Timber Framing

Timbor, or boracare. I got one of them in powder form and mixed it myself. Not sure if that works on those bugs. I'm surprised the were in the timbers. Was it just sapwood that they were attacking, or heartwood too?
 
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  • #656
I saw them in the log pile. Usually they seem to get cut out. I see a few in some 2x's and a hole or two in a timber.
 


I like this version. After complete assembly of the log house should be complete disassembly. Then between the logs stacked sphagnum moss as caulking material.
After complete assembly  necessary of caulk And no of iron nails.
 
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  • #660
So ive been gettig rid of that stack of lumber shown above. I built a floor and starting cutting 2x4s for the walls. Building a 12x15 shed for the boxer and chainsaw and work gear. Its coming along. The timbers i had milled are drying very nicely. No large checking, or warping as of yet. Hes coming back the 13th to mill more. I hope to get the rest of the shed materials, and 75% of the timber frame building materials cut.

I was wondering dave. Is there a brand of new timber frame tools you can recommend? Id like to get a slick still. Also looking for one of those rubberized striking mallets for chisels. I prefer not to buy anything from jr. So new is my only slick option.
 
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  • #661
Garage siding. Shed floor. And firewood cutting and splitting table.

Pics are taken and uploaded upright. I just dont get it.
 

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It's too bad Foster's closed down this summer. They had a ton of slicks. I would look at Barr tools, they have new slicks and chisels. I don't care for flat backed tools, but in new stuff, that's about all you can get. I might be able to call Bob Foster and see if he still has his slicks, or if they went to auction. An old one is the way to go. They are in the $150-$200 range for good ones. I use a Garland #3, which is 2 3/4#. A #2 is also good. They are a rawhide faced mallet, and last a long time. Are you looking for a rubberized carvers mallet, which is basically a truncated cone, not a hammer head style? I'd have to look around to see who has those. No slicks at the flea market?
 
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  • #663
Ive been looking for slicks for a while. One guy had some but wanted 300$. Ive taken a vaca from there but look all the time.

I think id want the cone shaped mallet. Kinda grab and go im thinking.
 
There are a couple of decent candidates on ebay right now, but you've really got to watch that game. Some of the slicks are just chisels, and if you can't see a good pic of the back of the cutting edge, you have no idea if it's any good. $300 is pretty much way high for a slick. I have two almost identical PS&W slicks and paid $150 each for them. Almost any used tool will require some TLC to put it in working order.

barrtools.com has some slicks, but they aren't really like the antique ones you've seen. They are $160 for the big ones. What are you doing that you need a slick for? Just want one? I know that feeling.:D A slick is only really necessary for cutting big scarf joints. For most joinery, you can use your framing chisel. When I'm cleaning out a mortise or cutting a tenon, I already have my framing chisel in hand, so it isn't really efficient to switch.

30 oz. mallet Here is a urethane mallet. I would use at least a 30 oz. mallet. My Garland rawhide and cast iron is about 40 oz.
 
No, I've never really liked them. I use the #3 Garland, like this one. A #2 is also a good size. I like a good heavy beater, though.:/: In pine it is a little overkill. Whatever is comfortable is best. Regarding just picking it up and swinging without thinking about it, many people don't notice that mallets with heads on them always have a oval shaped handle, and carver's mallets are completely round. When you pick up a mallet with a head, or any type of hammer, the oval tells your hand how to grab it, it will be automatic, you won't have to think about it. With a claw hammer, you do have to be aware of the orientation so you don't try to drive a nail with the claw, but with a mallet, both heads are the same. Some people use large homemade carver's mallet turned on a lathe from some really hard wood. Eventually, they will delaminate and fall apart. That is one reason I don't use the round style with TF. You have to strike with them on the right surface just like you do with a wooden baseball bat. I do have some smaller wooden mallets that I use with my carving tools, but those tools wouldn't see one twentieth of the force a framing chisel does. In dry white oak, I was swinging that #3 mallet so hard I broke two handles, wore out three sets of hides and destroyed all of my chisel handles. I hate dry white oak.:X

Jim, not much new to show, but I do have a lot of pics on the computer. Probably 5,000. One of the hard parts of putting pics up is that unless you know what you are looking at, they just look like a pile of wood pieces. I'll review this thread later to see what I've put up, and maybe add some more. I don't know if I've got any of the Cruck frame stuff on here, or the geometrical design frame.
 
Wow, 67 pages! That's going to take a minute or two to go over.

If you really wanted to try a slick, I could loan you the one on the first page of this thread. It is in a pic with some hand planes. It's a big one, 4" wide, and the handle is crappy, but you are welcome to try it out. I've never actually used it.
 
Geeze, it is fascinating to read the stuff you discuss here. Any more project pictures? This stuff sounds cool.

Jim, have you started from the beginning? There are pics of the cruck frame around page 8. I'm up to page 26 rereading this thread. Once I'm done, I'll see if there is anything else interesting in my archives to post up.
 
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  • #670
Ive been thinking about something.

Brace stock. Understanding that your brace sits inside a pocket...How come we use a 3/8" offset on the outside of the brace? How come 3/8" works? Does it work, or is that something you will slightly modify to fit perfect on the pocket?
 

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If you are using a half inch reduction on your posts, then 3/8" gives you a half inch shoulder on the brace. Say you have an 8"x8" post, you will reduce it to 7.5" at the brace. The reason you reduce every post to 7.5" is so that any variations in your timber dimensions won't affect how the frame goes together. As long as your post is 7.5" or bigger, your joinery will be perfect. The shoulder on that brace may stick out a little proud of the housing if the post is under dimension. As far as a perfect fit, the best thing to do is to have your timbers milled as accurately as possible. A post that is 7 7/8" or 8 1/8" will not make a big difference in how the brace fits the pocket. If you are looking for really precise fit-ups, then you would probably want to scribe the frame, and that is much more time consuming. Square rule, with it's reductions, was developed expressly for joining timbers of slightly varying dimensions. I'll see if I can find some pics of square rule joints that show what a fit up would look like.

The reason you layout 3/8" is to get a hypotenuse of approximately 1/2" on that little shoulder of the brace. If you were using 1" housings, then you would use 3/4" for the layout line. I should probably cut a brace and take some pics step by step. I think I'm going to run the mill this afternoon, so I'll cut some brace stock and do a brace for a shed I'm working on. I'll try to get pics up this afternoon or tomorrow.

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  • #674
Did not consider the hypot. I'm thinking that these are 1/2" shoulder why the hell are they doing 3/8". Silly me.
 
I'm still going to put up a pictorial of layout and cutting of a brace. I think for a lot of people new to timber framing it is one of the most intimidating parts of layout. I probably won't have it up tonight, but I've started on it. Even charged up the DSLR so I don't drive myself crazy trying to move pics from the Stooopid phone to the computer.
 
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