fireplace mantel

[bitternut]

I would like to get a mantel for my fireplace sawn from my own wood. I have a choice of red oak, maple ( red & sugar ), hickory, beech, black birch, ash, elm, and cherry. I have in mind something around maybe 6" x 10" x 5'.

Which would make the best mantel and how should it be sawn and dried?

[rebocardo]

I would probably skip hickory. My history with hickory is it end cracks pretty easy especially without proper end sealer. I do not have pictures up yet, but, I think spalted red oak looks pretty awesome even if it is only in the first two inches of the board.

[WH_Conley]

I don't know much about this, but with my experience with a cherry bar, cut it oversize and let it dry, sealed on ends , of course. I did this and brought it in the house, wood heat, fine til first winter with the wood stove. Here is where sawing oversize comes in, after completely resaw to clean up the difference in shrinkage of sapwood and heartwood. Somebody will probably give you better answers. As far as species, I would say that it is what you like to look at best. If you decide on a hard to dry species, make two or three of them, spares, course if it works good, you have some to sell.

[RMay]

This year I've cut red oak, heart pine, ceder , walnut  all was 4 in.. by 10 in. four to six feet long .  :

[FiremanEd]

I've had good luck with black walnut and cherry. Woody just cut a walnut for my sisters new log cabin last week. I think an Ash mantal would be pretty cool as well, if the color matched the chimney.

[Tom]

The only thing I'm familiar with that you have is Red Oak and Cherry.   The cherry makes a fine, finished mantel.  The red oak can make a really pretty Natural Edged mantel.  For the natural edge, I like a long slope on the front with the slope going under the mantel so that the top surface is wider.  It makes the mantel look thicker but cuts down on the weight.

Most people over do the thickness of mantels.  I've found that 3 or 3 1/2 inches is a lot of wood to hang from the wall and provides plenty of massiveness.   While I understand the esthetic's of a 6" mantel, and the ability some folks have for hanging them, just keep in mind the structure that will be required to hold it on the wall.

For really heavy mantels I have made stanchions by cutting 3 or 4 inch live edged slabs from the swollen base of cypress.  (any flare butted tree will work)   If you square the back by cutting the slab in two, you will have two stanchions that , when turned upside down, will hold the world.   The flare will be on the top with the mantel on it and the stanchion will trail off to almost nothing to the hearth.  You can even rest it on the hearth for more stability.  You just have to keep it far enough back from the fireplace opening that a fire doesn't heat it too much.

[solodan]

I, like the live edge mantels myself, and usually don't  care if they check a little. I guess it is just depends on the look your after. I do usually cut them long first, and then trim the length after they dry some. Sometimes I put the wide side of the slab up like Tom explained, but I have also put the narrow side up with nice results. I think it depends on the slab and what looks best to you're eye. Most of my mantels I cut 6".  No matter what kind of wood, it will be heavy. If the rock comes up and gives you a nice ledge to stack on, then weight is usually not an issue. If I can get behind the wall, like in a new construction with a zero clearance, I use 10" x 5/8" lags, all the way through with epoxy set in the pilot holes.  If I can not get behind the wall, or if I am attaching to masonry, I put the bolts directly into the wall with epoxy in the pilot holes, and then cut the heads off and epoxy the unthreaded end into the mantel. As far as wood species goes, a mantel is decrotive and should be selected and sawn for appearance.

[Brucer]

No one's mentioned this, but I'd saw it free of heart so it won't develop any face checks.

My very first job was a mantel. Customer specified Western Red Cedar, 3" x 7" x 64". He didn't specify number of knots or grain pattern, so I sawed it clear and free of heart. When he came to pick it up, he said "Hey, that looks fantastic. Maybe I'll just leave it natural." Turned out he planned to paint it black ???.

[WH_Conley]

When he told you his plans, did you hit him in the head? Course everyone has their own ideas, but something that I would go to the box store and get a piece of plywood and build it first.

Glad you converted him first, that would of been a desecration of good wood.

[footer]

I can only add that unless you are going to leave it natural, and don't care if it warps and checks, you would probably have to cut it oversized and air dry it for 5 or 6 years, then bring it inside for a couple more years, then resaw and finish. I might be wrong though on how long it will take to dry. Or you could find someone with a vacume kiln. I have been thinking of building a vacume kiln out of a piece of pvc pipe fo drying pieces like this.

[Brucer]

Glad you converted him first, that would of been a desecration of good wood.

I didn't convert him -- the wood did. I just helped it find its way out of the log  ;D.

[Don P]

I've done a couple of mantles this year out of antique wood.  I think the wood will be fairly stable, I did open up new faces and that sometimes lets it move again, but its definitely dry. One was heart pine salvaged from a timberframe. The other was sawed out of a wide but short log from dismantling an old log cabin for parts.

I like the built up mantles as well, this one was in a cabin I worked on. It was from the 1860's. Its really just layers of built up boards and a few simple applied moldings, but it looks good. The shelf is walnut, the main body of it is white pine and poplar, the moldings are heart pine. I added a chestnut surround to cover some repairs.

[bitternut]

Well I have given it some thought and I have a couple of cherry logs from a blow down that have been sitting for a couple of years. Weight should not be a problem as I have a 6' wide masonry fireplace that should be able to carry a lot of weight. What is a live edge?. Should the mantle be boxed around the heart like a tie or should it come off the side? The cherry should be pretty dry since it has been dead a couple of years. Probably has some worm holes also which would give it some character. I had hopes of rough cutting a couple of pieces and then bringing them into the house for one heating season to dry.

Nice job Don P. Looks like a square cut log cabin wall. What does the rest of the place look like?

[pigman]

What is a live edge?.

When the outside of the tree, with or without the bark, is left on the board edge.

[ohsoloco]

I would cut the mantle free of heart, otherwise it would be more likely to check.

[Tom]

This is one way of sawing mantles.  The heart check on smaller logs can be layed horizontally and contained in the center mantel.   The pith (dead center of rings) should be cut out if possible because
shrinkage can cause uneveness in the surface of the mantle, as well as possible splitting through the surface.



Sometimes, on larger logs, the heart check can be verticle and the entire check removed.   

Usually log tension runs in the same direction as the heart check's flat side.  By sawing with the the check vertical, you might eliminate the check, but, the tension left in the mantle might cause it to draw away from the wall.

[LeeB]

i fyou can get ahold of a mesquite log they are very stable and make beautiful mantles. LeeB

[Daren]

Here is a little cedar mantle I made for a guy. It is 14" wide, 3 1/2" thick and 5' long.



I made 2 brackets to hold it from cedar. I cut little pieces of branch to plug the lag bolt holes after he mounted it, they are above the bracket in the picture.

[bitternut]

Thanks for all the replies guys. I now know what a live edge is for sure. Not sure if I will use a live edge or not. I will have to get a couple cut and see how they look. The boss will be the one making the final decision. I guess I have enough info now to make a decision on how to cut a couple. As usual you guys have come through with good advice.

Nice drawing Tom, that was a big help.  LeeB mesquite would be nice but we want to use wood that is from our own woods. Not really for cost but just to say that it came from one of our trees if you know what I mean. Now I will just have to find some time to get it cut and started drying.

Thats a beautiful piece of cedar and a nice job Daren.

[LeeB]

Guess I shold of looked to see where you're from. I don't suppose you get many mesquite logs up there. LeeB

[GregS]

Daren,  That mantle is beautiful! 

How did you dry it?  How long, where?  I know lots of questions....

Greg S.

[rebocardo]

Daren,

What a stunning piece of wood