Sovereignty Module: Raise the Frame

Complete Timber Framing: From Standing Tree to Standing Structure

Timber framing creates buildings that last centuries using only wood and joinery — no nails, no steel. This campaign covers tree selection, layout, joinery, raising, and structural principles.

Chapter 1: Timber Selection and Preparation

Timber preparation: 1) Fell in winter (less sap, fewer insects, ground frozen for skidding). 2) Hew or saw to square section (broadaxe for hewing, pit saw or sawmill for sawing). 3) Size timbers to plan (standard: posts 8×8, beams 8×10 or 8×12, rafters 6×8). 4) Air dry minimum 6 months per inch of thickness (green timber shrinks and checks). 5) Alternatively: frame green and allow to dry in place (traditional method — joints tighten as wood shrinks). 6) Mark each timber with layout marks (Roman numerals or scribe marks for assembly).

Chapter 2: Layout and Design

Chapter 3: Timber Frame Joinery

Mortise and tenon (timber scale): 1) Tenon: typically 1/3 width of timber, 2/3 depth. 2) Mark tenon with framing square and marking gauge. 3) Cut tenon cheeks with handsaw (tenon saw or frame saw). 4) Cut shoulders cleanly (defines visible joint line). 5) Mortise: mark from tenon (transfer dimensions exactly). 6) Bore out waste with auger (series of overlapping holes). 7) Chop to lines with framing chisel (wide, heavy chisel). 8) Pare walls smooth and square. 9) Test fit (should require mallet to seat — snug, not forced). 10) Drill for peg: offset peg hole in tenon slightly toward shoulder (drawbore — pulls joint tight when pegged).

Chapter 4: Raising the Frame

Raising procedure: 1) Assemble bent (cross-section of frame) flat on ground. 2) Peg all joints in bent. 3) Position bent at foundation edge (bottom will pivot on sill). 4) Attach ropes to top of bent. 5) Crew pushes with pike poles (long poles with metal tips). 6) Other crew pulls ropes from opposite side. 7) Guide bent vertical — do NOT let it go past vertical. 8) Brace immediately with temporary diagonal braces. 9) Repeat for each bent. 10) Connect bents with girts, plates, and tie beams. 11) Add permanent braces. 12) Traditional: entire community helps raise — "barn raising."

Chapter 5: Enclosure and Finishing

Reference Card

1. Braces make it rigid (without diagonal braces, a frame racks and collapses — triangulation is structural). 2. Drawbore pulls tight (offset peg hole in tenon pulls joint together — no clamps needed). 3. Layout is everything (measure twice, cut once applies tenfold — a miscut timber is wasted). 4. Green framing is traditional (frame with green wood, joints tighten as wood shrinks around pegs). 5. Sill on stone (wood touching ground rots — always elevate sill beams on stone or concrete foundation). 6. Raise with community (a bent raising requires 10-20 people — this is a community event by necessity). 7. Oak for strength, pine for ease (oak is strongest but hardest to work; pine is easy but weaker — choose wisely). 8. Pegs not nails (wooden pegs flex with the frame; metal fasteners corrode and work loose over centuries).