first go at timber framing

[johnnyb]

After some delay.such as building the dwarf wall. I've now sourced the wood. I drew the rods out last week. today I thought I would try a mortice and tenon.
on a 6ft post and a 5ft bottom plate.
it went really well. I drilled with a flat bit and chopped. I used an old makita 235mm saw for the tenons made many cuts snapped them then planed with a rebate plane. it worked beautifully.
the weight is the biggest issue.
for instance I tested the fit got slightly stuck and struggled to get it out again. eventually I used wedges going forward and back till it popped out.
one concern is I've got a 6 by 10 beam and I intended to make an arched tie beam but its really heavy and I've no idea how I would start to cut the arch top and bottom . any body got any more hints.

 

[marcros]

what are you building Johnny?

 

[Jameshow]

Looks good what size timber are you using?

Perhaps a 185mm circular saw might work.

Or perhaps a cut down the grain and then a large chisel or two to split it if the grain is straight.

Cheers James

 

[johnnyb]

its going to be a porch on a dwarf wall. the saw is really good actually considering its age i brought it 25 years ago(used) with a triton mk3. when I say snap I mean snap the cut pieces to form the tenon cheek. its just cutting the large chunk to an arch thats daunting.

 

[marcros]

good stuff. watching with interest, but sorry I cant offer any help on the arch.

 

[Jameshow]

Do you want an arch like this?

https://www.danielkursaoak.co.uk/porches
I'd suggest using a light timber batten pinned at each end and then in the middle? See how it looks? Not more than 4" deep?

Cheers James

 

[Chip shop]

Not too sure what the questions really are (perhaps I got you confused with JohnnyD who I think used to post here).

Cut the M&T a bit baggy and chamfer the ends (sides, front and back) if you're having to dry fit then (if you're after the timber frame look) you could peg the joinery which is a bit like drawboring only the pegs stay in and get trimmed. The trick is to offset the holes in the tenon compared to the mortise by a fraction
so it pulls itself together when you drive 'em in.

As far as arches go on big timber; draw them out with a pencil, kerf them with a circ or hand saw and chisel them out...then belt sander baby....'til it looks right. Remember you're making a porch, not a writing desk.

 

[johnnyb]

James yes thats the sort of thing but I hadn't realised how heavy it was tbh.stupid I know! the arches shown must have been done with some serious kit btw
I've drawn the roof(and arch) out on an 8by4 sheet (the assembly table)
chip shop
so doing the arch is a bit like doing the tenons (kerf and snap.)on a larger scale.
makes sense.
some nice porches on Daniel Kursas site. is it me or do many not seem to fit very well. ie they seem to encroach on windows and are to low for the doors?

 

[johnnyb]

one question that springs to mind is. at the top of the front corners there is a long tenon on the post that goes right through the top plate with about 3 or 4 inch sticking out to anchor the tie beam.(arch thing) is this the best way of doing this? it results in a 9 or 10 inch long tenon.

 

[johnnyb]

After much heavy lifting and chopping drilling and circular sawing. I'm making a bit of progress. the smaller of the 2 frames has mostly come together. I've made the wind braces. and the mullions.
what I would say is this type of work is not for the fainthearted unless you've got helpers. I managed to maul most of the stuff on my own. but the next frame is a bit bigger. I did use a big bandsaw on the smaller pieces but tbh chopping the mortices and fitting was the biggest job. can I recomend milwaukee brand flat bits I used a 38mm one and it ate that oak for breakfast. a word of caution though whilst drilling a single hole it was very safe. attempting overlapping holes can lead to wrist injury as the flat bit will jam. amhik!
the sawing to size and kerfing for tenons using the big saw is a bit hairy but I made a jig to line it all up square. unfortunetly the sole plate tended to tilt a bit leading to (slightly)out of square shoulders these were easily corrected though as green oak is soft. I have found the oak to be tough on skin making it really dry.

 

[johnnyb]

windbraces

 

[johnnyb]

bottom plate marked from rod

 

[johnnyb]

the mullions were relatively easy to tenon. being only 3 by 3. I now have a bit that juts out 4 inch at the front. I may or may may not make it more decorative! financially it doesn't make sense but I'm sorely tempted! maybe a huge bead with fillets. much easier than a scotia

 

[Doug B]

(perhaps I got you confused with JohnnyD who I think used to post here).

he did indeed, sadly as one of the best designer makers who posted on hear his work is only on Instagram these days

 

[johnnyb]

doug he sounds interesting do you have link?(I've no idea what instagram is btw)

 

[Doug B]

doug he sounds interesting do you have link?(I've no idea what instagram is btw)

https://instagram.com/jonnydburn?igshid=1v2ywsfazyg9c
hope that works

 

[johnnyb]

After some delay mainly to keep a decent cash flow going I've been back on my oak porch a bit. im just chilling by the log burner with aching arms!
over Christmas I was finishing the 2 side frames and starting with some trepidation the arched tie beam as its a 10 by 6 behemoth.

 

[johnnyb]

After some planning and drawing a full size rod out I felt confident about what I was doing but less about how I was going about it. as is so often the case a focused burst had sawn and chopped the concave and snapped the short grain bits. I then finished this with my new 1000w angle grinder and turboplane. its an awesome powerful tool that makes mincemeat of the green wood. but it can dig in so take it gently and find the best angle to attack the arch. Next the concave section. can I just big up how well the old makita saw handled all the abuse. a new(sharp blade is essential though. initially I was quite scared chopping through this sopping heavy material. I was aware of the power of the saw and really waiting for a catch. but after a spell your sphincter loosens off a bit and chopping huge chunks becomes second nature.

 

[johnnyb]

heres the concave before smoothing

 

[johnnyb]

heres the other side after turboplaning