Upcoming Workshops:
Intro to Timber-Framing: The Weekend Course
Workshop Dates: Saturday and Sunday, September 11th/12th, 18th/19th and 25th/26th.
Class Location: The Timber-Frame Shop, Book Press, Exit 3, Brattleboro, Vermont.
Hours: 9am to 5pm. Optional evening sessions will be held from 6-8pm each Friday.
Tuition: $500/student or $900/couple. Sign up with a friend and save!
Over the course of three weekends, we will cut and raise the principal timber-frame structure for Deer Ridge Farm's new Sugar House! This is a wonderful opportunity to learn the basics of timber-frame history, layout and joinery, while contributing to our local agricultural and architectural landscape!
Although our workshops will provide a challenge to those with previous woodworking or carpentry experience, our workshops are designed to be a comfortable environment for students with no previous woodworking or carpentry experience. We encourage each student to work at their own pace, focusing on those areas that are most challenging to them. We like to work slowly, carefully, and with a good sense of humor. The majority of my students are beginners; many of the have never used a hand or power tool before. It is a joy to work with students like these, as they discover their strengths over the course of the week, and leave the class feeling capable of things they never knew they were capable of. The same goes for more experienced students. We all have a place of weakness. Some students are great at layout and the more conceptual elements of timber-framing, while others will excel in their craftsmanship and ability to work carefully.
If you have any questions, or if you'd like to register for this exciting upcoming workshop, please email info@thetimberframeshop.com or call Monica at 802-380-3200. I look forward to hearing from you!
Please note that workshops will be limited to 8 students. A 50% non-refundable deposit is required to reserve your spot.
Introduction to Timber-Framing
2009 Photo Album
The whole crew gathers around the mortising machine.
Monica demonstrates cutting curves with the curved-based Makita planer (her new favorite tool).
A very beautifully cut brace pocket.
Monica, Matt and Steve show off their matching ear protection.
Moses using a Japanese pull saw to cut the rafter pocket.
Moses planes the beams.
Monica demonstrates how to use the Mortising Machine.
Glenn uses the Big Foot!
Moses chisels a tennon.
Moses operates the chain mortiser.
Mike and Dave working on Brace Tennons.
Scot smooths the chamfers at the end of a plate.
Lunch break!
Jack does the Downward Dog. It's a hard life.
Glenn chisels the housing on a rafter tail.
A rafter pair ready for pre-assembly.
Pegging the frame for raising!
Mike drives in a peg while the rest of the crew supports it.
Dave admires his work. He took the frame home with him in the end.
Pre-assembling the rafter pairs and collars.
Rafter pair pre-assembly.
Zen and the art of Timber-Frame Raising.
Mike, Monica and Moses trim the rafters so that they will fit into their pockets.
The whole crew puts the last rafter pair into place.
Fitting the rafters. Dave, Monica, Moses and Mike.
Fitting the rafters... are they too tight?
Yay! We did it!
Our nod to tradition: The little tree.
The finished roof system.
The finished frame, with the Cotton Mill in the background.
