Heartwood 2020: Timber Framing Intensive, July 10

Friday finds the class completing the bents and fitting the first of three. As is almost always the case, there is a mortise or tenon to adjust. Even with only seven classmates, the first time through the timber frame fabrication process almost always has mortises and tenons that need to be adjusted during the pre-fitting. Instructor Will Beemer led the timber framers through the checks on overall bent dimensions, individual timber lengths that could be contributing to the less than tight fit, squareness checks, and other considerations to assure that the fix for the fit problem works as intended.

The second rafter plate mortises were bored by the students. Short shrift was made of the work as three boring machines were employed simultaneously on the plate. Masks and social distancing protocols were observed, but Will and the students had fun encouraging each other to work safely.

The high temperature and thunderstorm had us knocking off early after the students spent some time learning about riving pegs and the use of shop tools.

All in all, it was a very good first week for Heartwood’s summer session and the Timber Framing Intensive class. As it turns out, starting with a small class of students as we learn how to conduct our classes in what we hope is a temporary (perhaps only this year), but "new normal" manner, will allow us to refine the hygienic protocols for maximum effectiveness.