woodworkingboy
TreeHouser
Nice, Dave!
Timber Framing
- Thread starter brendonv
- Start date
- Replies 1K
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CurSedVoyce
California Hillbilly
friggen sweet!
MasterBlaster
Administrator Emeritus
Whoa!
rumination
Migratory Hippie Arbolist
Very nice!
PCTREE
Treehouser
I wanna build something like that in my woods to live in. But the Mrs. says its gotta have 3 bedrooms laundry room dish washer blah blah blah
Nice frame
Nice frame
sotc
Dormant hero!!
Burly!
Dave Shepard
Square peg, round world.
Slide show.
Al Smith
Mac Daddy
This subject of timber framing is one I find very interesting .The craft is nearly a lost art in these more modern of times .
Those old barns etc built over 150 years ago are still standing if the owners would just have kept a good roof on them . Too bad most did not and in time the weather got to them and they ended up as just so much bon fire feed stock .
Fact is the little "carriage " barn at my mothers place was built circa 1919 and is still solid as a rock .The thing was timber framed out of sugar maple which is unusual because most were oak .
I've seen old dairy barns that had 12 by 12 oak timbers in them 60 feet long .Think about how large an oak it would take to get a chunk of straight timber than long that wasn't full of nasty knots . After you ponder that thought think about raising an entire wall section 60 feet long and 30 feet high without the use of a crane .
Those old craftsmen were not only expert carpenters but also great riggers .
Those old barns etc built over 150 years ago are still standing if the owners would just have kept a good roof on them . Too bad most did not and in time the weather got to them and they ended up as just so much bon fire feed stock .
Fact is the little "carriage " barn at my mothers place was built circa 1919 and is still solid as a rock .The thing was timber framed out of sugar maple which is unusual because most were oak .
I've seen old dairy barns that had 12 by 12 oak timbers in them 60 feet long .Think about how large an oak it would take to get a chunk of straight timber than long that wasn't full of nasty knots . After you ponder that thought think about raising an entire wall section 60 feet long and 30 feet high without the use of a crane .
Those old craftsmen were not only expert carpenters but also great riggers .
brendonv
Tree Hugger
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #84
I really still haven't done anything yet, reguarding framing. Heat, rain, and still need to get those tools sharpened soon.
I saw a large new barn (few years old) yesterday, so I did some snooping around at the joints and such.
I was under the impression that every tenon and mortise had to be perfect. This kind of threw me off because I wasn't really sure I had the patients for it.
Looking at that barn revealed some differences. It's a freaking rough piece of lumber, and you bet it wasn't perfect. I guess I really never saw a newer TF'd building before.
I mean, I'm guessing you want it as tight as possible, and everything to fall together nicely. I was thinking a little mistake on width or something, would make that piece of wood unusable.
Tell me you timber framers, Paul, Dave. Is everything perfect in the real world?
I saw a large new barn (few years old) yesterday, so I did some snooping around at the joints and such.
I was under the impression that every tenon and mortise had to be perfect. This kind of threw me off because I wasn't really sure I had the patients for it.
Looking at that barn revealed some differences. It's a freaking rough piece of lumber, and you bet it wasn't perfect. I guess I really never saw a newer TF'd building before.
I mean, I'm guessing you want it as tight as possible, and everything to fall together nicely. I was thinking a little mistake on width or something, would make that piece of wood unusable.
Tell me you timber framers, Paul, Dave. Is everything perfect in the real world?
lumberjack
Young man on the go
Same thing you noticed with the ice cream shop.
SkwerI
Treehouser
Yes Brendon, all the rest of us are perfect and everything we do is perfect also. Only you make mistakes. 
W
Wagnaw
Guest
Timber frame houses are big business around here.
woodworkingboy
TreeHouser
If you make the joints perfect, on the order of tight, you'd probably have a hard time putting the structure together, since for sure some of the wood is going to warp prior to assembly. On the other hand, though you can probably get away with sloppiness, it isn't very satisfying. Ideally, something that is going to bang together with a long handled wooden mallet with a big face on it, is what you are after. Good to consider the scale of what you are building, when planning the tightness of the joints. Using greener lumber for the members with mortises is another option, with looser fitting that is going to shrink around the tenons as it dries.
cybergeek23851
I like cats...
What size holes are you drilling, Brendan?
If you have a decent, torque-heavy drill, I'd say use a self-feeding auger bit.
