Our New Fireplace and Mantel, White Oak, Before and After...

[Vincent Lofton]

I just finished this project. It was a lot of fun, starting with cutting the logs and dragging them out of the woods last winter. Then having them quarter sawn at our local sawmill. It's amazing what you can do with a band saw. The hardest part was waiting for it to dry. The tile was new to me, too. Love this forum!

Thanks!
Vincent

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[Chad Easterling]

Nice work! I like the patterns in the wood. The tile is nice as well. Really changed the appearance of the room, for the better.

Tile work isn't too bad once you get the hang of it.....

[Bruce Page]

That is a nice improvement; I love how you matched the grain.
What finish did you use?

[Ted Calver]

This is really a nice project and the fact that you harvested the timber makes it even better. It looks like you have chosen a high color temperature light for the built in. A warmer light would compliment the wood and bring out the color more. Worth experimenting with. Nice job!

[Vincent Lofton]

Thanks for the nice words. I used a medium danish oil for the stain and to bring out the figure. I used a couple of coats of sanding seal, sanding between coats and wipe on poly for the final coats. Still trying to figure out the lighting, I have a florescent light in there for now, but would welcome suggestions for something better...

[Ted Calver]

Vincent, Just try changing the 'bulb' in the florescent to one with a warmer color. Read the packages and look for a low color temperature bulb. This is from Wikipedia:

"Color temperature
Main article: Color temperature
The color temperature of different electric lamps

Correlated color temperature (CCT) is a measure of the "shade" of whiteness of a light source, again by comparison with a blackbody. Typical incandescent lighting is 2700 K, which is yellowish-white. Halogen lighting is 3000 K. Fluorescent lamps are manufactured to a chosen CCT by altering the mixture of phosphors inside the tube. Warm-white fluorescents have CCT of 2700 K and are popular for residential lighting. Neutral-white fluorescents have a CCT of 3000 K or 3500 K. Cool-white fluorescents have a CCT of 4100 K and are popular for office lighting. Daylight fluorescents have a CCT of 5000 K to 6500 K, which is bluish-white."

[Marshall Border]

Like it Vincent , wow what a giant improvement ..............

[Jim Becker]

That's really an outstanding upgrade to your fireplace, Vincent! Nice work.

[Will Boulware]

Looks great! I really like this!

[gary Zimmel]

Real nice upgrade Vincent. Can't beat that quartered white oak....

[Scott T Smith]

Vincent, that looks outstanding! I really like how you took advantage of the curved grain too.

[Danny Hamsley]

Love that quarter sawn white oak!

[Bobby O'Neal]

Great work. Beautiful upgrade to a home.