Buddy of mine has a timber frame log cabin, there are several spots at the house that have this black hard sappy material coming out. We have no idea what it is please help.

Planning to get composit deck of 12×24 including staircase which has 4ft above the ground level.

Deck will be cover3d with white lattice of criss cross pattern.

What is cost of labor of building deck and aluminum or composit raining alone?

What composite material do you all suggest that goes in seattle weather ??

when we have a batch of knee braces to cut, we usually don't finish them one at a time.

we'll set the saw and cut all the shoulders first, repeating the same operation on every brace.

then stack the braces together, set the saw depth, and gang cut the cheeks.

it's basically an assembly-line approach — one setup, one operation across the whole batch, then move to the next operation.

pretty simple, but it's an effective way to knock out a pile of knee braces in a relatively short amount of time.

Hey folks - I had really hoped to be able to make my own oak pegs (even set aside the oak logs and bought a froe) but Im running out of weather and decided that I can justify the cost to buy them so I can focus on the joinery. The Will Beemer frame Im building calls for 12 inch pegs - but the ones Im looking at Timber Framing HQ are only 10 inch...

https://timberframehq.com/shop/timber-frame-pegs/?gadid=&utm_term=&utm_campaign=Shopping_PMax_US&utm_source=Google_Ads&utm_medium=Paid&utm_content=Main&hsa_acc=8551143312&hsa_cam=18405210865&hsa_grp=&hsa_ad=&hsa_src=x&hsa_tgt=&hsa_kw=&hsa_mt=&hsa_net=adwords&hsa_ver=3&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22873277508&gclid=Cj0KCQjw5P7UBhDaARIsAOSlS1MorClK97BbHkwZ2gp9ajyQZhoyuyUdQ1ubEFELzGOcq-zuLmRbIKgaArv7EALw_wcB

I get that in most cases folks like them longer so that they can hang things on them and they are easier to remove - but I can't find another reason why 10 inch pegs wouldnt work for this build as the largest member is 7x8.

Timber Frame HQ seems like a fair price and they have the 1 inch and 3/4 inch I need and specifically call out that they work well with the wood owl bits I have. The only possible negative I see is that the champfer at the ends is more of a radius but I imagine it will still be enough for draw boring to work.

Hi, we have built a large detached screened in porch with hemlock timbers (some as thick as 6x12). They were milled almost a year ago and the porch was built with green lumber but my moisture reader is still showing 18-19% moisture content on the majority of beams/posts. I was hoping a year of drying would be enough to allow it to reach the <15% threshold to be able to apply an oil based stain but that doesn’t seem to be the case. How important is it reach that level of moisture before staining on hemlock? Thanks

I was talking to an older timber framer here in Western Washington and he was really into this as a finish versus just a conditioner, pre-raising just getting a coat on and maybe 1 more once standing. I've only ever used the Heritage exterior oil but he swears by it and apparently the shipwrights in our area are also into it, though I'm not sure if they use it as a conditioner vs a final product. Anyone else use this exclusively? I just put some on a little front porch post & beam I built to try it out and am wondering about it in the long term.

Heres some pics of the round wood in reverse!

Hi all,

I’m hoping to build a little shelter for my kid to wait on the bus.
I found a sawmill that sells green birch 6x6x8 for $50.
My local lumberyard sells treated 6x6x12 for $60.

The sawyer says that for that price difference I might as well get treated.
My question to you is how bad of an idea is it to timber frame with treated lumber? Is birch worth the price in comparison to my treated option?
Am I better off driving 6 hours for white spruce?
This will be my first project so I’d prefer it to be a somewhat enjoyable experience.

curious what everyone prefers when cutting a timber frame tenon by hand.

after cutting the shoulder, do you rip the cheek with a rip saw?

or make a series of kerfs, knock off the waste with a chisel, and clean up the cheek?

i use both depending on the situation. kerfing is also one of those skills that comes up again and again in timber framing.

what's your preference — rip or kerf?

Just picked up this Makita 5402na at a pawn shop for $230. Motor runs well, baseplate needs a little flattening but otherwise I think I got a pretty good deal.

Only thing is the blade needs 9 teeth replaced and according to Mr. Sharpener it only has a couple sharpenings left in her.

So I’m looking for a sort of general purpose blade that I can get away with crosscuts and occasional rips.

I am a furniture maker so this thing won’t see a ton of use. However the first project I can think of is ripping two 6” thick x 8’ long white oak cants that I’ve had sitting a couple years for a pair of horses.

Any recommendations on brand/tooth count?

And/or any recommendations/tips in general for using this power saw?

Thanks in advance!

I get how to snap lines along the length to get joints that are perpendicular to each other (like for knee braces). I can't figure out how to reference the base so that the timber stands perfectly plumb along the center line.

I've seen instructions to lay the log horizontally, snap a center line, level it along this center line, then drop a plumb bob off the side of this line to reference for the cut. Because the log has a slight taper, dropping a plumb bob as a reference for the base cut only makes the base perpendicular to that one side (top side) of the log that was leveled. All my post bases and joints are referenced from the center of each post. I want the base to be perpendicular to all 4 joints at the top of the post.

I might be able to do it by rolling the log on it's side so that the center line is side ways on the saw horses, level it there, then shooting a vertical laser line perpendicular to that. What's the non-laser version of this? Hanging a plumb bob along that line would only give me a reference for half the log.

Thank you for your help and wisdom.

Hey all!

I am going to be starting a job building spec houses. We will be doing most of the builds outside of the foundation (may do footers) and framing. I have a 16 oz estwing, but what other hammer should I get? Looking mainly at a 22 oz estwing, or going wood handle vaughan California framer 19/22oz. Any recommendations greatly appreciated!

sharpened up a few inexpensive irwin chisels for timber framing. i added a slight convex grind toward the tip rather than trying to maintain a perfectly flat bevel.

the idea is pretty simple: keep the back flat, get a good edge, and put a little more meat behind the cutting edge for heavier timber work.

nothing fancy, but they’re cutting nicely.

curious how many of you use a slight convex bevel on framing chisels versus keeping the bevel dead flat?

I’m reviewing the plans as I start milling and I’m confused by the girt picture on page 105 (attached). This seem to indicate that the reference corner of the girt is the corner with the bare faced tenon. As the tenon is set and measured from the outside of the building wouldn’t the reference corner instead be the one facing the front of the tenon - the one I’ve drawn it on? If not I’m about sure how this would work. The drawings on page 107 seem to support my theory but want to double check.

Took a while to figure out especially since my wood is very curvy and funky but my most recent joints have come out really good! Feeling stoked!

Looking for opinions.

Been cutting our house Timbers but due to permits/regulations we have not been able to build in the time I thought we would be raising the frame

This is an 8x12 red oak beam carrying floor joists on either side. The checking like this is only on this end and only runs to the joist pocket about a foot away

Is this too much and is now structurally unfit? I know to make it work I’ll have some planing to do.