If you have a decent, torque-heavy drill, I'd say use a self-feeding auger bit.
cybergeek23851
I like cats...
http://www.irwin.com/irwin/consumer/jhtml/detail.jhtml?prodId=IrwinProd100177
I can call my supply house and get an estimate if you'd like.
I can call my supply house and get an estimate if you'd like.
Dave Shepard
Square peg, round world.
I've used boring machine bits in my Hole-Hawg. It's tense, to say the least. Lotsa torque, and it doesn't stop as soon as you let off the trigger. There is a brand of bit available called Wood Owl. They only go up to 1.5", but work very well both in electric drills and boring machines. You can buy a wooden framed boring machine in good shape for about $200-$250, when you are ready. The advantage of the boring machine is that it keeps the bit perpendicular to the timber, and also controls the depth. If you are steady with your gas drill, you can get by with that, however.
Square rule joinery accommodates differences in timbers. Using a 7.5" "ideal" timber will allow your 8"x8" timbers to be as small as 7.5" and most any width over 8". Most mills will keep you in a +/- of 1/4", which is fine for this type of joinery. The tighter your joints are, the better the frame will look. Even a very tight frame will look a little loose after the timbers dry, especially if it's a heated building, that's just the nature of the material. I like it, myself. I'll dig up some pictures of some of the stuff I did in the cruck/scribe workshop later. You can join most any two pieces of wood, once you know how.
If you don't feel like tackling the initial tune-up of your tools, contact Jim_Rogers over at the Forestry Forum. His tool partner does all of the initial work on the chisels he sells, and he does a very good job. They will do this for your chisels, but you'll have to ask what it will cost. It can take a bit of time to take flea-market tools up to working condition. That's why Jim gets $80-$100 for his chisels.
Lotsa torque, and it doesn't stop as soon as you let off the trigger. There is a brand of bit available called Wood Owl. They only go up to 1.5", but work very well both in electric drills and boring machines. You can buy a wooden framed boring machine in good shape for about $200-$250, when you are ready. The advantage of the boring machine is that it keeps the bit perpendicular to the timber, and also controls the depth. If you are steady with your gas drill, you can get by with that, however.Square rule joinery accommodates differences in timbers. Using a 7.5" "ideal" timber will allow your 8"x8" timbers to be as small as 7.5" and most any width over 8". Most mills will keep you in a +/- of 1/4", which is fine for this type of joinery. The tighter your joints are, the better the frame will look. Even a very tight frame will look a little loose after the timbers dry, especially if it's a heated building, that's just the nature of the material. I like it, myself. I'll dig up some pictures of some of the stuff I did in the cruck/scribe workshop later. You can join most any two pieces of wood, once you know how.
If you don't feel like tackling the initial tune-up of your tools, contact Jim_Rogers over at the Forestry Forum. His tool partner does all of the initial work on the chisels he sells, and he does a very good job. They will do this for your chisels, but you'll have to ask what it will cost. It can take a bit of time to take flea-market tools up to working condition. That's why Jim gets $80-$100 for his chisels.
woodworkingboy
TreeHouser
Some heavy torgue drills can really do a number on your wrist if the bit gets caught. Good to proceed with caution sometimes.
cybergeek23851
I like cats...
Ohhhh.... I know.
I was drilling a 1.5" hole using a self feeder through a glue-lam, when it caught. I picked a bad day to use a hole hawg. Luckily it took out a stud and not a wrist.
woodworkingboy
TreeHouser
A carpenter friend gave me his old timber motiser that slides and clamps down over the beams. It always just took up space in my shop, while I contemplated how to get rid of it. Then I had occasion to plug it in and try it on some railroad ties that I used on a gallery sign that I was hired to make. It was self feeding and worked slick. Oddly, the bit didn't seem to suffer much, even though railroad ties are notoriously hard on chisels. It drilled very deep perfectly straight mortises in pretty hard chestnut. Sure glad I didn't have to chop those by hand. 
PCTREE
Treehouser
Just got home, what are you trying to drill 2' holes for
All the pegs in my building are 7/8.......
All the pegs in my building are 7/8.......
Dave Shepard
Square peg, round world.
All the pics of the crooked stuff is still in the camera. I'll have to get it tomorrow. Sorry.
Didn't you get a T-auger in your pile of goodies? They work well if sharpened correctly. It's not fast, but they're cheap.
Didn't you get a T-auger in your pile of goodies? They work well if sharpened correctly. It's not fast, but they're cheap.
