nolteboy
ArboristSite Lurker
Hey yall
I have been getting into milling and timber framing over the past year. I have a 385xp on a logosol M7 mill. Last June I milled up some ponderosas that I had dropped on my (future) house-site into 6x6 timbers anywheres from 8 to 12 feet long, with the intent of building a timber-framed shed as practice for framing a house. I carefully stacked and stickered the timbers, put some weight on the top of the pile, and tarped the whole thing. Over the course of the summer I would haul the individual timbers down into town to cut the mortise and tenon joinery in my garage, then take them back up to 'the Hill' to be put back into the stack.
When autumn rolled around I finally had all the pieces completed and ready to go together, but after taking them out of the stack I was disappointed to discover that some of the timbers had twisted rather badly. Doing "surgery" on the joinery that I had spent so much time cutting was almost enough to make me cry (and I don’t cry easy), but I did manage to get the shed to go together.
So far I have identified a number of things that I think I did "wrong", and would like to know which ones were the "wrongest", as well what other factors I haven't yet considered might have contributed...
1. My stack of timbers was in an open clearing getting full sun all day over the course of the whole summer. Sure it was tarped, but those timbers were really warm. I am thinking this was the biggy - i.e. accelerated drying resulting in more twisting than would have occurred if the drying had been slower (or is this really true? In other words, is the same amount and type/direction of movement going to be observed in an individual piece of wood regardless of how fast it dries?)
2. I did not seal the ends of any of the timbers with paint, sealer, etc.
3. As a novice sawyer, I don't really know all that much about 'reading' a log in order to cut it in such a way as to reduce warping, twisting, etc. I just eyeball it and go. Most of the timbers were more or less boxed-heart.
The whole experience has really driven home to me the need for carefully-controlled drying and curing, and I am hoping to get some advice from those who have been at it for longer than myself. I think about the same thing happening in a couple years with my house timbers and break out in a cold sweat. Granted, all wood is going to move and change as it cures – I am just trying to learn ways to control the process as much as I can. (links or references to other good information sources are also appreciated)
nolteboy
(northern Colorado)
I have been getting into milling and timber framing over the past year. I have a 385xp on a logosol M7 mill. Last June I milled up some ponderosas that I had dropped on my (future) house-site into 6x6 timbers anywheres from 8 to 12 feet long, with the intent of building a timber-framed shed as practice for framing a house. I carefully stacked and stickered the timbers, put some weight on the top of the pile, and tarped the whole thing. Over the course of the summer I would haul the individual timbers down into town to cut the mortise and tenon joinery in my garage, then take them back up to 'the Hill' to be put back into the stack.
When autumn rolled around I finally had all the pieces completed and ready to go together, but after taking them out of the stack I was disappointed to discover that some of the timbers had twisted rather badly. Doing "surgery" on the joinery that I had spent so much time cutting was almost enough to make me cry (and I don’t cry easy), but I did manage to get the shed to go together.
So far I have identified a number of things that I think I did "wrong", and would like to know which ones were the "wrongest", as well what other factors I haven't yet considered might have contributed...
1. My stack of timbers was in an open clearing getting full sun all day over the course of the whole summer. Sure it was tarped, but those timbers were really warm. I am thinking this was the biggy - i.e. accelerated drying resulting in more twisting than would have occurred if the drying had been slower (or is this really true? In other words, is the same amount and type/direction of movement going to be observed in an individual piece of wood regardless of how fast it dries?)
2. I did not seal the ends of any of the timbers with paint, sealer, etc.
3. As a novice sawyer, I don't really know all that much about 'reading' a log in order to cut it in such a way as to reduce warping, twisting, etc. I just eyeball it and go. Most of the timbers were more or less boxed-heart.
The whole experience has really driven home to me the need for carefully-controlled drying and curing, and I am hoping to get some advice from those who have been at it for longer than myself. I think about the same thing happening in a couple years with my house timbers and break out in a cold sweat. Granted, all wood is going to move and change as it cures – I am just trying to learn ways to control the process as much as I can. (links or references to other good information sources are also appreciated)
nolteboy
(northern Colorado)
opcorn:
