scenes from the beamry

[redoak]

Hi all,

Thought I'd post a few more pictures of the barn project. These are a series of the process of laying out a tenon connecting corner post to plate.

First, lay out the joinery for the entire post, avoiding knots as much as possible:
View attachment 80139

Then do some depth cuts with the skil saw
View attachment 80140

Here are the tools I use the most, especially the stones. Everything has to be razor sharp or you really work up a sweat. The 1 3/4 slick is sharp enough to slice right across the grain and hard knots. Got that one (a Buck Bros.) for $3 at a yard sale.
View attachment 80141

Then rough out with the hatchet (another razopr sharp tool, this one is NOT for splitting kindling!):
View attachment 80142

And clean up with the slick:
View attachment 80143

-redoak

 

[redoak]

finished pieces

...and here's a nice picture of some of the finished pieces: posts and braces.
View attachment 80144

I'll post some more pictures this weekend of my technique milling out the 20' plates and tie beams.

-redoak

 

[PA Plumber]

Great pics.

Very interesting.

 

[irishcountry]

BRAVO Looks great so far can't wait for updates. Where did you learn timberframing? Forgive me if I asked before or in a PM my brain has not been working lately!! Looks great

 

[redoak]

Learning as I go. At first it seemed a bit complicated, every piece is different. But then the patterns settle in and each joint makes sense not as a unit or piece, but more like part of overall whole. Kinda zen.

There are some great book out there. I recommend Jack Sobon's Timber Framing Construction. He has a real reverance for the art.

BTW all the timbers were milled with my Alaskan and 660.

-redoak

 

[irishcountry]

Thanks yeah I got that book looks like you have done it a bunch before again great job look forward to the rest of the project. irishcountry

 

[Brmorgan]

Nice work. Just one question - do you simply prefer to do the jointing without power tools, or are you a "purist" in this regard? Not that there's anything wrong with either - I'm just wondering because I'm very interested in getting into this type of thing, but I really lack the patience and time to cut all joints by hand. I don't mind fine-tuning and cleaning up with hand tools, but I just don't see myself roughing out a tenon with a hatchet like that on a regular basis. Not that I don't want to be able to. I actually like working solely with hand tools if time and my level of ability permit it - it's harder work but generally is more relaxing somehow.

Regarding the sharp hatchet - ironically, I learned that lesson yesterday morning after returning home from work. Went down to start the fire, and proceeded to split up some old cedar T&G into kindling, and promptly tagged my left hand with the hatchet. I didn't think it was very sharp, but upon subsequent inspection it really was. It made a pretty ugly cut - it lifted up a flap of flesh about half the size of a postage stamp cut diagonally, and about 3/16" deep, in between my thumb and forefinger. Bled like a stuck pig, but strangely didn't hurt hardly at all. I didn't feel like going back to town and sitting in emergency for a couple hours, so I just froze it up a bit with some ice and Super Glued 'er shut. Been looking good ever since. Needless to say I'll make sure to wear a glove from now on.

 

[slabmaster]

Nice pics.! I like the camfer on those tenons,it will help alot when fitting together later.Nice job!

 

[NYCHA FORESTER]

My brother is building one (timber frame house) in Plainfield NH

 

[cjk]

If I may offer some suggestions to speed things up. Back around 1992 I worked for a timber framing company and helped cut a few buildings. Its hard work but very rewarding.

1. Square your circular saw blade. Put a small square on the shoe and square the blade to it so it cuts a perfect 90 degrees. Check this as needed.

2. If the timber has a crown it goes up on a girt.

3. Square one end of the timber and lay out the post or girt. Here is where you can hide defects if any against a wall if possible.

3a.To square your timber with a small circular saw, cut all 4 sides around the timber and finish with a hand saw. There will be a small square of wood to cut thru.

4. Lay out your tenon on all 4 sides AND the end.

5. Use the layout on the end of the timber to set your saw depth if necessary for your tenon.

6. Cut around the 4 sides of the timber, at the shoulder, to the correct depth for your tennon, then rip from the end to the shoulder. You may also cut down on the end of the timber.

7. Finish with a hand saw. Most times you can knock the blocks off with a hammer.

8. Shave off any excess wood with the chisel and chamfer the end of the tenon.

We made wood hammers out of scap oak to beat our chisel with using the same process. 4x4 or 5x5 head with about a 2" thick handle. Sand to fit your hand. We beat the crap out of those chisels and never chipped one.

