I am pretty well finished with our new mantel. It’s kind of embarrassing that it’s taken more than a year to cut, sand and finish two boards. (My friend Stitch Billings installed a zero-clearance fireplace and built a complete fireplace enclosure and mantel in a week or two, and he has 4 little kids hanging around!) I have some excuses: My shop is 20 miles away; I needed a power tool that I had to borrow from a tool library and they were either checked out much of the time or not functioning correctly; Janie had some injuries during that time and we had summer travel and the holidays. In addition, before I even got started, I taught myself how to use Google Sketchup (learning how to use Sketchup was part of the adventure) and developed a more elaborate design. Eventually I was able to visualize a much simpler design. In the end, I think it looks pretty good, if I do say so myself.

The top piece is clamped to the old mantle and glued with liquid nails.

The face piece is ready to go. Janie helped me pick out this wood, although it was for another project. When I decided not to do the other project, she suggested that we use if for a mantel. I didn’t know when I got this wood (poplar) that it can be very hard to finish. Due to the variations in hardness, it can turn out blotchy. I used some sealer before applying the finish, and it also may have helped that I was using a clear finish instead of stain.

 My first attempt to attach the face with liquid nails and held in place with just tape did not work. I had to remove it and reinstall it with the liquid nails and some brads.

 The final result

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