–SOLD TO BRUCE M in Utah 12/16/2016–
–While this mantel is sold, we should have other comparable ones on hand. Please contact us at antiqueww@gmail.com with your needs. We can send pictures of some more options.–

This mantel has has it all – great color, great texture, and no mortise pockets. The color is a nice saddle brown accented with some darker knots and lighter colored sapwood on some of the corners. These beams were obviously squared off from a round tree. They were pretty good about using the right size tree to make the right size beam. The sapwood is just beneath the bark and it is where all the growth happens. The part of the wood from the center to the sapwood is call heartwood. Oddly enough, in these old barn environment the heartwood will react to the ammonia in the air and darken. However, the sapwood does not contain the same amount of tannin as the heartwood and does not darken.

I have to chuckle a little. One of the knots on the face looks like an eye with a raised eyebrow. On the bottom edge of the front face, you can see the sapwood line. You can also see more sapwood on the right-hand side. The top has great knots and cracks. The bottom sports much more sapwood and a hint of the rounding of the original tree. Through the mantel, you can see original ax marks from when American settlers built up these lands.

This mantel beam came from a late 1800s vintage barn near Southwest Wisconsin — out in the beautiful rolling hills. It is always nice to head out to this part of the country. You still see lots of small family farms with animals still out in the pastures. It is a welcome relief from the industrial farming that we see in our parts.

The color on this mantel is all natural. We apply a hardwax oil on the mantel to enrich the color, but we do not add any additional stain. NOTE: The ends are currently unfinished. We figured we’d finish the ends based on customer taste. The left end has a small tenon remaining. The right end has a generous amount of sapwood. This beam would make a very clean, 5ft or so mantel.

This beam is priced at $115/LF. We can cut the beam down to any length and reduce the price by $9.58 per inch, up to a maximum discount of $115.  At 138lbs, we should be able to ship via FedEx Gnd for $65.

The tag— “The New Durham Dorset”  — The first razor made expressly for outdoor beards. With the latest trends in Men’s beards, this might be apropos.