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Every August when StephenMorrison sets up his timberframe display at the Southern

Energy and Environment Expo nearAsheville, North Carolina, fellowexhibitors marvel at the detail inthe impressive wooden frames. Theowner of MoreSun Designs doescustom woodwork, including timberframes and furniture design, out ofhis solar-powered workshop in thenearby South Carolina community ofMountain Rest.

But once the Expo starts, folks aremore likely to find him at the dem-onstration site up the hill, carefullycrafting tenons or measuring a mortisefor fit. The impromptu workshop givespeople an opportunity to see firsthandhow timber frames are constructed,and it gave me a chance to take a closerlook at the hefty trestle horses tradi-tionally used in timber framing.

They’re heavy for good reason, asthe timbers they support can weighseveral hundred pounds—well be-

yond the comfort range of aspindly sawhorse. Morrisonactually uses the sturdy steedsas a training exercise for new

students, who put the poniesthey’ve made to good useon subsequent timber frameprojects.

The traditional trestle horseis made from red or white oak,though any structural speciessuch as birch, pine, spruce, andothers would serve well. Youcan scout for suitable timbersources at sawmills, at com-munity harvest festivals, orby checking with your countyextension agent for local saw-

yers. You’ll need one 31 / 2" X 51 / 2" timber 8' in length, andone measuring 51 / 2" X  51 / 2"at least 40" long. The upperbeam measures 31 / 2" wideby 51 / 2" deep, and is 42" inlength. Its lower counterpart,the stretcher, is the same widthand depth, but shorter by 41 / 2".Both are supported on 31 / 2" X 51 / 2" posts 251 / 2" long overall.Each upright rests on a 51 / 2" X 51 / 2" X 20" base. The workingheight at the surface of the

trestle is 28".Despite its imposing ap-

pearance, this is a simpleproject that doesn’t necessar-ily require traditional timber-framing tools. You will need asturdy drill with a 1 / 2" chuck, asharp crosscut handsaw, a 3 / 4"

auger or Forstner bit, a straightedge,a combination square, a bevel gauge,and a measuring tape. Access to a bandsaw will allow you to make the threelong curved cuts, and long pipe clampswill make final assembly easier. You’llalso want a sturdy framing chisel—thelonger the better—and a wooden mal-let. Typical cabinet chisels are a bit toodelicate for this kind of work.

Make the upper beam first. Layit out as in the diagram on page 50,marking a midpoint in the center ofthe piece, then measuring 111 / 2" toeach side of that to locate the innershoulders for the posts. Each postis 51 / 2" wide, so the outer shouldersmust be marked to reflect that as well.

Timber Frame

Trestle PoniesHere’s a stable and sustainable woodcraft project for the shop.

By Richard Freudenberger

    S    T    A    F    F

    P    H    O    T    O    S

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49BACKHOME MAGAZINE JAN /FEB 2008

The shoulders are 1" deep.Once you’ve marked one side, use

the square to carry the lines acrossthe beam’s lower face, and mark the

shoulder outline onto the oppositeside. Then, with the beam inverted, cutalong the shoulders with your handsawto a point just shy of the depth line.Make a series of similar cuts about 3 / 4"apart between the initial two cuts, thencarefully clean out the waste with thechisel to make two notches. (Hint: thesharper the chisel, the easier this jobwill be. You can avoid banging yourway through the wood by keeping afine honing stone handy.)

The posts fit into mortise socketscut into the beam. They are “blind”

and do not extend all the way throughthe wood. Locate the center, measuredfrom the sides, of each notch, thenmeasure 5 / 8" to either side of that,and mark lengthwise. Use the augeror Forstner bit to drill 3"-deep boresat each corner, then along the insideperimeter of each mortise. Clean thesockets with the chisel as before, mak-ing sure the bottom of the hole is level.Now you can cut the bevels into eachend of the beam so there’s a good 2" ofwood between the lower corners andeach notch.

Each post requires three sepa-rate cutting operations. At the top,you’ll need to make a 11 / 4"-thick by51 / 2"-wide tenon 3" in depth. The bot-tom tenons are 31 / 2" deep and 2" thickby only 31 / 2" wide, to fit into mortisesin the base. Through-mortises centered71 / 4" from the lower post shoulderssupport the stretcher on beveled shoul-ders cut into each post. The shouldersare 1" deep and the mortises are 51 / 2"long, cut through the 31 / 2" face ofeach post.

