Go Big or Go Home

This week saw me undertaking the last and largest piece of the fireplace: the mantle piece. A spinner with a 9" diametre diamond blade was used to remove mass quickly. However, as usual all work gets finished with mallet and chisels. The limestone piece is big and heavy and requires at least two people to move position.

At 40" wide the top of the mantle is the longest run I've carved thus far. Keeping the surface flat and square over that distance requires focus and frequent checks with my combination square.

Most of my effort this week is just removing mass and blocking out the form. Next week the real work begins of applying and extruding profiles. Eventually, I'll be carving out the inset panels, a new skill to be learned.