At work out by the airport dumpsters, there was this hunk of wood someone left there. It sat for months. I really don't just salvage stuff, unless I'm absolutely sure I can use it. I figured, at least it could be firewood.....It had a deep weathered surface, was 7" X 12" X 8 1/2'. Just looking at splinters I thought it was Douglas Fir, but it was very heavy. So it sat in my yard for another year.
Byron loaned me his table saw, which also sat for a year. It will cut much deeper than the skilsaw most of the house was built with. When I started making the cuts, a rich chocolate smell filled the cottage--a distinct old oak smell.
It took a few hours just to cut the rough shape and the blade wasn't quite deep enough, so a sawzall finished the cuts. The wood is so hard the circuit breaker kept popping and the wood burned as it cut.
After trudging through the plumbing and fire sprinkler steps, doing some artsy work was a welcomed change.
I really like the contrast of the old weathered wood and the newly cut/deeply sanded oak. It was very tempting to make the mantel oversized just to not waste the wood, but I think this is correct. You can see the small dry rot section in the first picture. Sanding some of this out made the bottom edge kind of crookedy, which I could have sawn straight---but I kind of like the feel now. My brother Bob would call it 'organic' I think.
Craigslist had this wetsaw listed for $50. I bought a new blade (another $50) spent some time getting it working, grabbed the closest rock, and started cutting. It's beautiful. This will face the fireplace and chimney.
The other free find are some large wood bifold doors that will fit the 8' closet space. The whole 'repurposed' theme is NOT part of goal with this place, but when you find really good stuff that fits and is free, all the better
1 comment:
Looks great!
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