Live edge Curly Black Walnut Mantel
When you manage a hardwood lumber company, you see a lot of wood. This is both good and bad.
The good is obvious – you get first look at all the new shipments and cool figured wood. It’s like being a paid secret shopper for Bass Pro Shop. The bad is that your garage fills up with unique wood leftovers that are perfect for all of the projects you think you’ll have time for. Or at least too cool to throw away!
A while back, we had some 8/4 Curly Black Walnut boards left over from a large project. One was 12″ wide x 96″ long with a live-edge. It was perfectly sized for a fireplace mantel. However, instead of bringing home the wood and forgetting about in garage for the next decade, I made myself my wife a vow. If I bring this board home on Friday I will install the finished mantel by Sunday.
That is what I did.
First, I selected the best face to be visible, ie facing up. Then I straight-lined one of the live-edges so it the mantel fits flush against the brick fireplace with the best face exposed. Next, I drove over to Home Depot and picked up some industrial looking metal braces. The contrast between the brown walnut and polished metal hardware looked good. Finally, a nice polished wax finish for a low-impact application.
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