Timber Framing Terms
A
Adze: An axelike tool with its blade at right angles to its handle, used to shape or dress timbers
Anchor Beam: Major tying beam. Joined to post with shouldered through-tenon, sometimes wedged from the opposite side
B
Bay: Space between two bents.
Beam: A main horizontal member in a building's frame.
Beetle: A large heavy wooden mallet used to seat joinery. aka Persuader
Bent: Structural network of timbers or a truss that makes up one cross-sectional piece of the frame.
Bird's Mouth: A V-shaped notch that resembles a bird's open beak. It is cut into the base of a rafter and received by the plate.
Broad axe: A large single beveled axe used for hewing logs into timbers.
C
Chamfer: A simple bevel done to embellish the timbers.
Check: Separation of wood fibers following the direction of the rays.
Come-Along: A hand operated ratchet winch. Used for pulling joints
together, as a safety tie when raising a bent, and for pulling the frame
together during the raising.
Common Rafters: Closely and regularly spaced inclined timbers that
support the roof covering. Independent of the bent system.
Collar tie: A connecting beam between two rafters.
Corner Chisel: A heavy duty L-shaped chisel struck with a mallet. Used for cleaning out corners of a mortise.
Crown Post: Central vertical post of a roof truss that connects the bent plate or girt to the collar tie or collar purlin.
Cruck: Primitive truss formed by two main timbers, usually curved, set up as an arch or inverted V. Each half of the cruck is called a blade, and a pair is often cut from the same tree.
D
Dovetail: A tenon that is shaped like a dove's spread tail to fit into a corresponding mortise.
Draw Knife: A knife blade with handles on both ends so that the knife can be pulled by both hands toward the user.
F
Framing Chisel: A heavy duty chisel typically with one and half to two inch wide blade
and at least 15" in length.Designed to be used with a mallet.
G
Gable Roof: A double sloping roof that forms an A-shape.
Gambrel Roof: A double pitched roof with the lower slope steeper than the upper slope.
Girder: Major timber that spans between sills.
Girt: Major horizontal timber that connects posts.
Green Wood: Wood freshly cut that is not dried or seasoned.
Gunstock Post: A post wider at the top than the bottom. The wider portion provides more wood for intersecting joinery. aka Jowled post
H
Half Dovetail: A dovetail tapered only on one side.
Half Lap: A joint in which the two timbers are lapped or let-in to each other.
Hammer Beam: A roof bracket projecting from the top of the wall that supports a roof truss.
The design creates a large roof span with relatively short timbers.
Housing: The shallow mortise or cavity for receiving the major part of a timber end.
Hand hewn: The conversion of logs to timbers by means of broad axes and adzes. To square up by hand.
J
Joinery: The art or craft of connecting timbers using wooden joints.
Joint: The connection of two or more timbers.
Joists: Smaller,usualy rectangle in dimension and used complete the floor frame.
Joiner: Title of the craftsman who cuts the joints.
K
Kerfing: Either a series of cuts with a circular saw set at a desired depth to remove a section of wood or the hand-sawing along the shoulder of an assembled joint to improve the fit of the joint.
King Post: A central, vertical post extending from the bent plate or girt to the junction of the rafters.
Knee Brace: A small timber that is framed diagonally between a post and a beam.
Kiln dry: The process of rapid drying timber in a sealed container through the use of
steam and dehumidification.
L
Lean-To: A shed section of a building that is framed into the main frame.
M
Mortise: A groove or slot into which or through which a tenon is inserted.
Mortise-and-Tenon Joint: Any joint in which a projection on one end of a timber is inserted into a groove or slot in another timber.
O
Overhang: Projection of second story beyond the first.
P
Peg: A wooden dowel usually of oak or other stright grained hardwood used to fasten joints.
Plates: Major horizontal timbers that support the base of the rafters.
Post: Vertical or upright timber.
Principal Rafters: A pair of inclined timbers that are framed into a bent.
Purlins: Horizontal timbers that connect rafter trusses. Spanning between
each truss or bent connecting the frame horizontally.
Q
Queen Post: A pair of vertical posts of a roof truss standing on the bent plate or girt and supporting the rafters or collar tie.
R
Rafter Feet: The lower ends of the rafters that are framed into the plate.
Rafter Peak: The point where the tops of the rafters meet.
Raising the Frame: Erecting the bents and roof trusses and joining and pegging the other
timbers to the frame.
Ridge Beam: A horizontal timber at the peak of the roof to which the rafters are attached.
S
Scarf: A joint for splicing two members, end to end.
Sheathing: The covering of boards or of waterproof material
on the outside wall of a house or on a roof.
Shed Roof: A roof sloping in one direction.
Sill Timbers: Horizontal timbers that rest upon the foundation.
Slick: A chisel with a blade at least two and half inches in width. It is pushed by the hands instead of being struck with a mallet.
Soffit: The underside part of a building such as under a roof overhang.
Structural Insulated Panels: A sandwich of materials, containing two skins, one inside and one outside, and a core of insulation.
Strut: A short timber placed in a structure either diagonally or vertically, designed to act in compression along the direction of its lengths.
Summer Beam: Major timber that spans between girts or plates.
T
Tenon: The projecting end of a timber that is inserted into a mortise.
Through Tenon: A tenon that passes through the timber it joins. It may extend past the mortise and be wedged from the opposite side.
Tongue and Fork: A type of joint in which one timber has the shape of a two prong
fork and the other a central tongue that fits between the prongs.
Trunnel or Treenail: A peg. Sometimes refers to an extra-large peg.
Truss: Assemblage of timbers forming a rigid framework. Example: A bent.
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