Oak Framing - Soleplates

Since the last update a fortnight ago, I have made more sawdust than in the rest of my life put together. Quite literally wheelie-bins full of the stuff.

Remember that big pile of oak that was due to be soleplates?














Mostly done!

The weather has been really good for December - I've only lost a day or two this month to rain. The original plan was to spend most of the winter in the workshop and emerge in the spring to do all this work, but the looming deadline of our late June wedding has encouraged me to press on.

The oak is a wonderful material to work with - I'm learning loads and have only made one small 25mm error which I should be able to rectify (or hide). I realise now how much I learned on the Oak Framing Course I attended in the late spring - there is no way I would have attempted this project otherwise...

There are some fairly complex joints (for an amateur anyway!) like this corner tie joint.

There will be an upright post sitting in a mortice on top of this joint, with an oak peg holding the whole lot together.

I bought a huge handheld planer, which cleans the saw marks perfectly and skims away any slight stains which the oak has picked up. It really shows the beauty of the wood as well.

I've done five complete bridle scarf joints as well - these took a lot of head scratching and double checking before I found the courage to cut the first one. Now I have some live models I can rattle them out in about an hour. I think I'm being a bit fussy about the finish and standard of the joints - but it is really satisfying when they close up tightly.

This is yet to be planed - which will clear up all the marks, stains and pencil lines, as well as improving the fit of the joint. These will also be draw pegged together. 

There is a big pile of braces which have been marked out with shoulders cut - but I'm saving these for when the winter weather inevitably arrives.

Oak Framing - The First Day

A really significant day this week - the first delivery of green oak* arrived from Venables Brothers, a sawmill in Shropshire.

A sight recap for new readers - we are building an oak framed barn of about 80 square meters in our garden, in which we are planning to host our wedding reception this coming June. After the wedding, it will be converted into a double garage, workshop and garden room. I'm building the whole thing - how many people get to build their own wedding reception venue?

I deliberately scheduled the delivery to arrive when I was at home - but Sod's Law kicked in and the wagon arrived before I was home. Kristy did a great job helping the driver offload everything...

That little pile doesn't look like much, but it this stuff is HEAVY. Green oak weighs approximately 1 ton per cubic metre, so even the very shortest lengths in this picture are about 35kg each. In all, I ordered 1.3 tonnes of oak, but the sawmill will oversupply if there is any doubt about the structural qualities of the timber - meaning we have more like two tonnes of oak here... For the next delivery I'll be hiring a fork lift truck - that order will contain five lengths that will weigh 300kg each!

A quick check of the order, and it was stacked in piles dependant on use - I have ordered enough to do all the soleplates (the oak that sits on the small brick walls at the building's perimeter), all the curved windbraces (or knees if you are a boatbuilder - to stop the structure racking under wind load) and the log store that will be closest to the house. They are stacked with air gaps all around to prevent fungal growth as the oak is stored.

These are the braces - cutting and shaping these will probably be the most labour-intensive part of the build...

These are all the soleplates - when I have cut the end joints and mortices ready to accept uprights, they will be fixed to the brick dwarf wall with stainless steel studs epoxyed into the concrete slab, with a damp proof membrane under them.

I also finished my sawhorses this week - I need to buy a bit more timber to make a fourth small horse, and I have two much taller horses which are the same height as my Superjaws clamping sawhorse.

The next post will contain some really exciting things - mostly sawing, mortising, cutting joints and making sawdust!



*not green in colour, but green as in unseasoned. The oak is sawn to size soon after the tree is cut, which has three effects - it is cheaper to buy than dried oak, it is MUCH easier to work, and it is still full of water and therefore HEAVY!

Make some Sloe Gin today!

Sloe Gin is a wonderful drink...

Sloe Gin is simply lovely. I was first introduced to it in the back of a gun bus while shooting one season with my father, and I've been hooked ever since. There is no other 'warmer' that comes close - I often have a nip or two at six o'clock - and it's even more marvellous (and warming) when it's hot.

It is simple stuff - mix some good gin with some Sloes and leave it in the cupboard for as long as you can bear. Sure, you can buy a bottle of commercial Sloe Gin from the supermarket, but making your own is great fun - and it makes a super present.

Firstly, a health warning - I am no expert, having only made three or four batches. I have found good and comprehensive instructions courtesy of The SipSmith here...

Here follows instructions for how I make Sloe Gin...

1. Collect some Sloes.

Sloes are the fruit of the Blackthorn (or Sloe) bush, Prunus Spinosa. Read all about them c/o Wikipedia here... To save your tired fingers an extra click, here's a stock picture of the fruit that you are after;

Sloes really can’t be mistaken for anything else, which is good for a foraging amateur (into which camp I firmly fall…) You'll find these bushes in most countryside hedges - be sure to check both sides in case one side has been picked bare. You can't walk a mile round here without seeing sloes.

This may sound like a cop-out, but pick as many as you need. I’m filling a demijohn (1 gallon or so) so picked enough sloes to half fill the demijohn. If you are starting with a 75cl bottle, you’ll need fewer sloes.

