Starting to mark and cut

Before I could begin to mark out for the first frame I needed to make four sawing horses to lay the frame out on and cut the timber. The weather wasn't too good so I spent the time in the garage making these.


In January 2012 I began to cut the wall posts to length for the front and rear frames and also the sole and wall plates. Although I was able to use my portable circular saw to help a little with this task it was not large enough to cut any timber right the way through so I had to finish with a hand saw. 


To cut the sole plates (150mm square) I used the power saw to cut as deep as I could on each side and then finished off with the hand saw - finally planing the ends square. Marking and cutting the mortice and tenon joints was not too difficult but checking for fit was harder as gravity meant that the weight of the post would easily wedge the post tight making it difficult to get out. I soon learnt and became more proficient at cutting the joints to fit a little more easily.


As I handled the timber more I realised that by the time I got to the roof I would need some scaffolding and pulleys to lift the roof timbers into position. I ordered some scaffolding to make a simple frame and also two double pulleys and rope - I also realised that this would provide me with the possibility of constructing a shelter to work under when the weather was less good. 

Assembling the scaffolding into two A frames was the easy bit - fortunately my friend Howard came round just at the right moment to help me get the top bar and brace in position. Progress was being made.