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Mantel project in progress

2K views 10 replies 5 participants last post by  Kenbo 
#1 · (Edited)
Mantel project in progress (Completed)

I've been working on a mantel for our living room. The old owners of the house took their mantel when we bought the place a year ago. I got the top part of the mantel done last December, in time to hang Christmas stockings from it. But I dawdled for some time getting the vertical sides done. Well I finally got back on the project a month or so ago. After a delay while the wall was built in the garage, I am back on it again.

I got the sides (verticals) made. I stained the second one last night. The next step was going to be to clear coat them and get them on the wall. However, I decided after staining the last piece that it needs something more. So I picked up a plank of paduch (padauk, whichever spelling is correct) and will be running a strip along the center vertical groove in them to add some character and contrast. Hopefully I can get a good start on that step tonight.

Picture #1 is showing how I routed the back on the right side vertical to allow me to run the wiring from the TV above the mantel down to where they need to go.

#2 shows how I've counter-sunk keyhole hardware to I am using to mount the parts to the wall. Because the mantel is being attached to a brick facade and I wanted to have it anchored to the mortar between the bricks, it was necessary (or at least it was the best way I could think of to be 100% accurate) to put my concrete screws into the mortar between the bricks first THEN mark where they need to be on the three mantel sections.

The 3rd attached photo shows the two stained but unfinished mantel verticals.

I installed the concrete screws. Made a cardboard pattern of each piece and placed them against the wall and used a rubber mallet to transfer the screw head placement to the cardboard pattern. Then I used the cardboard pattern to accurately place the keyhole locations on the wood.

I do have two issues, however, with the project. Only one of which I can do much about.

One issue is that I may have to go back and remove the high gloss finish on it all. The top (horizontal "shelf") section is already finished in the high gloss polyurethane so I will also finish the verticals that way. But I fear that when it's done it is simply going to be too damn glossy for the surrounding wall and decor. It's already so glossy it's tough to get a decent picture. But the glossy is causing the contouring to be lost, visually.

My brother, who owns a cabinet shop, says that all they stock is glossy poly and if a customer wants a matte finish they just go over it lightly with 000 steel wool. So at least I won't have three pieces to "refinish" if my wife and I do decide that the gloss is just too much.

And the other issue, which is a biggie in my opinion, is that the fireplace is NOT quite centered in the brick corner section of the wall. I made the top of the mantel to center well on the wall, figuring that was the lesser of two evils and hoping that would look better than to have it off center to accommodate the fireplace, which would make the mantel seem lopsided. But when I dry fit the mantel verticals I noticed that it really makes the fact that the fireplace itself is not quite centered stand out more than I had hoped. The result: the mantel looks "lopsided".

I don't think I can do anything about the centering issue. I just hope the finished project doesn't look screwed up because of it. The spacing on one side is about an inch wider than on the other. It doesn't sound like much but it's obvious upon sight.
 

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#2 ·
I got an 8 foot board of Padauk, jointed one edge and ripped 1" square strip. I cut it in half and jointed all four sides to bring it to the 3/4" x 3/4" dimension I needed.

(Picture 1) Then I hand planed and sanded a round-over and chamfered the back corner so it will seat where it needs to.

(Picture 2) Since adding this strip was actually an afterthought, I had to chisel out a strip of wood on each side to allow the padauk strip to seat snugly in place.

(Picture 3) Well, I got it to seat just right. Instead of gluing and screwing like I did with the rest of the mantel so far, I decided to only screw the padauk strip in place, sans glue.

(Picture 4) Here is where the mantel is going. You can see the shelf section already in place on the wall.
 

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#3 ·
And here's what the part looks like after one coat of polyurethane. If I had to do this project again I would choose a different wood. I like the padauk but the pine and popular I used (because I was cheap) isn't up to my liking at all. I just doesn't give the project the distinction it deserves. I should have gone with walnut or a similarly-colored wood and not stain. Plus, the pine/popular isn't all that beautiful (even stained).

