Mantel Project

The mantel before: not bad, but room for improvement if I wanted it to fit with everything else I had going on in the house. As big as the fireplace is, I thought the mantel needed to be a little bulkier.
Plus, I still had a good bit of salvaged wood left in the garage :)

The profile of the original mantel.  

Removed the little strip of molding..

Planed, glued, clamped, sanded.. the boards I had in the garage. Square nails, knots, and all!

Wrapped a wider band around the existing mantel..

Top in position..

The final profile! The square nails are still showing through on some of these end pieces. 

I actually made that cove molding underneath on the table saw..
..couldn't find a router bit big enough to make it look the way I wanted it.
Improvising.

All done!
I might stain/oil it, or I might leave it raw like this. I'll decide later :)