Rough sawn reclaimed wood mantel beams are also referred to as live sawn or rough cut, and are squared up or dimensioned by a saw --be it human powered or mechanically driven--as opposed to dimensioning by hand with an axe (Hand Hewn).

Rough Sawn wood describes timbers that were dimensioned with saws to convert round tree logs into dimensional lumber.

All of the wood used in the raising of a barn starts as a round tree, a log. In order to convert these spherical logs into usable and uniform sizes for joining to one another they must be dimensioned. Dimensioning is cutting the timber into dimensions such as 2" x 10", with flat or relatively flat mating surfaces. The first cutting step in this process is the rough cutting or rough sawing away the outer original face. For rough sawn beams they were dimensioned with a saw of some type.

Most common are the mechanically driven large circular saws or even bandsaws. These saws are very aggressive and tend to leave behind saw marks, hence the term 'rough sawn'. Though 'rough cut', rough sawn has a cleaner, more dimensional look than the more rustic hand hewn material. The look is entirely up to you. For reclaimed barn wood mantel ideas, you can choose a rough cut wood mantel by any name, including rough sawn and you'll be pleased.

For wood that was dimensioned by hand, with an axe; those are called Hand Hewn. See our Hand Hewn Reclaimed Barn Wood Mantels here.