fireplace mantel

[Jason]

I'm not sure where to post this but here goes,
       I've been here a long time and watched and read most of the forum so all of my questions have been answered without me having to ask to many questions. That being said, my dad is building a house and we laid up that lick and stick stone for the inside chimeny and left an open spot for a mantel, well he brought over a couple of cherry logs last night and we sawed them up to make a 6"x12" mantel and the feet for under it. Now it is 8 feet long but will be cut down to 65 inches and is planned to either drawknife the front or use an ax and make it look hand hewn. The questions are how long should it dry without a kiln to be installed, or are there any concerns with giving it a few weeks to dry, shaping it, installing it and just letting it dry in place.

[Tom]

I've seen a many a mantle go from the stump to the house.  If the house is artificially heated and air-conditioned, the mantle might dry too fast and the results will be checking and possibly twist.  These are the same things that will happen if you air dry it first, it's just that you get a chance to straighten it out some with a planer or hand tools before installation.

I think I would let it air dry for 6 or 8 months in a covered place with plenty of air-flow.  That could be a pole barn, a carport or any kind of roof.  That would allow a lot of the "Free" water to leave the log at a controlled rate.

Honestly though, most of the mantles I know of, came from the slab pile after the house was built.

[Larry]

Stone fireplace begs for a rustic mantle.  I wouldn't worry about drying at all...cracks, and a little twist will add character.

[ErikC]

 I have sawn several of these for people and here's my experience. All but 1 never got around to putting it up for several months, and those all came out well. They were not thoroughly dried, but they had stabilized I guess. There was a little more checking and shrinkage still after about a year in the house, but not bad. The other one went right in, and it shrunk and warped so much they removed it and refit everything after a year. It seems like waiting a while would be a good idea.

[bandmiller2]

Larry hit the nail on the head if your going to finish it with an axe whats a little crack or twist going to harm.Frank C.

[cheyenne]

No matter what you do the fireplace is going to make it dance anyway. I would do a temp install & when it's done dancing make it the way you want it.....Cheyenne

[Jason]

thanks for the replies, all of what has been said are the issues I figured we would be dealing with. I'll get my wife(aka computer guru, aka master scheduler, aka thank god for a woman like this) to help me post some pictures when it's done.

[Ironwood]

Cheyenne,

DITTO, Ironwood