Inspired by the Cast Aluminum Coffee Tables by Hilla Shamia, we’ve begun to play with our own line of pour metal fireplace mantels. This technique is a great way to blend modern stylings with rustic, reclaimed wood. You can see that tables on Colossal. They are pretty impressive.

To see some of our past work with blacksmith ironwork, check out our mantels with ironwork page. This is just a sampling of things we have done in the past. We can certainly do others things. See also WLB Blacksmith Shop.

This particular piece is a simple, white pine 8×8. It has the frequent, large knots associated with white pine. The front face sports as metal fill and a couple of pegs. The top side hosts a large crack and a filled mortise pocket. The bottom is very similar with another filled pocket.

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.