The fearless band of roundwood timber framers
Our most excellent group of students have disbanded for now, as our 2013 Timber Frame Workshop has come to an end. The group took on the challenge of working with roundwood to construct a traditional mortise and tenon style timber frame, and I must say — they did a great job given the lack of previous experience. Check out a few images of them hard at work below!
Students take on roundwood timber framing this year
Recently, one of the timber frame participants wisely said: ‘if some one offers you a drill, take it.’ I think this quote has wide application, and plan on remembering it. Our instructor Tom Cundiff says he prefers to teach students with minimal or no experience with working wood or timber framing. In his view, those individuals are more open to being taught and absorbing new information. If some one already thinks they have the answer, it can be harder to teach something new or different.
The students this year are doing a great job thus far. Most have had zero or little timber framing & carpentry experience, but it’s amazing how quickly people catch on in a workshop setting. It’s really fun to witness that. The sponge effect is definitely happening. It’s also interesting to see the evolution of understanding — how experiencing different parts of the timber framing procedure gradually create a more fully formed image and understanding. All of a sudden you’ll see that “a-ha!” moment. I know I’ve felt that myself, too.
Calm before the storm…
Our batch of students for the 2013 Timber Frame Workshop arrive this afternoon, and we are in that interesting moment in time right before a lot of activity, anticipating, getting the last few things in order, and looking forward to the 10 days ahead. This year’s workshop feels vastly different than last, since April and I (a.k.a., The Year of Mud) are acting as hosts and organizers, or masters of ceremonies. We’ll be ducking in and out of the class itself, too, but the labor is much more evenly distributed this year, which is really nice.
Anyway, we love hosting workshops and meeting new people, and reveling in the excitement that is part of participating with a group of people on a project in an organized way. These workshops are like an extension of community, although temporary. But a sure sign of success, despite how temporary and brief these workshops ultimately are, is maintaining contact with former participants.
Well, look forward to updates throughout the week! We’ll make daily updates on The Year of Mud on facebook, too.
Coming soon!
In less than a month, we’ll be fearlessly led by our maestro Tom Cundiff in assembling the beautiful timber frame that you see above during our 10 day workshop. This is going to be a particularly slick design, and rather unique for several of its features. The foundation plan is highly irregular — read: non-square, also read: organic, wild and crazy, funky. It’s a small structure, about 300 square feet in size, and a great learning model for folks interested in small house living.
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This will soon become a long-lasting timber frame house…
This pile of wood will soon undergo a magical transformation. With a team of builders, the timbers will be laid out with squares, levels, and chalk lines. The wood will be cut with saws, and struck with axes and chisels. Later, the once seemingly random logs will be snugly fit together like a giant puzzle. And then, what was once a big pile of raw logs will become a magnificent timber frame, the skeleton for a small house.
Yup, all of these locally harvested black locust trees are material for the roundwood timber frame we will build during the 2013 Timber Frame Workshop. I love to see a pile of wood and realize the potential for a completely new life for that material!
You can still be a part of that team of builders that turns these logs into a lovely timber frame. We’ve got a mere 3 spaces remaining. Check out the Timber Frame Workshop 2013 details and be sure to register!
There is a little less than one short month until our Extra Early Registration for the 2013 Timber Frame Workshop at Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage ends. You can save nearly 25% off the cost of the workshop by applying now, so don’t wait any longer!
Roundwood timber framing implements whole trees, eliminating the waste from milling larger trees into dimensional timbers, and offers a host of other benefits in the realm of timber frame construction.
Our Timber Frame Workshop this year will focus rather heavily on roundwood joinery and techniques, which I do believe is rather unique to this class. If you’re curious about implementing whole trees in natural building, you’ll have your chance this summer.
And be sure to check out my guest post for Tiny House Design here — 3 Benefits of Roundwood Timber Framing.
Image source: Ben Law’s Woodland Home
People often write me and ask how to get into or learn about natural building and living a more sustainable lifestyle. Unfortunately (?), the answer is fairly predictable, but all the same, it is worth addressing here. The answer is this: the best way to learn whatever you want to do is to get firsthand experience. Sorry to say, but it’s that simple.
When to comes to a specialized skill, there is no replacement for getting firsthand experience. Reading books and looking at images online is one thing, and one thing only — a mere taste, a slight dip of the spoon. All of that goes out the window when you try the thing (say, building) itself. Because putting an idea into practice is an entirely different experience from intellectualizing or daydreaming about it.
But that is the “business” I feel most passionate about, and want to encourage more than anything to the readers of this blog, to the people I meet, and to anyone who has an itch to do anything new. Go out there, get experience, create connections, and give it a try.
We are very pleased to announce a new Timber Frame Workshop for the summer of 2013, as part of our natural building workshop program! Based on the success of last year’s class, we’ll be hosting another workshop here at Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage to teach folks all about the beautiful craft of timber frame construction.
We are happy to announce our first building workshops of 2013 — come learn how to build your own backyard, wood fired oven in our Cob Oven Workshop.
In September and October, visit Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage in Missouri for our latest three day natural building course — learn cob oven construction essentials, and get a great glimpse into sustainable living in a well-known ecovillage community in the process.
Outdoor ovens are extremely popular, and for good reason. A cob oven can be built with inexpensive natural and recycled materials, and the results are fantastic. No pizza party will ever be the same again!
Hi there, I’m Ziggy. In 2008, I launched The Year of Mud while building my first natural home. This blog is a collection of personal stories and experiences building with clay, straw, and wood over the past 15+ years. A few of the things that get me fired up are natural plasters, timber framing, & Japanese architecture. Since 2012, we’ve been hosting Natural Building Workshops so you can learn essential skills to build your own natural home.
