Building Concepts Course CMCC Week 20- Second Timber Frame Underway

Second Timber Frame Shed under construction...

This week a classmate and myself have began construction on an identical timber frame shed like the one built previously, only this one is 6'x 8' and the other one was 8' x 12'. All the same joinery, mortises and lumber sizes, its just a smaller overall dimension.

 Step 1- Square one end of your first "stick" or                   timber

The very first step in timber framing is selection the timbers that are the worst and the best ahead of time. The worst should go in places like a floor system where they are least visible. The best should be corner posts and top girders. Those members, top girder and corner posts, heavily impact the formation of the rafters and are also most visible. After you have organized and labeled timber designations, then you can begin cutting up some wood. Starting with the floor system. The corners are jointed with "half laps." These are illustrated best by photograph. Simply put, two pieces lap over each end of two timbers equally and they are perpendicular is direction.  

                                                                                                                                                                      In this photo I have chosen to cut off the "check" in the wood on the right side of the timber. Being selective about what to remove and what to take can sometimes make life much easier. But before totally removing the wood I want to mortise out my hole with the Makita Chain Mortiser, see the video.

Step 2- Waxing those joints

Before any time passes between cutting and final assembly, all half laps, joints, and mortises should be sealed with some sort of wax. In this case we are using the product made a Heritage Natural Finishes that is made specifically for end grain cuts. The wax seals the water in preventing more drying and checking of the lumber while it stay in a heat conditioned environment.  

 Step 3- Cutting joist notches

Pre-scribe your mortise with a chisel or skill saw and then use a forsner bit on a right angle drill to take out more to start then use your chisel to clean it all out. 

 Step 4- Assembly. Then Clamp it                         together, square it and level it

This step involves possible corrections being make, but follow those minor corrections you need to level the corners and square the diagonals and be sure there are equal lengths and widths.

  Step 5- Sheath it