High School Intro To Timber Framing Class

[Natty Bumppo]

In the Nobel Prize thread Catscratch asked if I had any updated pics from my high school timber frame class. Thought I'd post some up here as I know many of you will appreciate it. I've been teaching this class for about 12 years now and this school year it was the MOST requested course offered at my high school. I am actually training a colleague who is also my buddy to teach the class with me so we can offer it to more kids. It is a unique opportunity for my students to learn a centuries old craft. No phones. No computers. Just 10 kids per class using basic hand tools to build a basic 10x12 timber frame shed.

What's really special is that the most well known timber framer in the country, Jack Sobon, is a graduate of my high school and lives 20 minutes away. He is literally the guy who wrote the book about timber framing after rediscovering it in the late 70's. He is a frequent guest lecturer in my shop and continues to write prolifically about the craft. There is also a very good chance my class is the only high school timber frame class in the country.

Here are some pics.....spring of 2022



Our first small shed back in 2012 or so.....I'm the guy in the polka dot welder's cap up top.



Our biggest ever building....a 12x16 we raised at a local Zip Line and Ropes business.....back in 2016.




Spring of 2019....



2013 or so....we raised it in the atrium of our school just before Christmas.



A few from my shop......



We built them even with masks on......



A beautiful 10x12 that we sold to a former teacher....spring of 2023.



Jack Sobon pays a visit......



And finally.....these guys! These 5 guys took my class in the fall of 2021 as seniors and excelled. They liked it so much they came back in the spring of 2022 and retook my class as Teaching Assistants. They are all bright, hard working, 3 sport athletes. They told me that their dad's were making them get jobs their senior summer before going off to college, but that they didn't want typical 17 year old high school senior jobs. They asked me if I thought they could make and sell timber frames on Facebook. I said of course....and I let them borrow all of my tools that summer. They worked together in one of their back yards and totally designed, cut, raised, and sold 5 timbers frames that summer before they went off to college. Proud of all my timber frame students....but REALLY proud of these guys! Just the kind of young men that give me faith in the upcoming generation. They bought the wood for this 10x12 for $1200 and sold the frame for $3k.




Hope you enjoyed.

 

[Telemark]

Do you know of any online resources that would help me build something similar? My brother in law and I would like to build a guest cabin for visitors, but neither of us have built a structure from scratch before.

 

[Catscratch]

Outstanding and thanks! And thanks for pointing yourself out. I sometimes wish our online friends had an image for my head to associate with (something factual, not my made-up image).
The frames are amazing, and I love that some of your students have started to earn money with their skills. Very cool and good job!
What's the tradition of attaching a bough to the top?

 

[Ben.MN/WI]

That's really cool. How many man hours does it take to make one of those?

 

[bossgobbler]

This is excellent. What a fun class that must be! Well done to you and your students. Beautiful structures you’ve built.

I take down and preserve antique hand hewn timber frame barns and hand hewn log cabins from the 1800s. Some we sell and others I’ve kept. The skill and workmanship is fascinating. The Appalachian area is fortunate to have those old structures around. I love to see them restored.

 

[Turkey Creek]

Well that is a class I would love to have taken in high school! I maxed out my allowance on shop classes as it was. LOL
I worked at a company for only 6 weeks back around 1995 in western NY state that took old salvaged warehouse beams and turned them into timber frame builds and flooring. Unfortunately they started all the new guys outside pulling iron out of the beams. I got to mill some flooring before I left but never got to work in the timber frame area.

 

[Natty Bumppo]

Do you know of any online resources that would help me build something similar? My brother in law and I would like to build a guest cabin for visitors, but neither of us have built a structure from scratch before.

Yes....one I'd recommend. It's called Timber Frame HQ.

Timber Frame HQ

It's a decent place that has info about the science, history, design, joinery. Youtube also has good info about basic timber framing, but it's not all in one place. For example, I've been thinking about doing a Youtube Video course detailing the processes of designing and building a basic 12x16 shed. Jack Sobon has 2 books of particular help...one isa called Timber Frame Construction: All About Post and Beam Building. It's a great book that details step by step the process of building a 12x16 shed. You can upscale that basic shed to any size you want using the exact same joinery methods. His other book I'd recommend is called Building a Timber Framed House. It's the same idea of his first book but he details how to build a house. In that case, you'd just downsize everything....but all the same joints.

 

[Natty Bumppo]

Outstanding and thanks! And thanks for pointing yourself out. I sometimes wish our online friends had an image for my head to associate with (something factual, not my made-up image).
The frames are amazing, and I love that some of your students have started to earn money with their skills. Very cool and good job!
What's the tradition of attaching a bough to the top?

You bet scratch. Thank you.

The tradition of attaching a pine bough to the highest point goes back centuries and is still done today. It's called the Whetting Bush, though I have no idea what hat refers to. The tradition probably is a way of showing respect for the live trees that were felled to construct the new home or barn.

 

[Natty Bumppo]

That's really cool. How many man hours does it take to make one of those?

Great question. Let's see....10 students working about 4 hours a week is 40 student hours/week. Over the course of 12 weeks = 480 student hours.

The 5 senior boys that TA'd my class built a 10x12 shed in 2 weeks! So that's 5 boys x 4 hours / week x 2 weeks = 40 hours. But they were GOOD!

 

[Natty Bumppo]

This is excellent. What a fun class that must be! Well done to you and your students. Beautiful structures you’ve built.

I take down and preserve antique hand hewn timber frame barns and hand hewn log cabins from the 1800s. Some we sell and others I’ve kept. The skill and workmanship is fascinating. The Appalachian area is fortunate to have those old structures around. I love to see them restored.

Thanks bossgobbler.

That's awesome. I bet you've seen some neat frames over the years. Do you come across a lot of chestnut?

For my business I build a 12x16 frame every winter in which each timber in the frame is a different species. I always be sure to find an old hand hewn chestnut beam to include in my frame. Hot sellers they are. Usually sold the day I list it for sale. I'm probably under-pricing them!

 

[Natty Bumppo]

Well that is a class I would love to have taken in high school! I maxed out my allowance on shop classes as it was. LOL
I worked at a company for only 6 weeks back around 1995 in western NY state that took old salvaged warehouse beams and turned them into timber frame builds and flooring. Unfortunately they started all the new guys outside pulling iron out of the beams. I got to mill some flooring before I left but never got to work in the timber frame area.

That's neat Turkey Creek. About 10 years ago I put a floor down that was exactly what you described. I though they were out of PA? But not sure. They took old timbers from mills and remilled them into T&G flooring. Love the look!