–SOLD TO SHANNON IN KY–
— January 18, 2017–

This is a very nice hand hewn pine mantel. Even though Minnesota was filled with White pines, it is not a tree that was abundant near the central Minnesota, where we are located. Both the front and the bottom faces are free of mortise pockets. The top of the mantel has one mortise pocket that has been filled with an end-grain plug. One nice things about pine is that it is light weight for easy, worry-free mounting. This is a nice beam with a cool history.

The color is all natural. Admittedly, these pictures were taken in full sun. The result is a much stronger and brighter orange look than you’d really see once this mantel is in an indoor environment. We have applied a hard wax oil which provides nice durability and easy cleaning, yet is not overly shiny. It warms up the natural colors of the old wood. We do not use any artificial stains to color our wood.

This mantel beam is another one of those funny pieces that was re-used from a first generation barn into a second generation barn. We see this fairly often where it is clear that they took down one building, and re-used the wood in the next building. Because this one is hand hewn, it dates back to the late 1800s around here. However, we found it in a barn that dated back to probably around the 1930s.

The original barn was located near New Ulm, Minnesota – a strong German community. In fact, some German POWs were housed near the town in World War II. Based on the style, the use of round nails, machine turned pegs and pine beams, this barn was probably built close to 1930. It did have a few reused timbers from a previous 1800s vintage barn.

This beam is priced at $115/LF. We can cut the beam down and reduce the price by $9.58 per inch up to a $115 discount. Shipping is $65.