Bents 2 and 3 assembled

It's been hot here -- mid to upper 90s with plenty of humidity. Still, there is work to be done. So, I've been doing a lot of sweating. The 90 degree temps are forecast to continue for a while yet.

Mark and I have worked on the frame in between harvesting and preserving the produce from the garden. This week, because of the heat, we've begun work around 8:00am after chores and breakfast. We generally return to the house for lunch and to appreciate the air conditioning, as limited as it is with small window units, around 1:00pm. The prospect of returning to work and sweating some more in the heat after lunch is not one we gladly welcome. So, we are happy to find things to do inside during the afternoon.

We were able to finish assembling the second bent last week. Actually, it's Bent 3, but we started with Bent 4. It's the second one we've assembled. We worked this week and were able to get Bent 2 put together, too. So, that's three bents assembled. One more to go -- Bent 1. God willing, we'll complete that one next week.

I didn't take any pictures of our third bent assembly as we worked on it this week or after finishing it today. I do have some photos of Bent 3 we completed last week (the second one to be assembled). I'll share several now.

The first photo details an error I made in laying out the intersection of the rafters for Bent 3. There are two pitches on the roof: 8:12 on the front and 3:12 on the back. I tried to be as careful as possible in the laying out, but I get the angle wrong where the two come together. You can see the gap that exists in the photo. I'm not going to cut a new rafter, mainly because I don't have another 16' 6x8 lying around. I also don't believe it is necessary, and I don't want to go to all the trouble to cut the joints. I will cut some wedges to fill in the gaps so that my error will not be so readily visible. I will also drive a wedge in on top of the tenon to fill in the gap that exists on that side. I wasn't pleased upon discovering this error, but it will be alright.

The ends of the collar tie where it joins the rafter were cut correctly, though. The photo on the left shows the collar tie on the 3:12 pitch rafter. This intersection is a long one, but it came together nicely. The other side also fit tightly. You can ignore the unsightly gap at the peak!

The process of assembling the bents involves first fitting together the rafters. Then, we put the rafters away and begin putting together the posts and beams. The rafter sets will be assembled at the second floor level and raised there on the day of the raising. The photo to the left shows the beginning of the assembly of the main portion of Bent 3. We set the posts into position and have the scarfed tied beams laid out at the top near where they will fit. At this point, we check to make sure all of the braces will fit and that the mortises and tenons for the beams are correct. I also drill the holes for the pegs through the mortises. When we fit the tenons in their corresponding mortises, I mark them with the point of the auger bit (running the drill in reverse). After pulling the tenon out of the mortise, I drill the hole in the tenon closer to the shoulder of the joint than marked. This is so that when the peg is driven through the tenon in the mortise, it will draw it tight. This technique is known as draw boring. For some joints that fit tightly and are pulled together well, I don't draw bore, mainly because I don't want to have to pull the pieces back apart.

The photo to the right shows the bent after we've fit the first floor level beams into their mortises on the posts. We fit these and peg them. Then, we put the braces in the posts and pull the tie beam into place on its tenons. There is a 2x6 tenon that goes through the scarf joint on the top of the center post. This tenon goes all the way through both sides of the scarf joint.

The three photos below show each of the joints where the first floor beams connect to the posts.

Next, here are three pictures showing the connection of the tie beam to the posts.



In the photo of the scarf joint above, you can see another error at the top of the brace on the right side. Somehow when I cut the joints on this beam 2.5 years ago, I measure wrong and put the brace mortise 1.75" too far out. I had to extend the mortise towards the post so that the brace would fit. I'll plug the hole with a 2"x1.75" block of oak later.

Here's a photo of the first two bents we assembled, or at least parts of them. After we were finished, I snapped a photo of Mark the Intern resting on the timber pile. We have the girts, rafter sets, braces, and unassembled posts organized at one end of the work area. Of course, after assembling three bents (only two were assembled at the time of this photo), the pile is diminishing, at least parts of it.

And, finally, a picture of the first two bents after assembly. If I had a picture of all three, I would post it. Hopefully, I'll be able to post a photo of all four assembled bents next week.

