Beech fireplace mantel Mar 2021
Fireplace mantel made from an authentic beech beam recovered from a barn in Western NY. The wood was cut 100-150 years ago and the trees could have been 200-300 years old. They were saplings somewhere from the late 1600s, early 1700s. The wood is dense and the rings are very tight. When I hold wood I can feel the time and history encapsulated in it. Old wood is not junk wood at all. It has an aura about it. I commune with wood...not is some silly supernatural way...but in the knowledge that it was part of the last wild landscapes of America. It clearly has no memory in the sense that we humans do, but via our knowledge of plants and history we can realize the long spans (relative to human lifespans) of time these trees occupy. Furthermore these trees yielded far superior wood. These trees grew under heavy selection pressures and were strengthened by many long winters, many "once in a century" storms, droughts, floods, the digging, nibbling and pecking of animals, and the effects of humans.
Aesthetically speaking this beam ended up with a blonder color than beech usually does. Normally old beech is browner. This particular beam was whitewashed with a lime-based paint which seems to have bleached the surface to give this pretty blonde color. Wherever there was no whitewash the "normal" brown color spilled through. The wood we use, being real barn wood from actual old barns, has unique, non fakable qualities. Each piece has its own personality, dut to its age, its cut, its use, sun and weather exposure, etc... Only when you finish it (cleaning, light sanding, polyurethane) does its unique characteristics really come out. I'm happy with this piece and more importantly its owners love it.
Beech fireplace mantel Mar 2021
Fireplace mantel made from an authentic beech beam recovered from a barn in Western NY. The wood was cut 100-150 years ago and the trees could have been 200-300 years old. They were saplings somewhere from the late 1600s, early 1700s. The wood is dense and the rings are very tight. When I hold wood I can feel the time and history encapsulated in it. Old wood is not junk wood at all. It has an aura about it. I commune with wood...not is some silly supernatural way...but in the knowledge that it was part of the last wild landscapes of America. It clearly has no memory in the sense that we humans do, but via our knowledge of plants and history we can realize the long spans (relative to human lifespans) of time these trees occupy. Furthermore these trees yielded far superior wood. These trees grew under heavy selection pressures and were strengthened by many long winters, many "once in a century" storms, droughts, floods, the digging, nibbling and pecking of animals, and the effects of humans.
Aesthetically speaking this beam ended up with a blonder color than beech usually does. Normally old beech is browner. This particular beam was whitewashed with a lime-based paint which seems to have bleached the surface to give this pretty blonde color. Wherever there was no whitewash the "normal" brown color spilled through. The wood we use, being real barn wood from actual old barns, has unique, non fakable qualities. Each piece has its own personality, dut to its age, its cut, its use, sun and weather exposure, etc... Only when you finish it (cleaning, light sanding, polyurethane) does its unique characteristics really come out. I'm happy with this piece and more importantly its owners love it.