Lay out the mortises after cuttingthe tenons. On the 31 / 2" face of eachpost, measure 71 / 4" from the lowerpost shoulder and mark. Then measure23 / 4" above and below that mark and5 / 8" to each side, and employ yoursquare and straightedge to scribe arectangle. Use the square again to carrythe dimensions around to the opposite31 / 2" face, and mark a correspondingrectangle on that surface. Make theinitial corner and intermediate mortisebores with your bit, being careful to

hold it perpendicular tothe wood’s surface so itdoesn’t wander beyond itsboundaries.

Don’t try to make thefull 51 / 2" bore in onepass. Instead, aim for a3" depth, then flip theworkpiece over and beginagain from the oppositeside so the holes meet inthe middle. Once you’rethrough, you can roughout the socket, but don’tsmooth it yet—that can bedone after you’ve cut thebeveled shoulders.

They’re cut on the same

plane as the lower sur-face of the mortises, to adepth 1" from each insideedge. Each bevel beginsat a point 51 / 2" above theshoulder and is cut to meetthe shoulder stop.

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The 371 / 2" stretcher must be laid outto match the shoulders and mortises.Establish the center of the piece andmeasure 111 / 2" and 121 / 2" to each side,and mark. Use the square to mark twosets of parallel lines onto all four sur-faces, then use them to mark the bevelcuts on each face. Locate the center oneach 31 / 2" edge and mark 5 / 8" to eachside of that, at both ends of the piece,to mark the tenons.

Once that’s done, carefully cuton the bevel lines down to the tenonmarks on each side. Then use the

lines as a guide to remove the wastefrom each side at both ends. There isa gentle radius cut into the lower edgeof the stretcher, centered between the111 / 2" points marked previously. At itsapex, it takes 1" from the wood, so thestretcher is 41 / 2" deep at that point.

The base pieces are duplicates thatcan be traced from a plywood template.Cut a scrap of plywood to 51 / 2" X 20" insize. Locate its center point on the longedge and measure 13 / 4" to each side andmark with a pencil and square. Maketwo more marks 8" to each side from

the center. Then measure and mark 1"from the edge, and connect the insidetwo marks. On the long edge opposite,mark points 2" from each corner andscribe a mild radius 1" deep between

Timber Frame Trestle Ponies

the points. Make two more markson the short edges 11 / 2" from eachcorner. Use a handsaw and a bandsaw to cut the radius, the 1" X 31 / 2"notch, and the beveled corners at thetop. Align the template over each basepiece and trace its outline with a utilityknife or sharp pencil before makingthe actual cuts. Clean the surface ofeach notch with a chisel.

The through-mortise in each basepiece measures 2" X 31 / 2". The 31 / 2"dimension is measured across the51 / 2" width of the wood. Lay outeach mortise on the surface of thenotch, centered within the 31 / 2" X 51 / 2" field. Since the depth of cutwith these mortises is only 31 / 2", thebores can be made in one pass oncethe socket perimeters are established.

111/2"   51/2"

13/4"

2"

3"

31/2"

2"

11/2"

41/2"

51/2"

9"

1"

121/2"

111/2"

11/4"

51/2"

1"1"

31/2"

37 1/2" STRETCHER

251/2" POSTS

42" BEAM

20" BASE

31/2"

2"

1"   2"

2"

11/2"

51/2"

51/2"

PONY  LAYOUT 

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These must be full through-mortises toallow moisture to drain if the horses

get wet.At this point you can trial-fit thecomponents. Timber joinery involvesno glue. Instead, dowel pins are usedto secure the fits. The joins shouldbe as snug as possible, without largegaps. Use your chisel to clean up anysurfaces that may prevent a good fit,but be careful not to make a fair-to-middling fit worse.

Once all the pieces are together,use thin wood scraps and pipe clampsto draw the joins snug before drillingthe 3 / 4" bores for the dowel pins. The

upper beam uses one pair at each join,centered 2" apart. The stretcher andbase post joins use one pin each. Thetwo base pins are 63 / 8" long, while allothers are 43 / 8" in length. The ends ofthe pins can be chamfered slightly toencourage them to pass through thebores without binding. They shouldbe centered so the ends extend slightly,and not so tight that they cannot bedriven out easily.

Sand the timber surfaces to removerough spots, and round over the cornersslightly if you wish. Finish the woodwith a good mineral oil or commer-cial water seal, which can be appliedliberally if you wipe off the excess.The timber ponies make great work-stations owing to their solid stanceand can be disassembled in a fewmoments by simply knocking out thedowel pins.

You can contact MoreSun Designs at864-647-1669 or www.moresunde-signs.com

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