As you cut pieces, assemble them if you have room. Dont forget the knee braces. Lay them on scrap 2"x4"x3' or what ever you have on a flat concrete floor if possible. This way you can measure the wall and find any problems before you have all of it done. When you have a whole bent together (partial if you dont have room), square it up and drill your peg holes. Knock it apart and label everything. Mark up a plan so you know where everything goes.

Keep your posts handy for when you fit the long walls.

Have fun!!!

And remember that this building will be there long after you and I are gone. Chisel your name and the year on a beam so 200 years from now when someone is taking it apart they will know who built it.

 

[redoak]

tool choices

Bmorgan-

I am defintely not a purist. For tenon work and shoulders the skil saw, bow saw (for squaring off the depth that exceeds the skil saw), hatchet and chisels seem to be the fastest way. I suppose if you had a really powerful router you could do some of that work... I haven't got one of those. After the depth is set with the skil saw the roughing out work for that plate tenon probably too 5 minutes. From start to finish I'd say that tenon took 30 minutes to cut?

For mortise work I'm using a 1/2" drill with a 2" forstner bit, nice overlap and then you juist beat out the corners with a chisel. A chain mortiser would be great... but over my budget. The drill also augers out the peg holes with an 1'x8" single flute auger.

Oh yes... keep body parts away from chisels and hatchets...

Great advice cjk! Especially about layout. When working with home made 8x8's you don't want to make any mistakes. Lot of labor can be lost if you lay out a tenon from the wrong side.

slabmaster... great eye for the camfer. That takes all the worry out of the mortise corners. I slice those off the end grain with the slick like that white pine was a block of cheddar. A lot of work is saved by a minute of sharppening.

-redoak

 

[redoak]

bmorgan... oh yeah, forgot to mention that I use a 12" sliding chop saw for the braces. 45's are no problemo with that saw.

-redoak

 

[AndyR]

Nice work.
Please keep us up to date. I think a lot of us would appreciate that. Though I suppose if I looked, I would find a forum or two devoted to timber framing.
Hmmm...Maybe I better hadn't look.

 

[Mad Professor]

Look for an old hand powered mortising machine for drilling out mortises, they can't be beat.

 

[woodguy105]

Very nice work redoak. Hope we'll get to see the finished product!

 

[Brmorgan]

Look for an old hand powered mortising machine for drilling out mortises, they can't be beat.

I was thinking of using one of those little drill-press jigs that you clamp a handheld drill into. I picked one up at a yard sale this summer for $1. I'd get one of those 500 RPM high-torque Makita drills. Those jigs don't have huge travel, maybe 4-6", but I could just keep moving the head down the upright to drill deeper. I'll be testing that over the winter.

 

[woodshop]

Nice work redoak... I like to see that kind of thing as you don't often these days. I'm not a purist by a longshot either. Anytime I can use a powertool to do something faster I usually do unless there is a definite benefit to the hand method. Once in a while there is. Keep up posted as you go.

 

[deeker]

Redoak, great pics and post. Keep 'em coming.

I am trying to figure a way to use my mill to cut the ends like that. Still have to chisel off the sides though.

You gave me a few ideas. opcorn:

Kevin

 

[RPM]

Nice work.
Please keep us up to date. I think a lot of us would appreciate that. Though I suppose if I looked, I would find a forum or two devoted to timber framing.
Hmmm...Maybe I better hadn't look.

If you haven't found these guys already - heres somewhere else to spend lots of idle time:

http://www.tfguild.org/forums/ubbthreads.php


Nice work redoak!

 

[redoak]

laying out a housed brace mortise

Hi all,

Thought I post a few more pictures of the project... This is my method laying out a housed and shouldered brace mortise. The frame has twenty of these joints, they get easier with practice. This series will take a couple posts, hope you enjoy them.

First, layout the 1" deep shoulder cutting out both the depth (cross grain cuts) and back line (rip cut) with the skil saw.
View attachment 80776

Then rough out with the hatchet.
View attachment 80777

Cut the corners to depth.
View attachment 80778

Smooth things out with the big framing chisel. Note layout marks for mortising.
View attachment 80779