Hi all;
Thought I’d seek your advice on something: I’m building (or planning) a very simple mantel shelf for my in-laws. I’m pretty much an amateur, but I’ve done some things before. It’s for a rough-hewn stone wall, so I want to minimize contact in order to minimize scribing, chipping away rock, etc.. My plan is to bandsaw a recess in some long wall brackets, so only the ends make contact, then attach shelf brackets to these, and just drop the mantel on. My real question is, for the shelf brackets (which will be approximately 6-7 in. long and about 4 in. on the face that gets attached to the wall bracket), should the grain run horizontally (i.e. the long way under the shelf) or vertically (same as the wall bracket) or diagonally? I’m worried about strength, splitting, etc. Alternatively, is this whole thing a bad idea?
Thanks in advance for any tips…
Replies
hello benito
If I have got your idea correct I would go for VERTICAL as the recessed brackets. I don't know how you were going to fix the mantel to the brackets but I would suggest a dovetail on the top of the bracet and a matching routed housing in the underside of the mantel shelf. This would allow both timbers to move but would stop mantel cupping. Alternative fixing, threaded bar drilled horizonally into stone face of chimney fixed with resin leaving approx 6'' sticking out ,drill corresponding holes in back of mantel shelf slide onto bar with resin.( look no brackets) this would need the mantel to be about 2'' thick to look right.
regard teabag.
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