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
Handmade toll roll for less than $5!
Protect your tools. Both you and they will be much happier with adequate shelter and storage. Even with our new tool shed, there is still a feeling of inadequacy for the storage of some of our building tools. Better shelves might help, but we’ve got planes, chisels, and all manner of things that are a bit too “exposed” and unprotected for my liking.
However, we are on the way to changing some of that, now that April made her first leather tool roll for our timber framing chisels. I’m in love with it!
Straw bale & timber frame house in the works
I wonder: is timber framing and straw bale building the perfect marriage of two building techniques? Of course, I may be a bit biased, as I am building a timber frame and straw bale house as we speak, but I think there is much to say for the compatibility, efficiency, and beauty of these two systems. I’ll lay out my line of thinking here, including the benefits of timber framing and straw bale alone, and the two systems combined.
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.
How to make a mortise with hand tools: boring machine and chisel
You can’t have a tenon without a mortise. They go together like peas and carrots. (Or insert your favorite “go together” cliche here.) Uh, anyway, I described how to cut a tenon by hand in a previous post, and in this article, I’ll describe the process for making a mortise in a timber by hand. A mortise is basically a slot for a tenon, which is later pegged to secure the joinery. It’s simple and timeless.
Mortises are arguably more difficult to make by hand than tenons. I’ll describe how to do it with a boring machine and chisel.
John Neeman’s new wares
If you haven’t heard the scoop already, master bladesmith John Neeman of Neeman Tools, whose dazzling photos and videos of deliciously hand forged woodworking tools have whipped up a lot of excitement over the past year, has now branched away from his namesake company and is heading AUTINE, a new family company dedicated to creating stunning, and absolutely top quality axes, knives, chisels, and more.
It is unclear how the split between John Neeman and Neeman Tools has occurred, and it’s certainly confusing that his name is still the brand for the company that he has detached from, but regardless, we lucky tool fetishists now have two incredible sources for excellent hand forged tools.
The partly restored Millers Falls machine with brand new base
First of all, I love craigslist. I actually don’t use it that often in my daily life (it’s less useful when you live in the country), but we’ve made a few real scores in some lucky searching stints. While in TN, I happened to do a Millers Falls boring machine search, and I found one… for $160, and it wasn’t terribly far away. The only downside is that it needed some work, namely a new base and one or two small parts replaced.
Considering these suckers can go for $400-$900, I’d say it was worth it. And they just don’t make any equivalent (hand-powered) versions of these things anymore, so I felt obligated to pick this one up, tune it up, and preserve it. (And use it, too, no doubt.)
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Amazing timber frame and reciprocal roof
Wow. This is gorgeous. I like catching wind of different reciprocal roof designs, and this one is mighty impressive. Designed and built by Fire Tower Engineered Timber, this reciprocal roof is part of an Episcopal Church construction on Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in North Dakota. The dimensions are… massive. Read below for details.
I’m a sucker for cutting tenons. Maybe because it provides me with a great excuse to swing an axe. Maybe because once I get into the groove, I feel a great sense of accomplishment when I’m able to cut and clean up a tenon swiftly. Cutting a tenon — by hand — is a great skill to learn and practice, and I want to make the argument that it can be done by hand rather quickly, too. After cutting tenon after tenon, I got to the point of being able to do the bulk of the work with a saw and axe. I skipped the chisel altogether at some point. Here’s my process for cutting tenons by hand, perhaps my favorite “grunt work” of timber framing. Actually, I like it so much I wish I had an excuse to cut some right now…
About The Year of Mud
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.