Figuring out how to cut a dove tail tenon for the floor joists

As I worked on the braces, I gave some thought to one of the next steps in the project: cutting the dove tailed tenons on the ends of the floor joists and purlins. Cutting the mortises for these tenons wasn't too difficult, but I hadn't given much thought to how to cut the tenons. I just knew that I would do so at some point.

The floor joists and the purlins will all be 4"x6" oak. One of the features I want to incorporate is an arc from the tenon into and toward the bottom of the joist/purlin. It will provide a nice aesthetic touch and should help mitigate some of the potential weakening caused by checking as the wood dries. As I considered my intentions, it became clear that I didn't have the right tools for this job. It seemed that a band saw would be a good choice, but a stationary one would present some challenges when working with 12 foot long pieces of oak that weigh 100 pounds or more (depending on how much they've dried while in storage).

Several companies make a portable band saw. Generally, these are used for cutting metal. Apparently, they do a pretty good job of that when equipped with the right band saw blade. I thought that if I had the right blade, this would be a good tool for my purposes. So, I searched on Ebay for one. I didn't want to spend the $260 or more that a new one costs. I eventually won an auction for a used Porter Cable portable band saw. I ordered some 6 tooth per inch blades from MK Morse. After receiving the saw and the blades, I had to try it out.

I marked the dovetail and a shallow arc on the end of a short piece of 4"x6" oak that I had in the shop. I then tried to cut it out. When I was done, there was a dove tail tenon on the end of the timber, but the cuts were a bit crooked and wavy. I marked the other end and tried again. Then, I chopped off the first end and tried a third time. By paying careful attention to the orientation of the saw and making sure I stay on the lines on both sides, I was able to cut out a decent dove tail tenon. I'll practice a bit more before I begin on the 100 joists and purlins that I'll need for the frame. But, at least it looks like my idea will work.

Note-taking during the project

Building a house is a big project. I've tackled the job from conception to finish, and because of finances, I'm not paying someone else to do my thinking and planning for me. Just the timber framing aspect is a large undertaking, as I designed the frame and am completing all the joinery on my own. I'll also be directing the raising of the frame. In light of the immensity of the project, I knew that I needed to keep some notes as things progressed. There are a lot of things that I could potentially forget. So, I have a framing notebook in which to keep my notes all in one place. It may not be the best organized notebook, but it seems to serve my purposes.

When I first began the joinery, I didn't have the notion or the space to lay out all of the timbers I bought to determine where they each would go. I could've chosen which post timbers were to be which post, which beam timbers were to be which beam, etc. But, I didn't. I didn't even think about doing that. I began with the timber on the top of the pile and called it whatever I had in mind to work on next. I did have a method, completing the beams first, then the girts, then the posts, the rafters, the braces, and then floor joists and purlins. I kept notes on the timbers as I progressed.

I also made an assumption that I didn't realize until later wasn't true. I assumed that the timbers I had ordered to be 8"x8" were actually 8"x8" and that the timbers I ordered to be 6"x8" were actually that, 6"x8". they were close, usually, but few were actually as I had assumed. There were timbers that were 7-3/4" at one end and 7-1/2" at the other, or ones that were 8" at one end and 7-1/2" at the other. There were some that were consistent from one end to the other, and some that were truly the dimensions I assumed they would be.

When I realized that my timbers were only nominally sized, I knew that I needed to clearly record their measurements to help assure some degree of levelness for my floors. There are different approaches to timber framing, like scribe rule and square rule. I've worked with a modified square rule approach, meaning I've done what made sense to me. If I had known that the timbers were not truly sized, I would've done some things differently. But, I didn't, so I didn't. I cut the tenons on the ends of the beams and girts to the full depth of the timbers, whatever they were. I then noted the depth for each end for each timber. This allowed me to make sure the mortises on the posts were the right size and placed so that the floors would be level, not varying by up to 3/4" from one post to another. My reference point for each mortise was the side of the beam or girt that mattered, generally the floor side.

I've kept notes of other things, like spacing and location for floor joists and roof purlins. I've also noted the size, shape, and location of tenons and mortises. This has been important since the beams, girts, and posts have been completed with varying amounts of time in between, literally months or over a year for some of them. We'll see how well it all goes together. I suppose that will be the real test of my note taking.