mantle

[hitandruntz]

A mantle I built in my shop. Its unfinished. Client painted it. I dont have any pics of it painted.

 

[Integrity_Construction]

Looks great !!

Dave

 

[mike_aa]

Very nice.  I bet it looks great with the paint on it.

Mike A.

 

[ElCabong]

Looks great! This is very timely as I am planning to build one myself but can't decide what materials to use. It will be painted as well. What materials did you use on your build? It looks like a combo of plywood and poplar? What do you think about using MDF - is it durable? Thanks!

A mantle I built in my shop. Its unfinished. Client painted it. I dont have any pics of it painted.

 

[hitandruntz]

Thanks guys. I used American  birch plywood (avoid the chinese stuff because the layers delaminate) and miter the corners. The top is 2 layers  of ply, edged with poplar. The fluted plant ons are 3/4 poplar. The plinths are walnut (scraps i had laying around) crown and dental is poplar and so is the plant on panel moulding.

Mdf is fine but obviously its heavy. You can get ultra lite to lighten it up a bit.  Mdf will paint up fine. Ive built more stuff out of mdf than id like to admit. I have mdf dust nightmares with huge mounds of mdf dust piles below my tablesaw or router table. It has strengths and weekness's. I personally  reach for plywood if i have the option.

 

[ElCabong]

I was at my local lumber yard and saw both MDF and the MDF Ultralite (as it was named) and wondered if the lighter weight version was just as strong - not just weight bearing but with glue-ups and pocket screws. Being a mantel, there isn't going to be much weight put on the top. Of course I would brace the bottom if the span was long.

Thanks for the information on your build!

 

[#Tee]

looks great! how much do you charge for a job like that labor+material?

 

[dltflt]

Wow, looks great!

 

[hitandruntz]

Thanks Don. Tee ill pm you t he price. And what exactly  is that in your avatar? Looks l I'll e an aluminum fence for mft, but whats with yhe carbon fiber?

 

[#Tee]

Ya its 1.7mm sheet of cf that i used to make a diffuser for an nsx. that alum is a bracket that chopped to length fastened with titanium hardware. i know its kinda odd that i didnt use festool for fine wood working or trim carpentry lol.

 

[wow]

That looks really nice! I'd be proud to have it around my fireplace.

Too bad you couldn't get pictures of it installed and painted...

 

[hitandruntz]

Wow, it wasn't my client. My buddy just closed his shop but he still has designers calling him for work. So i build stuff with/for him and I/him/we install it in the field. I totally would have called to ask for a picture with it painted  but its not my client.

My buddy for that last few years as been bustim my nutz over all the festool stuff  and after the install came down with a extreme case of green fever. I met  this guy at a millwork outfit that i worked  for. We were both installers. Installing stuff like in my  the second part of my  video (not the wheelie  video) but the companies supply us with skilsaws,  jigsaws, PC routers(if your lucky)and power planers.honestly with the beat up tools they supply us with it might as well be handcuffs that they supply us with. I say screw em at 85 an hour if you want me to do it the slow, hard, and not as accurate  way, then Who am i to argue.
Anyways, i mooed the coffee table out of the way, set up the mft on a canvas tarp in tmiddle of the room  and scribed the mantle into the wall. Then clamped the mantle to the mft and cut the scribes with the ts55,carvex, bosch power planer(attached to the vac of course) and the ras. That little install totally changed him. Hes got the midi, ts55,domino/accessories, ro125,ets125,homemade sys5 compressor w retractable  power cord bunch of systainers and 4 carts in 3 months.  Hows that for green fever.