The Perfect Tree

After months of planning the timber frame shop we started searching for the straightest tallest trees we could find. Bill Nelson supplied all the red oak trees for this shop from his farm in southern Indiana. He is an expert at felling big trees and without his help none of this would be possible. Bill, pictured above, has played such a big role in this project and we both have had a blast cutting all the timber.

As you can see Bill has some real nice red oaks. The straighter the better. The logs are cut to rough length then sawed on the Woodmizer sawmill. 8'' x 8'' posts and 8'' x 10'' beams are cut with the pith in the center or otherwise known as boxed heart. This allows the timber to remain stable with equal amount of wood to dry around the center of the log. Doing this has proven to be worth the time because these timbers have remained straight since cutting these back in March.

The New Shop

Hi, Welcome to my blog about what's going on around the shop. I am a chair maker from Hendersonville, Tn. I am in the process of building a timber frame shop to build chairs and other period style furniture. Windsor chairs have been my specialty for many years.

I remember the first time I walked into Curtis Buchanan's shop in Jonesboro how I felt as if stepping back in time. The timber frame interior had a warmth to it that made you feel alive unlike the garage shops I was use to. The wood floors, timbers above, wood stove, and many windows surrounded you with a perfect environment to create your work. It was not a hard decision what to do when I needed a new shop.

I will be posting pictures of the progress of the shop from time to time. The "Barn Raising" will take place August 29th. The foundation is in place for the 18' x 36' space. I will post pictures of cutting the timber next.