Project Information
My shop is squeezed into 20' x 20'….
A lot has happened in my life since I had that shop. I sold my house, bought some land, had a new house built. I had to put all of my tools into storage for a year while the house was built, but in doing that I have had the opportunity to build my dream shop, and I am almost there. First, living in North Carolina my lot was blessed with many large Long Leaf and Loblolly Pines. I had all of the logs saved and then milled. That happened in January 2018. The house was completed in July 2018 and I was able again to shoehorn most of my tools back into a new 20' x 20' space. Meanwhile I had my turn-down pad poured for my new shop. It is 20' x 40'. At that point I was able to start working my timbers. My first inclination was to do all of my mortises in a multi-step process; 1. hog out the majority with a drill. 2. Use a 3 1/2" deep Ammana straight router bit and a jig to clean out as much as I could. 3. Get the remaining depth with traditional timber framing chisels. After completing two columns I quickly learned that my shoulders were not going to take that kind of beating. I broke down and spent the $1600 for a Makita Chain Mortiser. I worked through all of my tenons with both my 10" Makita and 8 14" Skil circular saws. Even with all of the power tools anyone who has done any timber framing knows just how much hand chisel work is left…alot! The parts consisted of 6" x 8" x 12' columns, 6" x 8" x 16' Rafters, 6" x 10" x 20' cross ties, 6" x 6" x 7" queen posts, 4" x 6" knee braces, 6"x 6" rafter ties, 3" x 6" x 10' purlins, 2" x 6 " girts, 1" x 10" siding boards and 1" x 3" battens. I started manufacturing parts in November 2018 and finished that process in early March 2019. I then started assembly of my bents. There was a total of 5 bents which I completed by March 25th. I arraigned for a crew to help me with the barn raising on March 30th. I ordered a crane and operator for the day. I can tell you that I was a nervous wreck that day. The bents are designed for compression loads not tension loads and I cringed every time one as lifted from the horizontal to the vertical and then hoisted into position. It took us 8 hours but 8 guys who have never timber framed before in their lives were able to get the job done. All major construction was finished late July 2019 and I had my last inspection in the first week of August. I am now putting in the finishing touches of extra electrical and I am ready to move my tools in. The next big step will be to arrange the shop. That could be a huge job in itself!
-Michael A. Brailsford
A lot has happened in my life since I had that shop. I sold my house, bought some land, had a new house built. I had to put all of my tools into storage for a year while the house was built, but in doing that I have had the opportunity to build my dream shop, and I am almost there. First, living in North Carolina my lot was blessed with many large Long Leaf and Loblolly Pines. I had all of the logs saved and then milled. That happened in January 2018. The house was completed in July 2018 and I was able again to shoehorn most of my tools back into a new 20' x 20' space. Meanwhile I had my turn-down pad poured for my new shop. It is 20' x 40'. At that point I was able to start working my timbers. My first inclination was to do all of my mortises in a multi-step process; 1. hog out the majority with a drill. 2. Use a 3 1/2" deep Ammana straight router bit and a jig to clean out as much as I could. 3. Get the remaining depth with traditional timber framing chisels. After completing two columns I quickly learned that my shoulders were not going to take that kind of beating. I broke down and spent the $1600 for a Makita Chain Mortiser. I worked through all of my tenons with both my 10" Makita and 8 14" Skil circular saws. Even with all of the power tools anyone who has done any timber framing knows just how much hand chisel work is left…alot! The parts consisted of 6" x 8" x 12' columns, 6" x 8" x 16' Rafters, 6" x 10" x 20' cross ties, 6" x 6" x 7" queen posts, 4" x 6" knee braces, 6"x 6" rafter ties, 3" x 6" x 10' purlins, 2" x 6 " girts, 1" x 10" siding boards and 1" x 3" battens. I started manufacturing parts in November 2018 and finished that process in early March 2019. I then started assembly of my bents. There was a total of 5 bents which I completed by March 25th. I arraigned for a crew to help me with the barn raising on March 30th. I ordered a crane and operator for the day. I can tell you that I was a nervous wreck that day. The bents are designed for compression loads not tension loads and I cringed every time one as lifted from the horizontal to the vertical and then hoisted into position. It took us 8 hours but 8 guys who have never timber framed before in their lives were able to get the job done. All major construction was finished late July 2019 and I had my last inspection in the first week of August. I am now putting in the finishing touches of extra electrical and I am ready to move my tools in. The next big step will be to arrange the shop. That could be a huge job in itself!
-Michael A. Brailsford