The Cordwood Folk School is proud to offer “An Introduction to Timber Framing and The Square Rule”, running Monday, July 20 through Saturday, July 25, from 9am to 5pm each day. Led by instructor Mark Duffe, this hands-on course is for anyone who has ever wanted to work with heavy timber and create a structure built to endure generations.
In this six-day course you will learn the basics of timber frame construction, using the square-rule method and working from a set of shop drawings. With hands-on learning you will gain the knowledge to build your own timber frame project. This course focuses on laying out and cutting traditional joinery. You will also learn shop safety, proper tool use, sharpening skills, square rule layout, and raising techniques.
The frame students build together is a full 16-foot by 20-foot three-bent structure with a half-loft, suitable as a bunkie, cabin, or shed. Every component of the frame will be laid out and cut by the students themselves — tie beams, posts, knee braces, rafter plates, and rafters — before the entire frame is raised together on the sixth day. It’s real, functional building from start to finish.
Mark Duffe has over 15 years of hands-on experience in the timber frame industry in Eastern Ontario, and has spent the past 13 years teaching the log and timber frame component of the Heritage Carpentry Program at Algonquin College, in Perth. In addition to his teaching, he has led three log building and timber frame courses for Indigenous communities in the Yukon over the past six years.
Find more details about this course and The Cordwood Folk School at thecordwoodstudio.com.