up and running

last weekend, during the first gathering of the season, the timber frame workshop at destiny came back to life with chisels, planes, squares, pencils and lots of laugther, a brief review and introduction to timber framing and a couple of good days of work during which we started carving the cross beams that will tie the three bents of the kitchen together.

the timbers survived the winter well, a bit drier now that six months has passed, a bit mildewed here and there (lesson: do not tarp your timbers too tightly) but nothing that a few swipes of a plane won't remedy.

our plan is to complete the timber cutting over the next five weeks and raise it in the first week of july. i'm not sure how exactly we'll raise it. there are a few options. my inclination, though i'm not sure it's the smartest way to go, is to put raise small sections that can be lifted by a small number of people rather than lifting the entire 50-foot bent which will weigh in the thousands of pounds. the frame is set up in such a way that two column sections can be lifted into place and secured independently, then tied together once they're all raised.

the picture...hmmmm