Our work comes together during the assembly process
On our final Timber Frame Workshop day, we saw the fruits of our labor come together, quite literally. Having cut all the pieces for at least one bent, we assembled the posts, beams, and braces to see just how well we did on our layout and cutting. Thankfully, we did a really good job and things came together quite well.
Pam works on her chisel skills on a tenon
Carpenter’s squares and tape measures are handy and all that, but they don’t carry nearly the same appeal as say, a sharpened chisel, an antique boring machine, or a Swedish axe. Marking and measuring, though arguably one of most important steps of timber framing, lacks the “cool” factor that comes with cutting joinery. People’s eyes tend to light up as soon as they see the ol’ Millers Falls boring machine come out, what with its fancy gears, the double handle, and the amazing wood chips it produces once set to motion.
Needless to say, enthusiasm ramped up on day two of our Timber Frame Workshop as people got a chance to saw and waste tenons, bore holes for mortises, and get busy with chisel and mallet.
Getting timber layout complete and ready for cutting
We packed in a lot of action during our four days of the 2014 Timber Frame Workshop last week. This was our first official course in our new home location in the Berea, Kentucky area, and I couldn’t be more pleased! The mountains, trees (and accompanying abundant shade), fresh spring water, and wildlife made an excellent backdrop to learning about timber frame layout, cutting, and assembly. It was great to meet new folks and reconnect with some ‘alumni’ from previous classes, too.
Our 2014 Timber Frame Workshop recently came to a successful end. What fun, and what a great group of folks we had join us this year. Here’s a bit of our work. I hope to find a few minutes soon to write up about the great experience! Thanks to all the awesome participants!
White oak 8x8s for the upcoming timber frame pavilion
Last week, we got our timber delivery for the pavilion we’ll be building in our Timber Frame Workshop next week. It’s beautiful stuff! It’s all white oak, very clear wood, and sawn on a portable bandsaw. It smells really good since it’s so fresh. We will be working this material very green, as it was literally felled and sawn a mere day or two before its final delivery.
We have begun some prep work, doing some layout and cutting on a few pieces to ensure that we can make good headway in the four days of our course. Our goal is to demonstrate layout, cutting, assembly, and ideally raising, too (if the stars align, you know.) This past week and the few days ahead are busy busy busy. More news when I find time to write!
Do you ever get into cleaning frenzies, and spend hours scouring and scrubbing around the house, including those areas that often don’t get their fair share of loving? Well, that’s how I’ve been feeling lately, but it’s not our house that is getting the attention… it’s all of our tools. Recently, I’ve been spending a goodly amount of time sharpening, oiling, de-rusting, and tuning to get all of our gear ready for the upcoming Timber Frame Workshop in June. This year we’ll have some newcomers on the tool front to try out, including two antique boring machines we obtained last winter that haven’t seen action yet.
Our timber frame/straw bale home, under construction in 2012
I like straw bale building. I also really like timber framing. But even more than those two alone, I like them incorporated in one building design. There are numerous advantages to building a timber frame and using straw bales, and their benefits are enhanced by using the two in collaboration.
The pavilion in Nacogdoches, almost completely raised and shining in the morning sun
If you’ve been following my updates about the Timber Framers Guild workshop in Nacogdoches, Texas, you’ve seen images from all the other stages of the timber frame pavilion construction — layout, cutting, and assembly. Here are my favorite images from the trip: the finished frame in all of its glory! The raising was very successful; it was safe, seamless, and the rain held out just long enough for us to get all of the main pieces up in the air. Check out the results here. The compound roof is stunning.
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April works on some of the last remaining joints before the timber frame assembly
I think I’ve realized that the excitement of timber framing can be represented by a curve. If the x axis on a bar graph represents time, and the y excitement, the line climbs and rises from left to right. The entire process is gradually more invigorating and interesting as you proceed on a project.
Jacob tests out the 16″ Makita circular saw on an end cut
Things are progressing smoothly for us here in Nacogdoches. We have fairly quickly moved on from layout to cutting the joinery for the Lake Naconiche timber frame pavilion. I personally haven’t spent much time around the more specialized timber framing power tools, and it’s been a sight to see…. and an experience to use them, too.
Hi there, I’m Ziggy. In 2008, I launched The Year of Mud while building my first natural home. This website 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. In 2012, we started offering Natural Building Workshops, so you can learn essential hands-on skills to build your own natural home.
