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  • #1

    Building a new mantle

    Just thought I'd share pictures of a new fireplace mantle I'm working on.

    The carcase is just plywood but it is encased with 1/4" walnut pine and trimmed with ambrosia maple. The top is a 4/8th thick slab of walnut.

    The slab was too big to flatten on my planer, so I had to flatten the it manually with hand planes. My right arm is going to get so big that people will start calling me Quagmire.

    I have a little fine tuning to do on the slab with a smoothing plane. Then I can coat everything in boiled linseed oil to bring out the color and finish it with shellac. I'm going to make a couple of pieces that will run down the sides of my fireplace...

    The edges were kinda nasty, but they cleaned up nicely..






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  • #2
    Looks good, I saw those hand planers out and I was immediately tempted to offer up my planer to help you out

    Glad to see you have the hand tools though also, most people don't know what they're doing anymore.

    Just a tip for my own conscience as I'm sure you're aware - if you plan on using the boiled linseed oil, make SURE you let it completely dry before doing your shellac, or it will ruin the panel.
    "When the people find that they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic." -Benjamin Franklin
    "A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover that they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury." -Alexander Fraser Tytler

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    • #3
      Originally posted by 5.0_CJ View Post
      Looks good, I saw those hand planers out and I was immediately tempted to offer up my planer to help you out

      Glad to see you have the hand tools though also, most people don't know what they're doing anymore.

      Just a tip for my own conscience as I'm sure you're aware - if you plan on using the boiled linseed oil, make SURE you let it completely dry before doing your shellac, or it will ruin the panel.
      Yea, I've made that mistake before..

      It's amazing how little people know about these hand tools. I've got a DeWalt lunchbox planner and a Grizzly Jointer, but I passed on using the planner because my flattening sled is too short and I don't feel like making an 8' long sled for a one time use. It was much faster to just pull out that old number 5. I put a new Pinnacle blade on it a few months ago, so it made short work of that piece. I just had to smooth it out with my Veritas Low Angle Jack plane.

      There are still a few lines left from the Veritas, because I never put a camber on the blade. I just got a sharpening guide that will let me do that and eliminate those lines..

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      • #4
        I went to a vintage tool sale recently and there were over a 100 different planers there. Quite a collector market.

        Our house is being built right now and I decided to have them just leave the fireplace pretty plain so I can do something custom like this. My abilities with wood are pretty poor though. I can cut the same piece 3 times and still come up short.

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        • #5
          Originally posted by Frank View Post
          I went to a vintage tool sale recently and there were over a 100 different planers there. Quite a collector market.

          Our house is being built right now and I decided to have them just leave the fireplace pretty plain so I can do something custom like this. My abilities with wood are pretty poor though. I can cut the same piece 3 times and still come up short.
          dude, one of the most important tools for any good carpenter is a QUALITY board stretcher!!! don't cheap out and get the Harbor Freight junk
          http://www.truthcontest.com/entries/...iversal-truth/

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          • #6
            Originally posted by Frank View Post
            I went to a vintage tool sale recently and there were over a 100 different planers there. Quite a collector market.

            Our house is being built right now and I decided to have them just leave the fireplace pretty plain so I can do something custom like this. My abilities with wood are pretty poor though. I can cut the same piece 3 times and still come up short.
            There is a place in Garland called Dowd Tools that sells vintage tools. However I never buy from him because he knows the value of his tools.

            There is another fella that always shows up at First Monday in Canton. He has the REALLY good vintage hand planes. He had a Stanley #1 that is extremely rare. He wanted $5000 for it.

            When it comes to vintage tools I just want to know if I can put it back into service. I've gone as far as to put planes through electrolysis to restore them. However they almost always need a new blade and/or chip breaker. That's one reason I started buying brand new, high quality, hand tools from Veritas or Lie Nielsen.

            BTW, Lie Nielsen is 100% American made. Veritas is Canadian. You can buy higher quality stuff, but then the money becomes insane.

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            • #7
              Originally posted by Cooter View Post
              dude, one of the most important tools for any good carpenter is a QUALITY board stretcher!!! don't cheap out and get the Harbor Freight junk
              Always need a good wood stretcher.
              "When the people find that they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic." -Benjamin Franklin
              "A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover that they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury." -Alexander Fraser Tytler

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              • #8
                Originally posted by 5.0_CJ View Post
                Always need a good wood stretcher.
                I married one.

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                • #9
                  Originally posted by Sgt Beavis View Post
                  I married one.

                  Lol!
                  Ded

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                  • #10
                    Originally posted by 5.0_cj View Post
                    always need a good wood stretcher.
                    Originally posted by sgt beavis View Post
                    i married one.

                    :d
                    lmfao

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                    • #11
                      My Dad has an old saying for when he wanted to justify banging ugly chicks that I though was relevant.

                      "You don't look at the mantle while you're stoking the fire" -Old Phill
                      Ded

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                      • #12
                        I can cut and weld steel no problem but I cant cut two pieces of wood the same length to save my ass! You sir, have some skill! Now build me one please

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                        • #13
                          Looks good man. Congrats on the work.



                          David

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                          • #14
                            All but done now. I just need to paint around the FP and call it a day. Just in time for our Christmas party on Saturday.

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                            • #15
                              Looks pretty good.

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