[Medic-5150]

Hello Everyone,


I'm going to be replacing my old mantle with a new one. I picked up a Douglas Fir beam from a second hand lumber store. Dimensions are 12x6x8. It's currently a little long and a little deep, I was going to cut to length with a chainsaw and rip to width with a table saw. My big questions is does the beam have to be complete dry to begin working with it? I plan to use the Shou Sugi Ban technique and put some sort of protective coating on it. The beam is checked already so it is not completely green but it is also no kiln dried.



Any suggestions on coatings to use? it is above an active wood burning stove.


Cheers,
Andrew

 

[Nealtw]

If you have access to a moisture meter you could check the center after you have cut it to length.

 

[Medic-5150]

If you have access to a moisture meter you could check the center after you have cut it to length.

What is an acceptable moisture content to torch/poly?

 

[Nealtw]

What is an acceptable moisture content to torch/poly?

I don't now about that but if the interior is a lot different than the outside that can cause a warp if you rip one side off as it moves the center closer to one side. :wink2:

 

[Medic-5150]

I don't now about that but if the interior is a lot different than the outside that can cause a warp if you rip one side off as it moves the center closer to one side. :wink2:

Good point! Thanks!

 

[Medic-5150]

For anyone interested, here is the final product. We ended up using General Finishes HP semi gloss.

 

[Nealtw]

Looks good.

 

[chandler48]

Does look good, checks and all !!

 

[ratherbefishing]

Looks good!

 

[Medic-5150]

Thank you everyone! The shou sugi ban took about 2 hours. We sprayed the poly on with an HVLP and it turned out really well.