Austin Hill
08-08-2014, 1:33 PM
I'm working on a mantel and I'm looking for some feedback to see whether or not I'm headed in the right direction. The lumber is red oak, 6' long, 9.75" wide, and 2.5" thick. My wife and I were looking for something similar to the barn beam mantles, and this is what her grandfather sourced for us. It's not quite what we were thinking but it's a beautiful piece of wood, and it's from him, so we're going with it. There are quite a few worm holes, and it was pretty roughly cut on the sides. I left a lot of the saw marks in when I sanded to keep the rustic theme.
So far I have sanded to 220 and filled cracks with Minwax high performance wood filler. My plan from here is to use a Cinnamon colored dye to go with the stones in our fireplace wall, shellac, a dark brown glaze to highlight the grain, more shellac, and a wipe-on poly. I found those instructions online. Sound like I'm on the right track?
As for mounting, I'm debating between finding some large antique shelf brackets or sinking rebar into the stone and into the back of the mantel. The wood is VERY heavy, so any advice on that portion is also welcome. The back side of the mantel has some cracks (now filled) that concern me a little if I attempt the floating mount.
So far I have sanded to 220 and filled cracks with Minwax high performance wood filler. My plan from here is to use a Cinnamon colored dye to go with the stones in our fireplace wall, shellac, a dark brown glaze to highlight the grain, more shellac, and a wipe-on poly. I found those instructions online. Sound like I'm on the right track?
As for mounting, I'm debating between finding some large antique shelf brackets or sinking rebar into the stone and into the back of the mantel. The wood is VERY heavy, so any advice on that portion is also welcome. The back side of the mantel has some cracks (now filled) that concern me a little if I attempt the floating mount.