Folks, I have been out of woodworking for a few years (no lack of love
for woodworking, but lack of time), but the wife has been wanting a
mantle to go over the fireplace. Does anyone hve any suggestions for
sources for plans? Thanks so much in advance, and please reply to
[email protected]. Thanks again!
I bought several books when I was designing our mantel.
The most useful was MAKING MANTELS by David Getts. Here's a link.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-url/102-7931647-8068140?url=index%3Dblended&search-option=search-amazon&field-keywords=making+mantels+getts
This book has examples of many different types of mantels and shows how
to design and build them.
If you want a full surround, you need more than just a set of plans.
Fire codes limit how close combustibles can be to the sides and above
the fireplace. It's a fairly complicated formula. It's in the book.
The other books I bought are really just a series of pictures of
various fireplaces to give ideas. They had very little useful
information and certainly no plans.
DonkeyHody
"Every man is my superior in that I can learn from him." - Thomas
Carlyle
Before you get down to actual plans, you need to decide what sort of
look you are after. Here is a link I found helpful in deciding what I
wanted. http://williamsburgmantle.com/samples.html
By the way, It seems there is not general agreement on the correct
spelling. Search on "Mantel" and "Mantle". You'll find it both ways.
DonkeyHody
"Too poor to paint, too proud to whitewash"
Morris Dovey wrote:
> With that understood, I did what you should have done before asking to
> be spoon-fed: I did a Google search for what you said you wanted. One
> of the first references was to
> http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/pages/bw0011.asp, where you can
> download a 15-page PDF document that could be helpful.
>
> That document is an exerpt from what appears to be a book worth
> reading before starting your project. If you're lucky, your local
> library will have a copy; and if you're less lucky, you can buy it in
> softcover for twenty bucks.
>
> I think that if I were serious about building a fireplace mantel I'd
> buy the book.
>
I have Mario's book, I built a nice mantel from it. I'd be willing to
sell the book to the OP as I'm done with it.
I give the book an excellent review. IIRC, it gives 8 or 10 plans, but
if none of them are your taste, the construction techniques are
explained in detail, and you can make your own.
"Robatoy" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> In article <[email protected]>,
> "Richard" <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> Folks, I have been out of woodworking for a few years (no lack of love
>> for woodworking, but lack of time), but the wife has been wanting a
>> mantle to go over the fireplace. Does anyone hve any suggestions for
>> sources for plans? Thanks so much in advance, and please reply to
>> [email protected]. Thanks again!
>
> New Yankee Workshop just did a session on a mantle. Maybe you can get
> the plans for it from them? Just a hunch.
>
> http://www.newyankee.com/2006.shtml
>
> Pssssst... I have NOT gone off my rocker. NO I have NO affiliation with
> Norm...not even a little bit.
Yeah, saw that episode, was going to mention it, and one of the things that
came up during the show - building codes. He had to modify his design to
gain code compliance. Apparently there's another step beyond looking and
drawing the mantle or is it "surround" itself.
I really don't believe all the answers have been given - yet - even on the
web, so though I'm as grouchy as the next guy, I'd still like to see a link
to someone's favorite or a picture of their home-grown. Might be the seed
that grows into my next project.
Mario Rodriguez did one in FWW about seven years ago, issue 131, August
1998. Mission style in oak. Really nice job and not too difficult IMH.
Tom Cavanagh
"Richard" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Folks, I have been out of woodworking for a few years (no lack of love
> for woodworking, but lack of time), but the wife has been wanting a
> mantle to go over the fireplace. Does anyone hve any suggestions for
> sources for plans? Thanks so much in advance, and please reply to
> [email protected]. Thanks again!
>
On 10 Jan 2006 20:20:18 -0800, "Richard" <[email protected]> wrote:
>wife has been wanting a
>mantle to go over the fireplace. Does anyone hve any suggestions for
>sources for plans?
Ask your wife! There's no shortage of plans, but you need to decide on
the style first. '50s pastel Jetsons is going to look a bit odd in Oak
Park, Chicago.
IMHE, mantles and overmantels are all pretty easy to design. You draw
out what you want, then the construction of it is pretty simple. Lots of
the joinery is very crude screwed butts from behind, and you just hide
the ugliness against the wall. You might find "American Bungalow" and
similar magazines to be the best source of inspiration.
