The Loft

Recently I was able to put the beams I cut from the old dead red oak to good use. I hewed the 3 x 6 joists down to 3 x 4 at the ends and mortised them into the cross-beams of the timber frame. I spaced them on 24'' centers and ran them 3'' into the crossbeam. I added blocking down the center and the floor seamed really sturdy.

I framed in an attic pull down ladder to access the loft. This kept a staircase from eating up shop space.

After all the joist were in place I nailed down tongue and groove bead board and then plywood flooring on top of that to make a strong floor for storage. The bead board is mainly for looks and it was cheap. I found the stuff at the Habitat for Humanity store in Nashville and bought all thay had.

I now have plenty of space to store all the clutter out of the way. There is room to add another loft on the other end of the shop but that can wait til winter.

Here is the comb bending form for the fan back chair I had left off of the previous blog entry. Please send me some pictures if anyone makes one of these chairs. Best of luck!