I had a chance to visit Longleaf lumber in Cambridge, MA today. They specialize in milling reclaimed lumber into beams, mantles, floors, and barn-board for walls.

I visited in search of two things: information on their barn-board to supplement some of what I was able to harvest from a barn out in Bedford, MA a few weeks ago and find a beam to fashion into a light for over the dining room table.

After poking around the warehouse for about an hour I came across the perfect beam. It’s reclaimed oak that’s been milled on all four sides to showcase the wood and has a key-shape joinery cutout where it would have mated with another piece of wood in it’s former life.

Stay tuned for a step-by-step on building a vintage light fixture!

This is it. The perfect beam for my light fixture!