A Mantel Piece question

[ChrisA Edwards]

A friend wants a solid 12"deep x 5" high x 8' long solid Red Oak mantel to go across a stone fireplace.

He doesn't want it rough sawn, but also doesn't want it like it came out of a planer.

I guess he wants it smooth but with some relief. I'm not sure what the process would be. My thoughts would be to start with a rough sawn piece and sand it with and angle grinder , eventually sanding it smooth , to touch.

Thanks for you insight and help.

[Ron Selzer]

use a hand plane on it
for a coarser look use a foot adze
NO WAY would I use an angle grinder on it
Good Luck with it however you do it

[Jamie Buxton]

A scrub plane might do what you want. Or like Ron says, an adze. They both leave scallops on the surface, like what you'd see on a beam flattened before power tools. Both approaches take some practice. If you can source your red oak beam while it is green, not dry, that will be much easier to texture by muscle power

Or for a completely different approach, get a dry beam, milled by a planer. Then go after it with a wire brush flat disc in a 4" right angle grinder. Wire brush discs are available at your local big box store. The most common use is welders who are removing flash. You can get them in different coarseness. Applied to wood, the wire brush erodes the softer parts of the wood faster than the harder parts. On red oak, the growth rings are harder, so they stay proud, and the wood around them gets removed. The resulting surface doesn't look like it came out of a thickness planer. Maybe it will appeal to your friend. Try it on a sample -- the discs cost like $10.

[James Tibbetts]

I think I would push him to find a picture of what he wants. That will make defining the process much simpler.

[Jim Matthews]

20191104_063728.jpgIf you've worked with Oak before, a sharp adze (or wide sweep gouge) will leave a shimmering surface. If you've not used Oak before, consider Redwood or Cedar.

[Matt Day]

First I’d find pictures online and send him to choose. Examples would be it done with a scrub plane, and a few with different angle grinder approaches, and one with an adze.

Then I’d use some scrap 4/4 and make a couple samples to let him choose the final look.

[Nick Diamond]

Just throwing this out here as well, I’m not sure if he likes dark wood, but Shou Sugi Ban burns away the soft wood leaving only the harder rings as well. You need a torch and some propane then you can decide if you want a deep char or strip it back with a brush for a lighter look. It’s quick and pretty easy to achieve a beautiful look.

[ChrisA Edwards]

Thanks, I now realize I was in the wrong forum when I posted this, Moderators, can you move it to the appropriate place, thanks.

I asked about the wood choice and he says his wife wants Red Oak because that's what they have in the room for flooring.

Cedar would be great because we are known as the Cedar City and have a huge mill right down the road.

The wire brush method seems like the approach that would work for me.


Another thought, would you hollow out some of the center to try and reduce the weight?

[Jamie Buxton]

...Another thought, would you hollow out some of the center to try and reduce the weight?..

No. The wall will support a mantel. But if you really want a hollow mantel, don't buy a solid 4x12. Instead, build the hollow mantel from 1x material. Much less work, much less material cost.

Y'know, while you're quizzing him about the look he wants, you might ask him how he's going to mount this mantel. That might inform your construction choices. And if he's expecting you to install the mantel, well, that's a whole design problem you should figure out before you build the mantel.

[Jim Becker]

I think I would push him to find a picture of what he wants. That will make defining the process much simpler.

This. No guessing as to what the end-user desires that way and from there, folks can contribute how to achieve the effect.

[ChrisA Edwards]

It's highly likely I'll have no part in the construction or installation process, we were just discussing ideas yesterday.

Thoughts on mounting, the existing fireplace is red brick around the fires box and all the way up the wall to the ceiling. he thinks this is solid brick and not facia. The plan is to mount the new mantel and then put a natural stone facia over all the existing brick. They have already contracted someone to do this.

For the mounting, which will happen before the new stone is applied, I thought about drilling maybe three or four 1" holes in the brick, spaced across the length, and epoxying steel tubes into the brick with about 8"-10" exposed to slide the wood mantel on, with the appropriate holes in the wood.

[Bill Dufour]

Check codes for how close and how far out it can be before it becomes a fire hazard.
There is a reason fireplace rugs are wool.
Bil lD.

[Mel Fulks]

Can't remember what it's called ,but hundreds of years ago the beams of houses that were next to the stucko white
areas had a peculiar type of simple carving. Might be good for the 3 vertical sides. It's simple stuff with every cut leaving
a reflecting facet. Go by the code rules for what the projection can be,even if client wants more.

[william walton]

A good but costly solution is a scalloping planer; some brands have optional knives in concave shapes. I had a Festool with those options. It will give a smooth, yet carved appearance.

[Tom Bender]

Hanging it off the brick could pull the brick down. It may be better to let the stonemason install it. He might want to put it a smidge higher or lower to accommodate his material and he may want to install it when the stone is halfway up. In any case he should be consulted.

A giant timber sounds amateurish. Nothing wrong with that, we all started there. Just like golf, but those first swings didn't produce great results. The owner may do much better after looking at images on line.