Fireplace wooden beam result

[Damon]

Hi all,

Thought I would share my latest little win.

The house next to my motherinlaws are having some substantial work done at present. It's a C17 (I think) timberframed building and at one point used to be rectangular. :lol:

Laying ontop of the rubbish pile was this rather ragged oak roof beam looking very very sorry for itself. I popped my head in and made sure it was ok to take and it was confirmed it was heading for the landfill!

Here's what I've rescued. The mrs' says I see potential in anything!

 

[Damon]

I ran the woodsaw down the entire length of the beam and then cut off the edges to length. I finished it off with a hand plane and then given it a good rub down with linseed oil. I've just applied its first of multiple coats but even with just one coat it's a thing of beauty.

And in front of its new home

The fireplace will be rendered once we get to that part of our renovation. We are 2 months in of house ownership and its looking more like a building site that ever!

Many thanks,

Damon

 

[LadyArowana]

Result indeed, it's beautiful, and wonderful it didn't get thrown away. Will it get covered or can it be kept visible? almost seems a shame if it won't be seen. And well done for seeing potential in things, too much waste these days

 

[Damon]

Appreciate the kind words. It'll definitely be kept visible as its much too nice to hide under render.

Thanks,

Damon.

 

[Mickey]

Just a thought isn't linseed oil highly combustible, perhaps this is alarmist and not really a problem but if you are lighting a fire in there might be worth considering the risk?

Well done for saving it from landfill by the way.

Mickey

 

[Damon]

Mickey,

Linseed oil wet rags have been known to self combustion. Haven't seen it myself however.

This fireplace is going to house the cooker as its in the kitchen so there shouldn't be naked flames anywhere near it.

Thanks. Damon.

 

[CliffordPope]

How horrible. It was a nice old beam until you vandalised it. Now it's just another pseudo "period feature".

 

[LadyArowana]

How horrible. It was a nice old beam until you vandalised it. Now it's just another pseudo "period feature".

Errr, shouldn't your ire be directed at the person who ripped it from its original place and threw it in the skip? Seems a little harsh, what was he supposed to do? Leave it to go to landfill? just keep it as a piece of wood that was the wrong shape for his project? Have someone weld up a frame and exhibit it like a piece of art? That strikes me as no more honest than just sensibly re-using it, devoid of it's original setting it loses its history anyway, at least this way it isn't wasted

 

[DavidB]

Nice bit of wood and much better above your fireplace than landfill.

With regard to potential self-combustion - apparently it's not the linseed oil itself that causes a fire hazard but the solvents used to thin it and saturated rags that are dangerous see here: http://www.woodworkdetails.com/knowledge/finishing/linseed-oil so I suspect that once the wood has fully dried then you will be ok to put heat next to it.

If you were worried you could always take an off-cut of wood and soak it in the linseed oil and test it somewhere safe.

However, I read somewhere a disadvantage of linseed oil as a finish for wood was that it attracted dust and dirt and stuff got stuck to it - although my old cricket bat never seemed to have an issue with this or self-combustion. That said I think it depends on what linseed oil you use (see link above). If you find the surface doesn't seem to dry and feels sticky then you could always try cleaning it with a dry rag and then applying beeswax on top. Again you could try a small piece of the off-cut as a test piece.

By the way I bought a similar piece of reclaimed oak as a brace for £40 so either way you have a nice result.

 

[MikeG]

Linseed oil and oak aren't a great combination. Watch that go a funny orange brown colour (think stale urine!) over the next 12 months. Much better to leave it au naturale IMO.

 

[88v8]

Linseed oil and oak aren't a great combination. Watch that go a funny orange brown colour (think stale urine!) over the next 12 months. Much better to leave it au naturale IMO.

Ah, that's an interesting point. I've only linseeded external oak. Most recently an Edwardian garden bench.

In a damp environment such as a kitchen I'd be tempted to oil it with something, to prevent the grain from fluffing.

Ivor

 

[88v8]

How horrible. It was a nice old beam until you vandalised it. Now it's just another pseudo "period feature".

It's a pov. One could have left the 'patina' of years on it, on it rather than cutting & sanding to a new face. But it was a patina from elsewhere, and arguably as inappropriate to its new home.

Ivor

 

[JoceAndChris]

I imagine CliffordPope is just having a bit of fun with an ironic remark!

I'd describe myself as a radical purist ( though it depends on your definition) but I do like that. Good call damon.

 

[MikeG]

........Laying ontop of the rubbish pile was this rather ragged oak roof beam looking very very sorry for itself. I popped my head in and made sure it was ok to take and it was confirmed it was heading for the landfill!.........

Do the people who are working on that house know what they are doing? That isn't some random "roof beam". That's an arched brace. Domestically, in a roof, that may well be pegged into something like a crown-post. Or it could be a wind brace in the roof plane, bracing between a principal truss and a purlin. Anyone hauling arched braces out of a roof is vandalising it, and if that building is listed, I'd report them myself. This is actually a crying shame, seeing timbers like that going into a skip.

Once out of its rightful place it is next to worthless. Shame as it is to see mediaeval craftsmanship get sawn and planed away, once it is lost from the roof it may as well be burned, because with timbers, context is everything. I wouldn't have done what you've done with it, but I've got no problem with you doing that. I do, however, have a major problem with the cretins who have taken a sound timber out of an ancient roof.

 

[Me!]

With regard to potential self-combustion - apparently it's not the linseed oil itself that causes a fire hazard but the solvents used to thin it and saturated rags that are dangerous see here: http://www.woodworkdetails.com/knowledge/finishing/linseed-oil

Erm, sorry David I don't wish to be rude, but that website is wrong. Linseed oil, even the pure natural stuff is indeed a "drying oil" although technically it is actually a chemical hardening process by reaction with oxygen in the air.

But more importantly, it is the linseed oil itself that can generate heat and spontaneously combust if left on rags, not the solvents as suggested on the woodworkdetails link.

I know you shouldn't believe everything on Wikipedia, but this article looks correct to me in all the important details - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drying_oil

 

[DavidB]

Thanks for pointing that out Me! That explains why my cricket bat never felt sticky.
I still think I'd heat/flame test an off-cut before lighting the fire... just to be sure.