Sold to Andrew R  – Oct 13, 2018

Dark white oak sounds like a bit of an oxymoron. It turns out that white oak starts out as a wheatish tan. However, in a barn environment, the wood can go to nearly a dark roast coffee brown — as dark as black walnut. One the end of the beam, you can see the dark color seeping into the cracks. In many cases, we’ve seen the dark color go as far as 1/4 inch into the surface of the wood. A naturally dark color white oak looks far better than an artificially stained piece.

This fireplace mantel comes from an old barn. It was an upright post with another beam that rested in the notch. It has some wonderful old character where the wood flows toward a knot. It has some quartersawn rays as well. There is a hint of sapwood in the lower right corner. This can be darkened up a little bit.

We decided to leave the notch in place. It would be positioned against the wall. By leaving the notch, the depth is nearly 8.5 inches. If we cut the back flat to the notch, it would be about 7.25 inches deep.

This piece would make a great beam for ironwork as well.

This mantel beam came from an early 1900s vintage barn between Waconia, MN and Cologne, MN. About 40 miles SW of Minneapolis downtown. This is the beginning of modern farm country in these parts. The soil here is rich and black and runs black as deep as three feet. This was also the Western edge of what was once referred to as the Big Woods. If you have ever read Laura Ingalls Wilder books, you’ll see references to this very woods. The original beam had traces of hand hewing. This barn may be older than I thought or the material was re-used from a previous barn.

We can cut this mantel shorter and refinish the ends for an additional $50.

It can be shipped anywhere in the lower 48 states via FedEx Gnd for $125

The Tag — Meats for Babies every day! This ad was from the late 1940s. I guess with have Chicken and Gravy baby food today, but the marketing on this one just sounded off to me. Meats for Babies — Liver and Bacon (in a can). Just doesn’t sound tasty to me.