Richard (in [email protected])
said:
| Folks, I have been out of woodworking for a few years (no lack of
| love for woodworking, but lack of time), but the wife has been
| wanting a mantle to go over the fireplace. Does anyone hve any
| suggestions for sources for plans? Thanks so much in advance, and
| please reply to [email protected]. Thanks again!
Questions posted to usenet groups are answered in the newsgroup - for
the now obvious reason that (a) you're not the only person wanting to
know; and (b) you failed to offer to compensate any of the regulars
for working as your personal consultant.
With that understood, I did what you should have done before asking to
be spoon-fed: I did a Google search for what you said you wanted. One
of the first references was to
http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/pages/bw0011.asp, where you can
download a 15-page PDF document that could be helpful.
That document is an exerpt from what appears to be a book worth
reading before starting your project. If you're lucky, your local
library will have a copy; and if you're less lucky, you can buy it in
softcover for twenty bucks.
I think that if I were serious about building a fireplace mantel I'd
buy the book.
--
Morris Dovey
DeSoto Solar
DeSoto, Iowa USA
http://www.iedu.com/DeSoto/solar.html
Morris Dovey wrote:
> There's a terrific web page (I
> have a link to it at http://www.iedu.com/c/) about how to ask
> "smart questions".
Geez... it's not a page, it's a whole course! Smart people crack me up
sometimes. Seriously, what was the author thinking when he wrote such
a thing? Seemed to me like a bit of intellectual masturbation. The
only people who are going to suffer through all that mess probably
already ask "smart questions".
There, my crabbiness is back in full swing ;-)
Joe Barta
Morris Dovey wrote:
> Richard (in [email protected])
> said:
>
> | Folks, I have been out of woodworking for a few years (no lack
> | of love for woodworking, but lack of time), but the wife has
> | been wanting a mantle to go over the fireplace. Does anyone hve
> | any suggestions for sources for plans? Thanks so much in
> | advance, and please reply to [email protected]. Thanks
> | again!
>
> Questions posted to usenet groups are answered in the newsgroup -
> for the now obvious reason that (a) you're not the only person
> wanting to know; and (b) you failed to offer to compensate any of
> the regulars for working as your personal consultant.
>
> With that understood, I did what you should have done before
> asking to be spoon-fed: I did a Google search for what you said
> you wanted. One of the first references was to
> http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/pages/bw0011.asp, where you
> can download a 15-page PDF document that could be helpful.
>
> That document is an exerpt from what appears to be a book worth
> reading before starting your project. If you're lucky, your local
> library will have a copy; and if you're less lucky, you can buy it
> in softcover for twenty bucks.
>
> I think that if I were serious about building a fireplace mantel
> I'd buy the book.
Point taken and well deserved. That said, you noted that YOU would buy
the book. Not everyone tackles problems/projects in the same way. Me,
if I wanted a mantle I would find a few pictures, decide what I liked
and draw up some plans for myself. But that's me. Other folks have
other ways they go about it.
I can't believe I said that. All this while I think I'm getting more
crabby every year and then I and say something that displays
sensitivity and empathy. Kinda pisses me off actually ;-)
You're right though... here we are connected to the greatest
information resource the world has ever seen and every usenet group
has people routinely asking for stuff that 5 minutes with Google would
supply them with more than they could ever want.
Joe Barta
Joe Barta (in [email protected]) said:
| Morris Dovey wrote:
|
|| There's a terrific web page (I
|| have a link to it at http://www.iedu.com/c/) about how to ask
|| "smart questions".
|
| Geez... it's not a page, it's a whole course! Smart people crack me
| up sometimes. Seriously, what was the author thinking when he wrote
| such a thing? Seemed to me like a bit of intellectual masturbation.
| The only people who are going to suffer through all that mess
| probably already ask "smart questions".
|
| There, my crabbiness is back in full swing ;-)
I think it was originally written to deal with problems experienced in
some high volume technical newsgroups (I was referred to it in
comp.lang.c where there might have been 300+ posts/day) and one to
three dozen regulars providing 90% of the answers. It was when I
eventually became one of those regulars that I developed an
appreciation for the effort put into writing the guide (and added my
web page so that newbies could have a short list of links to
"cluefulness").
The How-To was so useful in helping technical forums be effective
providers of information that it's been translated into a bunch of
languages and has become an unofficial global standard. What's nice is
that it's a "read once" document. It doesn't take a lot of studying to
"get" what it says.
And no, when they're in a panic because the systems for which they're
responsible are behaving pathologically, even some /really/ smart
people don't seem to naturally ask "smart" questions...
