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Pocket screws were the
primary fastening
system. Using a Kreg Foreman made it easy
to drill all the holes. |
I put one
carpenter on the pilasters. He assembled the face
frames first. |
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The sides were fastened
to the frames with
butt joints. As the pocket screws are driven
in, they push the sides, so be sure to leave
the face frames proud of the sides by a
fingernail.
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To make life
easier, clamp the entire pilaster to a worktable
and it will stay still while clamping and screwing
the sides to the face frame.
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When assembling these
butt joints, be sure the sides are never proud
of the face frame. If the face frame is a bit
proud, that's okay. Use a laminate trimmer to
flush the butt joint perfectly. |
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While the pilasters were
being assembled, I
made the center panel for the overmantel.
I first cut the panel to size, then made the
pocket cut for the large recessed box.
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Using a plunge
cutting saw and guide (and dust collection) made
the cut easy, clean, and precise.
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The center panel was taller
than four fee,
so I added on to the top, joining the
splice with biscuits.
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Both panels
were attached to a 2 in. frame using brads and
glue. I had planned on using 1/2 in. mdf for the
face of the mantel, but chose to use 3/4 instead,
which provided an additional 1/4 in. of depth
for the recessed boxes, and made the frame stiffer.
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I used a scrap of 3/4
in. stock as a
trammel arm.
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And cut the
two arches with a jig saw.
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The arches
didn't have to be perfect, just close
for the panel molding, so I sanded to the
trammel mark.
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The keystone
wasn't thick enough to span both steps between
the two layered arches, so I made a backboad.
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I surrounded the backboard
with 1/2 in. molding.
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Using a pull
saw and Shinto rasp, I notched the molding for
each layer of 1/2 in. mdf.
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The trim around the backboard
had to be
high enough to provide a termination point
for the panel molding. The keystone had to
be positioned so that it butted into the
nosing above.
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Using a scrap
of mdf, I positioned the keystone square and on
a straight line with the backboard trim, then
glued and fastened everything with 23ga brads.
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The tablet came next.
I made it 1 1/4 in. thick
so that the miter returns wouldn't be too
small to notice.
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The height
of the tablet had to allow for the nosing between
the tablet and the keystone. I fastened the table
with screws.
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I prefer
pre-assembling mitered trim whenever possible,
so that I can concentrate on getting tight joints
and not have to fight with underlayment problems. |
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I installed the bed layer
for the crown but not
the crown. The crown had to be installed on
the jobsite, to span from the mantel to the
ceiling.
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With my drawings
and the molding catalogue nearby, I made sure
to install the scrolls in the proper position.
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The fluting at the top of
the overmantel is cut from fluted casing, with
the ends ripped down so that the vertical joints
aren't noticeable. Each piece had to be back planed
to fit tightly, and glued solidly to the undelayment.
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Once the pilasters and
frieze panels were
complete, we assembled the upper and lower stages.
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The upper stage leans
up against the wall while I'm assembling the lower
mantel.
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To cut rabbeted panel
molding, use a jig the
same thickness as the rabbet. Measurements
are always taken at the long point, so make
sure the long point of the molding is facing
you and not the fence.
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Slide the
mitered piece up to the edge of the jig, then
flush the real long point (it's under the rabbet)
with the edge of the jig so you can hook your
tape measure. Add one rabbet width to each measured
length.
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Spring clamps
make it possible to preassemble all moldings.
Pre-assembling panel molding makes the job much
easier, faster, and cleaner. |
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Once the spring clamps
are positioned on
each corner, flip the molding over.
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Swivel the
spring clamps up out of the way.
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And nail off the miters
with two brads in each corner.
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Apply glue
to the back of the molding.
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Then set the 1/4 in. back
on the frame.
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Fasten the
back with short brads or staples, then use a wet
tooth brush to clean out the miters and any squeeze
out between the panel and the molding.
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I don't glue the panels
in, preferring to use brads alone, in case the
panels and face frames expand and contract at
different rates. |
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The bed band for the lower
mantel went on next, then the lower corbels. |
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And finally the lower
mantelshelf and crown. We used the same nosing
on the lower shelf that was used in the overmantel
between the tablet and the keystone. |
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After turning the lower
mantel around,
we applied supports to the back of the
panels, so they couldn't be pushed in.
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Supports
were added inside the face frames too. These weren't
glued to the panels, only to the face frames.
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I lined up
the dentil blocks on the outside corners and let
the inside corners fall where they would. |
Before shipping the mantel
to the job, I pre-assembled the upper crown molding.
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We started
the installation by installing backing boards
for the additional pilasters, then slipped the
pilasters over the backing (left). Once the pilasters
were scribed to fit tightly against the drywall,
we didn't have to scribe the mantel itself.
The additional
pilasters required a minor remodel to the lower
mantel: we used pocket screws to add a 2 1/2 in.
frame to the back of the lower mantel around the
firebox opening (above). |
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Next we installed backing
for the lower mantel pilasters.
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Then moved
the lower mantel into position.
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We
slipped the pilasters over the backing, then shimmed
the lower mantel level.
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After fastening
the lower mantel to the backing with trim-head
screws, we attached backing to the pilasters for
the upper mantel.
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The original
recess box was 10 in. deep. We remolded that case
on the jobsite, using the Festool plunge-cutting
saw and pocket screws. |
The upper mantel went
in just as easily, without having to scribe the
upper pilasters because they sat flat against
the full-height flanking pilasters. |
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Turning the box over, we
used a laminate trimmer to flush the joint between
the two boxes (above).
Then fastened the recess
box in place, flush with the face of the mantelpiece
(right). |
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All
that remained was applying the trim, starting
with the self returns.
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The pre-assembled crown
went on next.
Then we applied
backing on the sides for the panel molding.
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Marking
tangent lines for the panel molding on the arches.
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Cutting
the flex molding and finishing up the trim on
the face of the overmantel.
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Positioning
the mounting hardware. |
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The
finished mantelpiece |
