A customer requested we mill a de-nailed pine beam for use as a rustic fireplace mantle. The beam measurements were…length 108”, width 12” and a thickness of 6 ½”. The finished mantel would be…length 66”, width 11” and a thickness of 5 ¼”.
We spent several hours removing old square head nails from the beam before planning. This beam was a monster weighing in at several hundred pounds…needless to say, our fortitude was tested by the time we milled the piece to a thickness of 5 ¼”!!!
Once the piece was cut to a length of 66”, we used a ½” radius router bit to dress the top, bottom & side edges.
The finished mantle will be anchored above the fire box with 2 x 4’s that protrude from the face brick. We decided to create a pocket in the bottom of the beam that would accept the 2 x 4’s. The pocket measured 7 ½” x 3 ¾” x 1- 9/16”.
We will make Corbels to hide the pockets and add support to the mantle in our next project.