--
Morris Dovey
DeSoto Solar
DeSoto, Iowa USA
http://www.iedu.com/DeSoto/solar.html
In article <[email protected]>,
"Richard" <[email protected]> wrote:
> Folks, I have been out of woodworking for a few years (no lack of love
> for woodworking, but lack of time), but the wife has been wanting a
> mantle to go over the fireplace. Does anyone hve any suggestions for
> sources for plans? Thanks so much in advance, and please reply to
> [email protected]. Thanks again!
New Yankee Workshop just did a session on a mantle. Maybe you can get
the plans for it from them? Just a hunch.
http://www.newyankee.com/2006.shtml
Pssssst... I have NOT gone off my rocker. NO I have NO affiliation with
Norm...not even a little bit.
Hi Richard,
Good luck with your mantle project. Below is a link to a plan I build
quite frequently for one of my customers. The columns feature raised
panel elements, the architrave is radiused, and the top is built up
using stock crown molding. The whole thing is made from MDF - you'll
need a sheet of 3/4" mdf, a quarter sheet of 1/2" mdf (for the raised
panels), and a small piece of 1/8" hardboard. When I build this I use
particle board for the blocking and non-exposed pieces to help cut
costs.
http://www.architrend-woodworking.com/uploads/mantle.pdf
Here's my disclaimer: I just moved my plan for it from a spiral bound
notebook page to cad, and haven't built it off this redrawn version of
the plan yet - so you may want to double check the cut list (I've been
know to juxtaposition numbers occasionally). The dimensions for the
rails and stiles are sized to the raised panel bit set that I use -
your bit set will cut differently so these dimensions will probably
need to be adjusted. Also, the dimensions on the top piece and top
blocking will be dependent upon the crown molding that you use.
Here's a hint: make the raised panels first, make the columns out of
the raised panels second, make the center architrave third. Then,
assemble these components and make/attach the top pieces.
This drawing doesn't reference any of the profiles that are routed on
the edges - just about anything will look good, but I suggest using
profiles that are easy to sand after they are primed and not too
delicate as to avoid future damage.
To make the radiused architrave, I made a template from 5/8" particle
board, carefully cut the template out with a jig saw, then laminated a
5/8" wide strip of 1/8" hardboard to the cut surface using glue and
brads. This results in a great template for pattern routing (for
cutting multiples, this saves a load of time and $$$). I was going to
have my template cut on a CNC machine so it would be very accurate, but
this method gave me close to perfect results using pieces from my scrap
bin (read: kept $$$ in my pocket).
Here's a link to the offsets to make your own template. It's easy to
loft the template - just transfer the offsets to both sides of a piece
of particle board then you are ready to go using finish nails at the
offset marks and a flexible batton (I like to use a piece of 1/8"
hardboard that is about 1 1/2 inches wide as a batton when laying out
radius cuts like this).
http://www.architrend-woodworking.com/uploads/radius.pdf
Finally, this mantle is designed to fit a 36" x 36" zero clearance gas
fireplace - remember to adjust the dimenisions to meet your area's
building codes (and to keep your house from burning down!!!).
Good luck,
Scott
--
phillips_idaho
Joe Barta (in [email protected]) said:
| Point taken and well deserved. That said, you noted that YOU would
| buy the book. Not everyone tackles problems/projects in the same
| way. Me, if I wanted a mantle I would find a few pictures, decide
| what I liked and draw up some plans for myself. But that's me.
| Other folks have other ways they go about it.
<vbg> I do the same - but then I like to see how someone who really
knows his/her stuff does it and /why/ they do it that way. It helps me
to avoid some of the not-so-obvious design errors.
| I can't believe I said that. All this while I think I'm getting more
| crabby every year and then I and say something that displays
| sensitivity and empathy. Kinda pisses me off actually ;-)
Yeah sure. :-D
| You're right though... here we are connected to the greatest
| information resource the world has ever seen and every usenet group
| has people routinely asking for stuff that 5 minutes with Google
| would supply them with more than they could ever want.
It's sometimes difficult to keep in mind that search engines are new
and strange to many people. There's a terrific web page (I have a link
to it at http://www.iedu.com/c/) about how to ask "smart questions".
Curmudgeonhood is an aspiration - never an achievement.
--
Morris Dovey
DeSoto Solar
DeSoto, Iowa USA
http://www.iedu.com/DeSoto/solar.html