I repurposed an old barn beam

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  • VUPDblue

    Silencers Have NEVER Been Illegal !
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    25   0   1
    Mar 20, 2008
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    Franklin Township
    I put this in another thread originally but thought it deserved it’s own.

    So the wife wanted a new fireplace mantel to make the living room feel more “warm”, and suggested an old barn beam.
    Challenge accepted.

    We found a barn wood reclaiming business local to us and went to their warehouse. divineheritagebarns.com

    We picked out an 11’ hand-hewn (I think white oak) beam from the late 19th century that had a ton of character. Once it came home, I cut it to length and began the looooooong process of sanding to remove the sharp edges and loose chinks. I went through probably 25 pads for my orbital sander overall, ending with 200 grit.

    Wifey picked out a dark walnut colored stain and we applied that, followed by several coats of matte polycrylic.

    Once the beam was finished, it was time to attach to the wall, and of course she didn’t want to have any hardware visible. To attach it, I used 5 10” x 1/2” lag bolts. I screwed them into the wall studs 4”, leaving 6” protruding, and cut off the heads. I drilled corresponding holes in the beam and then just slid the beam onto the lag posts. The friction of the posts in the holes keeps it from moving, plus it’s about 100#, so it’s not going anywhere.

    Wife is happy, so I am happy! I still have almost 6’ of beam left so I’m going to come up with some other projects to use it up. Now for the pics! Before, during and after:

    UqgCE9Y.jpg

    m1AaFOZ.jpg

    FoGQTbI.jpg
     

    Brad69

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    Jul 16, 2016
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    Perry county
    Sweet!

    I didn’t know you had some skills beyond locking up bad guys and crisis management?

    Thats very kool looks like it was hand hewn, now it will live on for many more years.
     

    VUPDblue

    Silencers Have NEVER Been Illegal !
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    25   0   1
    Mar 20, 2008
    12,885
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    Franklin Township
    Sweet!

    I didn’t know you had some skills beyond locking up bad guys and crisis management?

    Thats very kool looks like it was hand hewn, now it will live on for many more years.

    I can do a thing or two. Sometimes. And yeah, it was hand-hewn. It has so much character. I wanted what is now the underside to be the top because of the character, but it wasn’t practical because it’s much more uneven than the side we chose to be the top. It’s a beautiful piece for sure.

    5oj7xNS.jpg
     

    Ballstater98

    Certified Bro Shark
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    7   0   0
    Jan 18, 2015
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    NWI
    My parents did this above their wood stove (minus the staining). Yours looks very sharp!
     

    MarkC

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    Mar 6, 2016
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    Mooresville
    Being a guy who has difficulty getting two boards nailed together square, I have an appreciation for one who can perform this kind of magic. Nice work!
     

    natdscott

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    Jul 20, 2015
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    It looks wonderful!

    If you get a wild hair though: install the rebar/lag screws at a downward angle into the wall, and drill the post accordingly.... gravity does the work, and it is earthquake-stable, literally and metaphorically.
     

    VUPDblue

    Silencers Have NEVER Been Illegal !
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    25   0   1
    Mar 20, 2008
    12,885
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    Franklin Township
    Yeah i like it the way it is too. I gave epoxy a thought but didn’t want it looking like a mediocre restaurant table. It’s way too uneven for glass that long to lay flat as well. The way it turned out is just fine by us.
     
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