Posts tagged with traditional joinery
What Wood Species Should I Build With?
When you start to plan your Timber Frame project, one of the biggest questions you’ll have to answer is what species of wood you want to use for your frame. The wood species you choose will affect the price of your frame, the dimensions of the wood members, and other […]
Steel Connections and Timber Frames
Today we’re going to look at how Steel is used in Timber Framing. While the traditional joinery techniques that are used in Timber Framing are strong and secure, sometimes steel connections are used to reinforce connections in particularly large structures or when there’s a heavy wind or snow load. Other […]
Traditional Joints Used in Timber Framing
 In this blog post, we’re going to look at some of the Traditional Joinery Methods we use for our Timber Frames. These are traditional joints that have been used in woodworking for centuries and they are strong and durable. While we use Traditional Joinery Methods at Vermont Timber Works, […]
Students From St. Michael’s School Tour Our Timber Shop
Students From St. Michael’s School Tour Our Timber Shop We recently teamed up with St. Michael’s school in CT to build a church timber frame. The frame is going to replace one that was originally built in 1861 that had an addition added to it in 1867. Unfortunately, the original […]
Timber Framing vs. Post and Beam Construction
Timber Framing vs Post and Beam Construction Something that is commonly confused is the difference between timber framing and post and beam construction. The major difference, really the only difference, is the type of joinery that is used. A timber framed building uses traditional joinery, like mortise and tenon, […]
Tools of the Timber Trade: The Wire Wheel
To finish the Tools of the Timber Trade series, I would like to visit one of the unsung heroes of timber fabrication, the Wire Wheel and Angled Grinder. Every tool that we have visited in the past couple of weeks is used to make the traditional joints that we cut […]
Tools of the Timber Trade: Maebiki Oga
Today our timber framing tool journey takes us to Japan where we will discuss the Maebiki Oga saw, or as the English call it “The Whale Back Saw”. Below you will see a photo of Dan Devine, our resident “Tool Guru” using his personal Oga saw. According to Amemiya-Daiku, a […]
Custom Timber Frame Home
We build custom timber frame homes that suit the needs of our clients. It’s our speciality. Let’s take a look at an example! The client (let’s call him Todd) wanted a unique timber frame home where he could host parties, brew beer, and have a place to park his cars. […]
Understanding The Basics Of Traditional Joinery
Now that I’ve written the dovetail post, it has occurred to me that I may have jumped the gun a little bit. The dovetail is an incredible, beautiful joint, but it’s just one of many. So for this post, I’m going to zoom out and break down the basics of […]
Wrought-Iron & Timber Horse Barn
Would you build a timber frame horse barn on your property? What if you  never planned on owning horses? I would! It would be an investment. Honestly, I don’t think that is what this particular client had in mind, but it makes sense to me. This barn is completely fit up […]
Historic and Traditional Barn Frame
We love working on historic projects! They are great fun and can be wonderful learning experiences.  Let’s take a look at a timber frame barn we constructed for the Olana Wagon House. But first, it’s worth checking out their website for upcoming events. There are typically activities scheduled for the whole […]
Custom Timber Frame Boathouse
The timber frame boathouse featured in this post is completely custom, and has some really cool details. Do you see those scrolled rafter tails? I bet Kellin was involved. They give the frame a touch of elegance. Here’s another shot, stepping back, so you can appreciate the overall design.The roof […]
King & Queen Post Trusses
Hail to the King and Queen! 😉 The King Post Truss is straight forward and strong. A king post truss can usually be joined traditionally depending on the span and engineering. In some cases, a king post truss does need to be reinforced with steel plates. The Vermont Teddy Bear […]
Raising A Timber Frame
Once timbers have been cut, applied with finish, organized, and packaged up, it’s time to ship them! Where’s the truck? Has anyone heard from Gordon? Â I’ll call him, let’s get these hemlock timbers loaded and get this show on the road. Now the real fun begins! Â If you haven’t witnessed […]
Girder Truss Applications
In this post we wanted to talk a little bit more about the Girder Truss, when it’s typically used and what it can be designed for. Girder Trusses have a long, straight design. Primarily, the role of a girder truss is to support other structural elements in the Timber frame, […]
Scissor Truss Designs
Beautiful, interesting and often requested by our clients, the scissor truss is a complex and dynamic truss design. While definitely evoking a specific look and style, from an engineering standpoint, the Scissor Truss is not the most efficient truss style, unlike the most efficient King Post truss. So the Scissor […]
Constructing A Dining Hall With New & Reclaimed Timber
Sunny 95 is a dining hall in Arlington, OH. The timber frame for this project was constructed using new timber and reclaimed timber.  The new portion of the frame was handcrafted in our shop. We worked with R. W. Setterlin & the Timber Framer’s Guild on this project. Timber Frame Raising The picture […]
Rough Sawn Hemlock–the Unsung Hero of Timber Framing
Here in New England we have a number of species of trees in our forests, which is why we have such spectacular foliage. One of my personal favorite trees is the Eastern hemlock, Tsuga canadensis, a coniferous water-loving species. Hemlock is one of the species we recommend for a number […]
Hybrid Timber Framing
Sometimes a hybrid timber frame is exactly what a client needs to keep a project in budget. The new Badger factory is a wonderful example of this very situation. Vermont Timber Works provided a douglas fir timber frame that is an addition to the builders conventional framing. The frame creates the […]
Timber Framing with Steel Joinery
We love timber framing–that’s why we do what we do. What really makes a timber frame come together? It comes down to how the pieces are connected, what we call joinery. And there are a number of options when it comes to the type of joinery, including steel joinery, traditional […]
Pretty Post & Beam Boathouse
We recently worked to build a boat house on Lake Sunapee. It was a fun project. The frame design needed to be strong enough for a boat lift, and of course handsome. As an interesting side note, permits are not being given out for boathouses on the lake currently, but […]
Timber Frame Shelter at Six Flags New England
We worked directly with Six Flags New England to provide a custom timber frame shelter for roller coaster riders to wait in line under. This design features king post trusses with traditional joinery in western red cedar. The design is  straight forward and strong just the way our engineer likes it. […]
