you should say that. When we cut it to length, huge black ants poured out of it. After we got them out we never saw one in the house. I thought that was strange as I’ve always been told that cedar repelled bugs.

[Big pig]

We are going with mesquite. My tight wad self is having trouble spending for a nice long, thick finished mantle, but the fireplace is kind of the focus point of the great room.

Hind site, I would have found my own tree years ago and let it season.

BP