Green Timber Framing Course
Learn How To Traditional Green Timber Frame
In designing this intensive 5 - day green timber framing course our aim is to teach you the essential timber framing techniques to enable you to build your own green oak (or other woods) buildings. From wood selection and tool choice to designing frames and cutting joints, this comprehensive timber framing course will give you the skills to create beautiful and functional buildings.
Using a mixture of hand tools and modern electric machines, we will guide you through the marking and cutting of traditional timber framing joinery including mortise and tenons, dovetails, bridle joints and scarf joints. We'll also cover modern weathering details, glazing techniques and roofing your building.
As a group we will build a full scale small building frame so that at the end of the course you will have been part of the building and erection of a completed frame.
What is a Green Oak Timber Frame Building?
Green wood has been used in buildings for millennia and refers to wood which is freshly cut and therefore has a high moisture content. Green wood is convenient because it is easily available, cheaper than dried timber and is full of character. Wood shrinks and distorts when it dries however and so when building with green wood, the careful builder must take account of this shrinkage and design and join the frame in a specific way. The result is a strong, sturdy building, held together by clever joinery that is full of character with its chunky beams and pegged joints. There are many examples of green oak buildings in the UK which are still standing and sturdy which are hundreds of years old.
Oak is synonymous with traditional green timber framing due to its strength and durability but there is lots of scope to use other woods. Today many builders use other woods such as Larch, Douglas fir or Spruce due to their lower price, sustainability credentials and excellent suitability. On this course we will be using Douglas Fir for our project as it is an excellent wood for frames, is locally sourced in Scotland and has stunning warm tones and character. The techniques learned on this wood are identical to the techniques used on oak and so you will leave with an understanding of how to work any wood into frames.
Timber Framing Course Syllabus
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Wood selection, properties and considerations
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Buying wood, cutting lists and planning
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Designing simple frames; hand-drawing, computer-aided.
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Marking out joints; mortise and tenons, dovetails, bridle joints and scarf joints
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How to scribe joints
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Mill rule
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Draw-pegging joints
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Tools of the trade; hand tools, machinery
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Sharpening hand tools
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Weathering details and glazing techniques
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Simple roofing techniques (discussion)
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Erecting and finishing frames
Timber Framing Course Details
This course is run from 'Brodies Timber' at Inver Mill near Dunkeld. Brodies is a timber yard and bespoke joinery manufacturers and they have ample under-under space for us to lay out and build our frame. The course will run from 0900 - 1700 each day. Only a few hundred metres from Brodies is Invermill Farm Caravan Park for those who want extremely convenient local accommodation. The campsite must be booked separately of the course and can be done HERE. Tents can only be booked in advance via us so please contact us if you wish to book a tent space.
