Conference 7.286::home_work

I know that Parlee in Littleton (the one you can see from 495), cuts them to
order.  I've seen people picking up big slabs.  Only problem with the slabs
is that's they're GREEN!  Then also will custom cut for you, so if you happen
to have a dry tree trunk, bring that down.

-mark

    Another place that may help you is Bingham Lumber in Brookline,
    NH.  Most of their wood is dry (kiln or PAD).  

    2 suggestions:
    
    New England Hardwood Supply in Littleton will custom cut a piece
    of most any kind of stock lumber. (They have dry red and white oak,
    maple, cherry, birch and sometime walnut.)
    
    Moore's Lumber in Ayer. They have a mill which will make up just
    about anything that you can describe.  They too have kiln dried
    stock.

    Where is New England Hardwood? Is it 2A?
                                                   thanks,
                                                   Ed

    re: -1
    
    NEHW is located on Taylor Street in Littleton.  This street is the
    exit off of Route 2 just west of the intersection of Rt 2 with
    Rt 495.  They are about 1/2 mile from the exit ramp on Taylor St.
    If you take Route 2A west throught Littleton, take a left past
    the Exxon station - Wayside Services.  Taylor Street is the next
    cross street after you go over the railroad tracks. Take a left
    onto it.
    

    Thanks,I'll give them a try. I also heard of a place on rt140 on
    the way to Shrewsberry. It sets off on the right hand side behind
    some buildings.
                                                                   
     thanks again,
              Ed

    The place on RT 140 is at La Boteca just off RT 290.  They have
    all kinds of wood from all over the world.  You can get anything
    you need there.  As long as it's not in large amounts.  
    

NE hardwood supply has good hardwood prices, but for a mantle-sized piece of 
dry wood you'll probably wind up spending at least $50.  If you don't mind 
pine, any local sawmill, such as Parlee's, can cut and plane a green pine one 
for you for about $10.  White pine only shrinks about 2% while drying, so you 
could just put it up green and let it dry in place.

The other option would be to go to some big lumberyards that deal in special 
lumber.  For example, at East Coast Lumber, you can special order Douglas Fir 
beams up to about 15"x24"x40'.  But that would probably cost about the same as 
hardwood.

The wood place on Rt 140 in Shrewsbury (The Factory Lumber Outlet) is closed 
until January for renovations.  They had an amazing wood clearance sale in 
August, which was mentioned in the TOOLS notesfile.  I spent about $400, and 
got about $3800 worth of exotic woods, including bloodwood, east indian 
rosewood, english brown oak, padouk, wenge, etc, etc, etc.  They are going to 
have another good sale when they reopen.  I'm on their mailing list, so I'll 
post it here.

Paul

    How about stone mantles?   I'm looking for a cut slab of granite
    or marble.   Any suggestions on where to get one about 5 ft. long,
    9 to 10 inches wide, and cut to my specs?   It'll need a 2"x6" 
    piece extending at the back for insertion into the brick backing.
    I found one source - a place that sells grave headstones, any others?

    Try Barretto Granite in Milford, N.H. (673-2372). Fletchers quarrie
    in Westford will also custom cut granite but they are expensive.
    Barretto's is a smaller operation. They welcome small orders. Last
    time I went shopping for granite they were about a third the price
    of Fletchers. 

Precourt, on Union Rd in Sudbury, Ma, is one of the biggest stoneyards around.  
I'm not sure if they have granite, but they have a lot of bluestone and 
flagstone in various sizes.  I once got a 2'X 3'X 2" slab for a shelf in a 
brick wall there.  They have good prices - about half the price for flagstone as
Corriveau-Routhier up here in Nashua, which is the biggest masonry supplier in 
this area.  I'm sure you could get a mantlepiece there.

Paul

    Marcello's Marble and Tile will custom cut any size, shape or type
    of marble, but it's expensive.  They're on Rt 9 in Framingham across
    the street from the old Chateau de'Ville.
    
    -al

    Anyone seen a good collection of drawings/specs they can recommend 
    or better yet, sell or lend?
    
    I've been able to find a mantle drawing here or there, but never  a
    number of them together under one or two covers.  I know there are 
    a fair number of photos in some of the old colonial home books, but 
    there are rarely profiles or dimensions.  I must be either too busy, 
    too old or too lazy to attack a photo w/calipers and back-engineer 
    one.
    
    Having priced pre-fabs, though, there's no way I'm too busy/tired/lazy 
    to go that route!  ANy suggestions?
    
    	tony
    

    We put together a mantel out of a plank (1x10?) and some nice molding. 
    Came out quite well and didn't cost anywhere near what they were asking
    for the prefabricated kinds.
    
    ------------------ <--------plank
    |                /
    |<--2x4 or 2x6  /
    |              / <-------molding 
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Sorry, I should've been more specific.  I'm looking for drawings 
    or profiles of the entire mantel, not just the mantle shelf - 
    although I guess "mantel"does tend to mean "shelf most often.
    Thanks anyway.
    
    	tony

    Some styles of mantels don't have "legs" (what are these really called?).
    We live in a cheap, modern-looking box ranch, and the fireplace has a
    mantel with no legs.  It's similar to the one in the drawing, but not
    as massive.  There is a thick plank on top, attached to a plank running
    down the bricks.  There is a piece of corner molding (2 1/2" wide) in
    the 90 degree joint between the planks.  It fits the decor, since the
    fireplace is very plain.

    The most rustic mantel I've seen was in NH, in a 150 year old house.
    The house originally had an attached barn, which was converted to more
    rooms quite some time ago (probably when they put in the ice house).
    The fireplace was round stones with mortar, and the mantel was a 4 inch
    think slice of a tree with the bark still on.  It was built right into
    the chimney, and I believe it provided structural support -- sort of a
    header over the opening.  By the way, the fireplace didn't draw well at
    all, and the one time my brother-in-law got a fire roaring in it we
    got the impression that the slab of wood was smouldering...

    Home Depot has three colonial surround kits at around $175, made of
    solid oak, poplar or pine, also available pre-finished.  I was
    interested in the mantel only which they sell for $70.  Costing the
    wood and moulding to make a 6' softwood equivalent came out at around
    $55 (more likely $100 when I screw up the  compound mitre joint on
    the moulding).

    I also saw some kits made of crappy particle board in Builders Square at
    around $260, primed ready to paint.
    
    regards,
    
    Colin

I waltzed through the Galleria mall in downtown Worcester this past Saturday
and was surprised to see a little place in there that does custom woodworking. 
They had furniture and a few beautiful mantels that you could measure up and
admire.

Pete

    .18:
    Yup. I've checked out HD's offering. Problem was, the style they
    had in poplar (paint) was what I wanted in oak (stain) and their 
    stock is their stock, i.e. what they order, they order in BULK,
    hence low cost/aggressive price.  I agree, at $200&change, it's
    tempting.  However, if I order the poplar design in oak ("special 
    order"), the price nearly doubles. I can do that well or better
    at a millwork outfit.
    
    .19:
    Not a bad idea.  Maybe if times were better and craftsmen not so
    hungry, I'd try it.  As it is, I'm not sure that asking me to
    leave is the worst they'd do! ;-)
    
    Well, next stop is the back pages of some back issues of FWW. Maybe..
    
    	tony