Gorgeous, rustic fireplace mantel made from an old white oak barn beam. The face and bottom have an original hand-hewn texture. This is from back in the day when folks swung axes to make a round log into a square beam. In this area, that is the late 1800s. It is amazing to think that this is the real thing from early American settlers. The top has been cut smooth to remove some issues. It makes for a nice flat shelf for your decorations, family photos, and knick-knacks.

There tend to be two types of hand hewing — rough and smooth. Oftentimes, you’ll see beams that are “choppy” looking. To get beams smoother, they worked the beam several times with different tools. For example, they may do the first pass with a broad ax or even a felling ax. Then, they would do a second or third pass with an adz. This mantel has what I would consider a more medium hand-hewn texture with nice accenting cracks.

There is also a “mortise pocket” in this piece. It is on the top. It was originally a rectangular hole where another beam came in and joined this one. We filled it with a matching side grain plug so that blends nicely.

The original beam came from an old barn in Lowell, Wisconsin which is about 50 miles NW of Madison, Wisconsin. The barn probably dated back to the mid- to late-1800s. The country was generally settled from East to West, so we see older places in Eastern Wisconsin than we do near our workshop near Minneapolis, Minnesota.

We can cut this mantel shorter and refinish the ends for an additional for no additional cost.

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

About the tag – Wacky Witch is a playing card from a 1950s vintage set of Old Maid. These great old names are wonderful. Some of these old sets are not particularly politically correct by today’s standards.