Hanging A Mantle

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Ken Massingale

New User
Ken
I'm in the final stages of making a Cedar mantle for a buddy. He wanted it to be made from a Cedar tree from his property so he supplied a well dried 5 foot section of log (and around 10 other nice log sections for me) about 10 inches in dia.
I used the Alaskan Chainsaw Mill to slab off a 4" thick piece and jointed and planed it, and am almost done with the finishing.
They want the mantle to 'float' on their brick wall fireplace surround. My plan is to install anchors (3) in the mortar, screw in 5/16 or 3/8 bolts, cut the bolt heads off and grind them to points. Then with several hands hold the mantle up to the bolts getting it level and press the back against the points on the bolts to mark for holes. Then drill the holes and test for fit and adjust as necessary. Put some epoxy in the holes and slap her in place.

Does this sound at all workable?:help:

Thanks
Ken
 

CarvedTones

Board of Directors, Vice President
Andy
I would think you want the bolt holes off center toward the top of the mantle to limit the leverage. I would either use a level to ensure the bolts are perfectly level or measure from the hearth up (if it isn't level, it may look funny if the mantle is), a good rule to make sure the distances are exact, and then drill the holes where they should be. I would not try to do it by positioning and marking. You can recheck measurements several times and have other people look at them.
 

Kyle

New User
Kyle Edwards
I used 1/2 rebar for mine.. Drilled the hole 6" placed 4 pieces into the brick. Used a heat resistant mortar sealer for any gap. drilled for the holes on the mantle and hung. The corbels were then installed and the stone placed around the mantle which adds additional support.

the rebar is sufficient for LOTS of weight.

My mantle weighs in around 160 pounds and is 6" thick, 10" wide 79 feet "inches" :D long Pacific yew..


will add pics..

 

CarvedTones

Board of Directors, Vice President
Andy
My mantle weighs in around 160 pounds and is 6" thick, 10" wide 79 feet long Pacific yew..

Looks a little shorter in the pics. :rotflm:

Very nice! :icon_thum Yew is highly prized for long bows, but those knots would have made that one a tough piece to work with (a lot of yew bows are scarfed together because long clear pieces are hard to come by).
 

Kyle

New User
Kyle Edwards
Looks a little shorter in the pics. :rotflm:

Very nice! :icon_thum Yew is highly prized for long bows, but those knots would have made that one a tough piece to work with (a lot of yew bows are scarfed together because long clear pieces are hard to come by).

79 feet.. hehe "noted"

I like yew.. and have some set aside for that reason(english longbow) ..Mulberry is nice too..
 

Glennbear

Moderator
Glenn
I would think you want the bolt holes off center toward the top of the mantle to limit the leverage. I would either use a level to ensure the bolts are perfectly level or measure from the hearth up (if it isn't level, it may look funny if the mantle is), a good rule to make sure the distances are exact, and then drill the holes where they should be. I would not try to do it by positioning and marking. You can recheck measurements several times and have other people look at them.

I agree with Andy that trying to wrestle the mantle up against the sharpened bolt heads may not be the best way to go. Whenever I tried a similar method of placing wall hung projects I ended up with false marks and trying to figure out which was the correct one. :wsmile:
 

DaveD

New User
Dave
The couple that I have removed were hung on 1/2" or 3/4" pipe set in at a slight upward angle. 2 supports will be enough. If I was going to install one I'd do it the same way. Drill the holes in the mantle a little oversized. Its a little harder than it looks to get the mantle on the pipe/rebar supports and even harder to get off if you have to redo it because its not sitting level. Adding a 3rd mounting point will exponentially raise the challenge.

You could always use a scrap board or a piece of masonite as a template if you are worried about your measuring accuracy.
 
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