clad beam in Oak, advice please

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Hi I have a steel beam with rough timber each side and I would like to clad it in Oak to match other Oak bits I have done in our house, which is basically smooth light American/European Oak with a chamfered/routed edge.

The beam is approx. 3.4m long and the existing beam size to cover is about 16cm x 16cm.

I was thinking of getting 3 planks of Oak about 25mm thick but I don't want it to be obvious it is 3 planks, I would like it to look like a proper single beam.

I was going to drill holes for screw fixings so I can fix it to the existing rough beam and then plug the holes with Oak plugs, I have some of the right type to match.

Can anybody give me any tips, i.e. best way to do it and best way to hide the fact it is 3 planks rather than a solid beam?

Should I put the bottom piece inside the 2 uprights or cover the bottoms of the 2 uprights by placing the bottom so it covers the bottom edges of the uprights to get the best look?

I will chamfer the edge of the relevant piece/pieces before I fit it up, for ease.

Incidentally I am after a smooth Oak finish not a rough dark pub like one, so I always plane and sand to achieve that, just thought that worth mentioning for a mental picture.

Any help info appreciated.
 
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The right way to hide the rather obvious grain at the corners is to make a mitred corner, preferably with either biscuits or a glued loose tongue to support the joint. It does require a decent table saw or somethong like a Festool saw to achieve this, however
 
If you don't have the tools mentioned by j&k then probably be best to have the timber machined by a professional and then you do the fitting.
 
If you are chamfering or moulding the timber then you could get away with not mitring . Fit the bottom piece first leaving the edges square. Incidentally you can use metal angle plates to fix the bottom piece , saves fixing through the face and the plates are hidden by the side pieces. Now to the side pieces. Personally I'd use something like an ovolo mould rather than a chamfer with the edge of the moulded side piece kept up from the lower face of the bottom timber so that the joint between the two timbers is actually a line of the moulding . Hope that makes sense.
 
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Thanks guys, so can I assume you guys think 25mm thick is about right for this purpose?
 
i assume you mean ex 1" that will be around 20-21mm planed then yes
will also come up as 165-169 if its ex 7" so again fine
 

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