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Timber Framing

Mar 12
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Headed to Texas… to Timber Frame

By Timber Framing
Timber Framers Guild Workshop

On left: the pavilion we will soon help build in Texas

In just over a week, The Year of Mud crew (April, Jacob, and I) will all be headed to Texas. I never thought I would have reason to say I’m going to Texas, but here we are: Texas beckons, and we are heeding the call. More specifically, the Timber Framers Guild beckons, as they are hosting a week-long workshop to build a large outdoor pavilion in the historic town of Nacogdoches. Interestingly, this will be the first workshop I attend that is not our own, and I’m excited for the opportunity to purely participate in some one else’s event. Since our timber frame instructor Tom Cundiff first worked with us in 2011, I have been very excited by the possibility of attending a TFG event, and the stars have aligned.

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Nov 17
Love1
how to build a diy wooden spiral staircase

Our Work is Done: Building The Roundwood Spiral Staircase

By Carpentry, Timber Framing, Strawtron

how to build a diy wooden spiral staircase

At last, I’m here to report that April and I finished building our wooden spiral staircase.  Over the course of five days, literally up to the day before we left Dancing Rabbit, we installed the risers and treads. The spiral staircase design came from our dearest Tom Cundiff, who instructed us on the layout over the phone and in person during our last Timber Frame Workshop. It took us a while to fully grasp the layout and the flow of things, but once we understood the principles, it went fairly smoothly. Well, the actual building was extremely physically taxing, but I digress.

And so this is our attempt at a DIY wooden spiral staircase. Here’s how we built it.

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Nov 13
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Nearly Completing the Spiral

By Carpentry, Timber Framing, Strawtron
Building a Sprial Staircase

Mortising into the dark of evening

The roundwood spiral staircase that we have been feverishly building for the last five days is about 98% complete. As we simultaneously pack for our trip to Berea, there are mounds of wood chips on the floor of the house, oiled slabs of elm causing the house to smell like a citrus grove, and aching backs howling for a good rubbing.

It’s been an intense project, but the results are stunning. I’ll reveal the full staircase soon, but for now, here’s another glimpse of what we’ve been doing. I can hardly believe it’s come together.

Nov 10
Love0

Our Last (and Greatest) Task

By Carpentry, Timber Framing, Strawtron
Roundwood Sprial Staircase - First 2 Steps

First two steps installed… starting from the top, and working down

We have decided to take on our last and greatest task literally days before we leave Dancing Rabbit for Berea, Kentucky. In these final few days before we move, we are building a spiral staircase in our timber frame house. It is a rather foolish thing to do, but important, too.

We have literally 3 or so days left to try to finish the beast. And it is a beast, let me tell you. Drilling and chiseling 11 mortises in a roundwood post, making an equal number of stair risers with tenons, sawing/planing/gouging/oiling the 3″ elm slab steps… not to mention, having the wrap our puny minds around the layout has been quite the ordeal, to say the least. We are finally in the swing of things now that we have the layout firmly established, but the physical side of the work is still very intense.

Here are a few photos of what we are doing up until the literal minute we leave. Sometimes I wonder about these decisions we make…

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Sep 01
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Roundwood Timber Framers Unite: More Timber Frame Workshop Photos

By Natural Building Workshops, Photos, Timber Framing
Roundwood Timber Frame Workshop Group Shot

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!

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Aug 22
Love0

If Some One Offers You a Drill, Take It (Timber Frame Photo Update)

By Timber Framing, Natural Building Workshops
Roundwood timber frame

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.

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Aug 17
Love0

The Calm Before the (Framing) Storm

By Natural Building Workshops, Timber Framing
Roundwood Timber Frame Workshop

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.

Jul 24
Love0

The Roundwood Timber Frame: Coming Soon

By Natural Building Workshops, Timber Framing
Roundwood Timber Frame House

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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Jul 21
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A Magical Transformation of Wood

By Timber Framing, Natural Building Workshops
Black Locust Roundwood Timber Frame

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!