Timber Frame Woodshed Project

So after getting more creosote that I liked last year in the chimney I decided to build a Timber Frame Woodshed. I got the plans from Mother Earth News online http://www.motherearthnews.com/Green-Homes/1995-08-01/A-Timber-Frame-Woodshed.aspx I cut the trees from a driveway I was building, hauled them out to a local small sawmill in Bittinger, Maryland and had them cut to the parts list in the plans. Air dried the wood all summer.

Excavated base in September and rented packer to build a flat base out of crush and run. Put blocks for my foundation. Then started cutting timbers to spec. It has taken a lot longer than I thought but it has been fun.

I have had issues with my drills cutting mortises. My 1/2 inche DeWalt Drill smoked and bits got stuck. I then bought a heavy duty Milwaukee 1/2 inch drill on Ebay. It has a lot more power but I snapped the chuck off of it last week practicing drilling a hole for a 1 inch peg. I was using speed bore drill bits from Lowes. I then bit the bullet and bought some specialty drill bits online that should help. I ordered my pegs from www.pegs.us.

I would not recomend the plans as they are very vague and the parts list does not line up with the project. The joints are also very vague. Looking at large timber frame joints now gives me a lot of appreciation for the art.

I next have to finish cutting my tenons on my 4x4s and then start assembling the project. There is now 8 inches of snow on the ground so I am slowed in my progress.

I am using Oak.

Hey , thats a cool project!! I hope you keep the pictures coming . Your joints look like they fit together real well . I will be looking forward to seeing more.

Great project ! Thanks for the pics.

Oak is tough wood to work with.

You have 8" of snow in Maryland ?

79bombi said:

Looking at large timber frame joints now gives me a lot of appreciation for the art.

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Wow, nice joint in the last photo. I can see why it is taking more time than you planned, but your workmanship appears to be first rate.

I noticed a Ventrac 4000 series tractor in your first photo. Is that your tractor? Several years ago I bought a Ventrac 3100 for mowing slopes and its such a good/fast mower that it has become our dedicated mower.

Nice stuff Bombi! I'm looking forward to more pictures!

Would an electric chainsaw make cutting some of those joints a little faster and easier?

cabinboy said:

Hey , thats a cool project!! I hope you keep the pictures coming . Your joints look like they fit together real well . I will be looking forward to seeing more.

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Some of the joints fit very well together. Some are not as quit a good fit as the different pieces of wood have shrunk at different rates and I only used one piece/side of the braces for my template.

pixie said:

Great project ! Thanks for the pics.

Oak is tough wood to work with.

You have 8" of snow in Maryland ?

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We had 8 inches of snow on Tues. Pics below from Tues. Here is the forecast for today. I am in the very Western part of Maryland.

Today: Snow showers likely, mainly after noon. Cloudy, with a high near 29. West wind between 11 and 14 mph, with gusts as high as 24 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. Total daytime snow accumulation of 1 to 3 inches possible.

Tonight: Snow showers. Low around 20. West wind between 11 and 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New snow accumulation of 6 to 10 inches possible.

Friday: Snow showers, mainly before noon. High near 25. West wind around 14 mph, with gusts as high as 24 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New snow accumulation of 3 to 7 inches possible.

B_Skurka said:

Wow, nice joint in the last photo. I can see why it is taking more time than you planned, but your workmanship appears to be first rate.

I noticed a Ventrac 4000 series tractor in your first photo. Is that your tractor? Several years ago I bought a Ventrac 3100 for mowing slopes and its such a good/fast mower that it has become our dedicated mower.

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I love my Ventrac. I got it a good deal on it. The previous owner had run it without the airfilter and scored the pistons. I had the engine rebuilt and it has been awesome. The snowblower is a work horse and the bucket is mobile wheelbarrow/workshop. I have a small winch that fits in the receiver hitch that I move logs with when I need to. I am amazed at the size of logs I can move with it and if it cant than my snowcat can. I had one very large log that I pulled out with the snowcat. I should have taken a picture. Oh well.

PBinWA said:

Nice stuff Bombi! I'm looking forward to more pictures!

Would an electric chainsaw make cutting some of those joints a little faster and easier?

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I used my gas chain saw on some of the lap joints but it was pretty crude so I went back to the circular saw and finished it with the hand saw. I have borrowed a Prazi saw but have not spent enough time with it to get comfortable. I also had the chain sharpened on it. I think I will use it to cut the roof pieces.