| Project by schroeder | posted 429 days ago | 748 views | 0 times favorited | 13 comments |  |
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I built this mantle for friends who asked for something to help break their brick work up (21’ of exposed brick). It’s a simple design, but the layout was kinda hectic (panel spacing and fastening the thing to the brick). They wanted a minimalist mantle, so I left the stiles on each end off until hanging and positioned the panels to the front of the rails. This left me 1 ¼” to work with behind the panels. I made strapping and mortised those to the back, then screwed the strapping to the brick, placed in the end panels and put on the end stiles, (those are held with screws and G&G style plugs). The whole thing turned out well and at the last minute I realized – there’s no glue in any of it! Everything is floating so this will be the entry for the joinery contest.
This family also has two young boys so I inlayed two new silver dollars in the back and made sure they saw them. Now they tell everyone who sees the mantle that there’s money behind it! Driving them crazy knowing there’s money behind it and they can never get to it! (gotta have me a little fun!)
-- The Gnarly Wood Shoppe
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13 comments so far
TomFran
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2340 posts in 437 days
posted 429 days ago
Very nice! That room looks HUGE.
-- Tom, Surfside Beach, SC - Romans 8:28
Don
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2586 posts in 620 days
posted 429 days ago
Nice work, Schroeder. I’m sure this has accomplished your friend’s desire to break up the expanse of the brick. But don’t be surprised if your friend comes home some day to find it removed by the boys who needed some pocket money. LOL
-- CanuckDon "I just love small wooden boxes!" http://www.canterburybaptist.org/
Max
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5429 posts in 716 days
posted 429 days ago
Gota love the Craftsman style. Looks very nice and goes well with the room and brick.
-- Max "Desperado", Salt Lake City, UT
Diane
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450 posts in 566 days
posted 429 days ago
That works perfect, it really adds to the room and makes less of all that brick, nice job.
Diane
-- http://s205.photobucket.com/albums/bb276/DMarcella/
Bob Babcock
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1811 posts in 529 days
posted 429 days ago
Beautiful piece…fits the room perfectly.
-- Bob, Carver Massachusetts, Sawdust Maker http://www.capecodbaychallenge.org
Karson
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12618 posts in 843 days
posted 429 days ago
Great mantle Schroeder. I like it.
-- Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com
woodspar
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684 posts in 542 days
posted 429 days ago
I really like the way that the shading and grain of the panels echo the soldiering of the brick above.
That isn’t hickory is it? I guess it looks like oak in the first picture, but the coloring reminds me of hickory. Very well proportioned relative to the masonry. Thanks for posting and good luck in the challenge.
-- John
CharlieM1958
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3968 posts in 661 days
posted 428 days ago
Simple, yet elegant. It fits the room perfectly.
-- Charlie M. "Woodworking - patience = firewood"
oscorner
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4576 posts in 754 days
posted 428 days ago
Very nicely done!
-- Jesus is Lord!
rentman
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231 posts in 537 days
posted 428 days ago
i see more of your work in that room.looks like maybe a show room for you?geat work as always!!!!
-- Phil, Chattanooga,TN
gizmodyne
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1476 posts in 533 days
posted 428 days ago
Excellent. Great space and the mantel is the perfect scale. What finish did you use?
-- -John "Do I have to keep typing a smiley? Just assume it's a joke." www.flickr.com/photos/gizmodyne
mot
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4837 posts in 479 days
posted 428 days ago
Really a perfect statement. A simple mantle for an elegantly simple room.
-- You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. (Plato)
schroeder
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462 posts in 568 days
posted 428 days ago
Thanks All! – The wood is White oak, fumed for 36 hours in ammonia. The finish is 3 coats of clear sealer and one coat of clear poly satin and a final coat of wax. I’m not super happy with the finish, it lacks the luster I was looking for. In hindsight, when using poly, I think 3-5 coats would have been better.
Rentman – that’s exactly what I’m doing. I’m trying to make their home into a show piece of my work. These friends entertain often and I hope to generate some commissioned work from the pieces. Time will tell…
-- The Gnarly Wood Shoppe