Hello all,
I am new to timber framing but have been using this wonderful site since I've started. I really enjoy working with roundwood, but it presents some unusual challenges for me.
And so, I have a question that I couldn't find an
answer to. I am building a large shed/small barn out of round
wood using timber framing joints. The part I am unsure of is how to join the roof rafters to the top plate. I've looked over Ben law's book on roundwood and tried to dig up any information on the subject to no avail.
Essentially I have my posts with a tenon that supports the top plate, and my rafters (with a tie) rest on the top plate (The design in square wood is in Jack Sobon's book on the simple Dutch barn.) My thought is to use Ben law's 'butterpat joint' with the 'pat' and round cutout on the rafter and the square notch on the top plate.
I could also swap the joint so that the pat is on the top plate, but that seems less strong with the way the grain goes.
Or I could possibly use a birds mouth joint but I feel like I would remove more wood than necessary in order to set the joint flat.
Please let me know what you think! I can attach pictures if needed.
Jordan
