This is a reclaimed white oak fireplace mantel beam is showing off what patina really means. White oak starts out as a wheatish tan, but in the right barn environment it can go as dark as black coffee — every bit as dark as black walnut. But not all white oaks will go this dark. It really depends on the tannin content in the wood — which is a feature of the growing conditions and the specific species of wood within the white oak family. What’s neat is if you look at the ends, you can see the original color and how the color circles the outside and has penetrated into the cracks. We sand pretty aggressively on this beam, but we left some ghosts of the old, original circle saw marks. We’ll toss on another coat of finish to shine this one up just a bit before we ship it out.

This one is a little “pecky.” It is filled with little light spots. There are also a couple of significant cracks running on this one. It is less than perfect compared to the previous ones from this barn, but it is still nice never the less.

Rectangular shaped beams a relatively uncommon but it’s great when we can find them. This is indeed an original 6×8 with full original patina. This is not a cut 8×8 with a refinished side.

This beam comes from an old dairy barn located between Norwood, Minnesota and Bongards, Minnesota. It was on what is known as a “Century Farm.” This is a farm that has been in a family for over 100 years. In the picture, you can see an old colorized photo of the farm, including the barn. One section of this old barn had old log cabin timbers that had been re-used as “sleeper joists.” So these beams were already on their second re-use, now going on their 3rd.

A hardwax oil finish has been applied, but no stain has been applied. Pretty amazing all natural color.

While we’re happy to cut this one down in size. We can reduce the price by $8.33 per inch up to a $100 discount.