And I should have gone with a satin finish. Perhaps an oil instead of poly.

Oh well, this is a learning experience for me. Shame it's a mantel, something that will be on the wall for, presumably, ever, that's teaching me these lessons.

The most notable lessons I've learned from this project so far are:

*) Don't skimp on materials when it's a project that matters.

*) Think about your finish BEFORE you apply it. When in doubt, make a test piece and put it where the completed project will be to see how it will look.

*) A high gloss looks amazing on my woodcarvings but - just because I like a certain finish for a certain type of project - it's not the ideal finish for every project.

One more piece to complete (the right-side vertical) then I can hang them one the wall.
 

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#5 ·
I will probably end up trying the ScotchBrite pad. Good idea. I want toget it all done and see how it looks in its entirety before making the final decision. But I am almost positive that the gloss is going to be too much. Then again, it may end up being a nice contrast to the matte texture of the brick (though I seriously doubt it).

The centering issue worries me. I guess I should add that to the list of lessons learned. I did measure before starting the project. But the inch or so didn't seem like a big deal IF I decided to make verticals. And since I only made the top mantel at first I though it would look stupid to not have it centered on the wall. And witht the top only, the fireplace appears to be centered just fine. I don't know how I can fix it without remaking the top section. Dreadful thought. *sigh*
 
#7 · (Edited)
I finally had a chance to get back on the mantel. Why do I allow myself to have so many things going at once? Maybe I get bored too easily and have some deep ADD-style need to constantly be bouncing back and forth. Who knows. Well, in this case, part of my stalling is that I was mulling over which route I wanted to go to fix the over-gloss situation.

I ended up sanding the glossy poly with 220 grit paper again, like the can says to do to prepare for another coat. This time I brushed on a coat of "satin" poly and I am much, much happier with the way it looks. There is still a nice sheen but it's not that in-your-face plastic looking glossiness that seemed to make the contours disappear. Much more appropriate for this project. Now to do the top (shelf) piece then get these things all mounted to the wall. Finally.

My wife will be happy when I finally get her mantel done. But then I'm going to be picky and still want to tackle the centering issue I previously mentioned. I love how every project teaches me a new lesson. However, I'm not so keen on how those lessons sometimes require corrective actions after the fact. All in all, I am happy to be able to learn from the little problems that teach me how to prevent bigger problems in the future.
 
#8 ·
The mantle is completed and hung on the wall. I'm pleased with how it turned out. Going with the satin finish really brought out the grain and contours considerably better than the high gloss did. Pictures coming soon. And the centering isn't a much of an issue as I feared.
 
#9 ·
Here's my son posing with the verticals before I hung them on the wall.

Wood Longboard


Hopefully it is clear from this picture that the glossy is now much less, uh, glossy.

Table Wood Furniture Floor Metal


Now the rest of these pictures are terrible. The lighting in the room just is not photo friendly at all. And I took these at night so I didn't get the benefit of natural lighting to assist in the process. But you'll get the idea.

Here's the verticals in place. I have the wiring from the TV run through the channel I routed in the back of the right side vertical. Well, the power cord wasn't long enough so it's still dangling down along the left side for the time being. As soon as I find a longer power cord I'll run it through the channel as well.

Hearth Fireplace Property Tile Room


You can plainly see the centering issue I mentioned earlier in this thread.

And here's with the shelf in place:

Building Hearth Home Room Architecture


Room House Tree Door Interior design


I had every lamp and light in the area turned on and I still wasn't able to get a good photo. Sigh. Plus, I'm using a piece of junk camera because my good one messed up on me last weekend and is no longer able to take still shots, only video :icon_rolleyes:

Anyway, it looks a lot better in person than the photos would have you believe. And with those tin vases my wife keeps on the hearth you can hardly tell the verticals aren't quite centered around the fireplace itself. It doesn't excuse my oversight but it does make it less "embarrassing".
 
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