This is a project done for a friend of the family on commission. I pitched a live edge mantel using locally harvested wood and ended up picking Monkey Puzzle which is also known as Chilean Pine (although it is not technically a pine). It is both ancient since it has existed since the time of the dinosaurs and endangered since its tall, straight trunks made it very attractive as a lumber species in its native Chile and Argentina. It was planted as an ornamental tree in the St. Petersburg area and harvested by a company called Viable Lumber that specializes in urban-harvested wood.
Down here in Southern Florida, there is a dearth of quality woodworking trees. Most of what grows naturally is palm, southern yellow pine, cypress and live oak. The first two aren’t really suited for woodworking and the latter two are illegal to harvest, at least down here. As a result, almost everything is an “exotic” wood by the time it arrives here because it has to be cut elsewhere and shipped, though not necessarily across international lines. Viable Lumber attempts to fill that void and caters to a variety of furniture makers, cabinet shops, woodturners and the like.
The construction of the mantel was pretty straight forward. The triangular corbels are mortised into the slab and are mounted to the wall via a sliding dovetail. The finish is boiled linseed oil with multiple top coats of a mineral oil and beeswax mixture. In the first picture, there is a small bowl/platter I turned out of some leftover material.
http://lumberjocks.com/assets/pictures/projects/418809-196x130.jpg
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