Learn to Timber Frame

by Beemer, Will; Sobon, Jack A.; Leeds, Jared

• ISBN13: 9781612126685
• ISBN10: 1612126685
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2016-05-03
• Publisher: Storey Books

Summary

The first guide to timber framing written specifically for beginners! Expert Will Beemer takes you through the entire process from start to finish, beginning with timber sourcing and ending with a finished building. Using full-color photos, detailed drawings, and clear step-by-step instructions, Beemer shows you exactly how to build one small (12? x 16?) timber-frame structure — suitable for use as a cabin, workshop, or studio. He also explains how to modify the structure to suit your needs and location by adding a loft, moving doors or windows, changing the roof pitch, or making the frame larger or smaller. You’ll end up with a beautiful building as well as solid timber-framing skills that you can use for a lifetime.

Author Biography

Will Beemer is a founding member of the Timber Framers Guild and served as Co-Executive Director for 11 years. He’s been a builder for over 40 years and an educator in the building trades for 30 of those. With his wife, Michele, he owns and operates the Heartwood School for the Homebuilding Crafts in Washington, Massachusetts, which has been teaching courses in timber framing, home building and other trades since 1978. Beemer has taught timber framing around the world, including in Patagonia (with Rocky Mountain Workshops), at Palomar College in California, at North House Folk School in Minnesota, and through numerous Guild workshops and projects. He has authored many articles on basic and advanced timber framing techniques and is a regular contributor to Timber Framing (the quarterly journal of the Guild) and Fine Homebuilding and has also written for Wood Design & Building and Joiner’s Quarterly.

Jack A. Sobon is an architect and builder specializing in timber-framed buildings. A founding director of the Timber Framer’s Guild of North America and founder of the Traditional Timber Frame Research and Advisory Group, Sobon has devoted his 38-year career to understanding the craft of timber framing. Using only traditional hand tools, he has framed and erected over 50 structures. He is the author of Build a Classic Timber-Framed House and coauthor of Timber Frame Construction. A graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design, Sobon teaches and consults nationally on traditional building structures and timber-framing techniques.
 

Table of Contents

Foreword by Jack A. Sobon
Preface
Chapter 1: What Is Timber Framing?
Chapter 2: Getting Started
  Using Ungraded Native Lumber - Timber Frame Engineering 101 - Ordering and Storing Timbers
Chapter 3: Layout Systems
  Mill Rule
  Mapping
  Scribe Rule
  Square Rule
Chapter 4: Tools
  Tools for Layout
  Cutting Tools
  Boring Tools
Chapter 5: Procedures for Layout & Cutting
  First Steps in Layout
  Laying Out the Mortise and Tenon
  Cutting Procedures
  Rules of Thumb for Joinery Design in Square Rule
Chapter 6: The Tiny Timber Frame
  Plan Drawings
  Timber List
  Sills
  Joists
  Posts
  Girts
  Braces
  Collars
  Door Posts
  Tie Beams
  Plates
  Rafters
Chapter 7: Variations on the Frame
  Moving Doors and Windows
  Adding a Loft
  Changing the Roof Pitch
  Overhangs
  Making the Frame Smaller
  Making the Frame Bigger
Chapter 8: Raising the Frame
  Equipment for Raising Day
  The Raising Script
Chapter 9: Foundations & Enclosure Systems
  Foundations
  Insulation and Enclosure
Epilogue
Glossary
Resources
Bibliography
Index