Interesting demijohn trivia - the Romanian for Demijohn is…..wait for it…..Demijohn! What else would it be?

2. Rinse your Sloes

Here is our haul...

...wack them in the sink and agitate them a bit - spiders and bits of husk will float away...

...then pop them in a colander and rinse under the tap, before you let them drip dry for a bit.

3. Get their juices flowing!

Three schools of thought exist here; 1) wait for the first frost 2) forget the first frost and cheat by freezing them 3) prick each sloe with a needle to burst them. Let's discount No.3 as we're all busy people with lives to lead. Maybe when we retire I'll enjoy the industry of a tedious and repetitive job, but not now. We'd had a bit of frost recently but froze them just in case.

The purpose of the exercise is to burst the cell walls so then the sloe juice can mix with the gin, maximising the taste.

Pop them into a freezer bag...

...and then next morning, retrieve.

4. Bottling your Sloes

This bit can be tricky if you've chosen a vessel with a small neck. A large Kilner-type jar would be easiest. Here is my glamorous assistant (who conveniently is my fiancee) pouring the sloes from a jug, down the side of the demijohn and onto the kitchen floor. Latterly (when I took over) some found their way inside.

5. Pour in your Gin

The temptation is to buy cheap gin, hoping the taste of the sloes will mask any hint of kerosene you may detect in Asda Soak's Gin. Quite a false economy - the good stuff is often reduced, and your taste buds (and friends) will thank you. This Gordons was three pence per litre cheaper than the screenwash-grade stuff in Tesco. 

6. Ongoing Actions Pertaining to the Development of Sloe Gin

That is the back of the job broken. All that remains is to slosh the bottle about whenever you remember it - once a day is plenty. After six months (or a year - it doesn't really matter...) you need to drain the now-maroon gin into another container, and add a strong sugar syrup mixture (just sugar dissolved in warm water) to taste. Some prefer it sweeter than others, which is why a prescribed amount of sugar is somewhat meaningless. Then re-bottle, label with something pretty-looking (and the date!!!) and stick the bottles in the drinks cabinet / larder / cupboard under the sink as appropriate. The longer you leave it from here, the better it'll taste!

Autumn Consolidation

Life seems to race by sometimes - and the last month has been one of those periods where it flashes past in a blur. We've been working lots, spent some great times with my sister and hopefully-future-brother-in-law in Suffolk and even managed to squeeze in some work at home. What I haven't had much time to do is write the Blog.

As this site develops, I am learning that it's maintenance is a real commitment. However, any inconvenience and time spent is greatly rewarded when I read some of my old posts; to see the changes we have made to this wonderful old place is a great boost for morale - often, we can't believe how much has been achieved since last summer. What started out as a diary for friends and family is really taking off - the site has had nearly 5,000 page views in the last year - and I can't wait to see how many people take the time to read the Blog in the next year.

Anyway, enough musing and introspection - show some damn pictures, wouldya?

Fencing - DONE! The garden is finally dog-proof, which means Monty can be turfed out into the main garden and run about - something he hasn't been able to do since early summer when the groundworks started. The slight caveat is that the hens also have free reign - until we remember to clip their wings, they can fly straight out of their enclosure, and Monty loves nothing more than chasing hens.

This is the fence that separates the drive from the front garden - soon, a path will run from the gate to the front door. The 'bare' stock fence in the foreground is a temporary measure to secure the garden until the Barn is built next spring.

The post and rail at the side of the garden is also finished. We actually own the track on the left, but our neighbours have right of access over it. You'll see that I've put a gate in next to the Barn slab - this will allow me to get the tractor out of the garden without having to drive through our neighbour's farmyard.

Work has been going on inside the house as well - the carpet has been fitted to the sitting room, and we have 'moved in' for the first time in well over a year. This room was our store room while we renovated the rest of the house, and was rammed to the ceiling for most of the last year. To have use of another room is a revelation - it's almost like having an extension built, so used had we got to living in the kitchen. The Clearview in this room is marvellous - it was brand new when we installed it, and it is so fabulously efficient and air-tight that it heats the room beautifully.

Do check back in a few days - I am going to try a few 'tutorials' to show some fun aspects of our life. Topics I have planned for the next week include home-made bread making, Sloe Gin (nothing like it when warming up after a day outside!) and building a Holz Hausen - you'll have to wait for an explanation of that last one!

More fencing - almost all done!

A hard day today.

I was determined to get the cleft fencing finished this morning - as you can see from the picture, quite a lot of the rails needed cutting down to size (nine of the twelve rails were shortened...). To get the taper on the end meant using the bandsaw to rough out the cuts - and the bandsaw is buried behind the bikes and the tractor mower, and I didn't want to leave everything out in the (forecasted) rain if I could avoid it.

Typically, just as I was finishing the cleft fence a delivery of MORE fencing supplies arrived - these were the square posts and rails to fence around the curve of the track which leads to our neighbour's farm. The rain was threatening - I thought 'Oh, I'll just knock a few posts in before the weather breaks'. Posts finished and no rain - 'Better stick a few rails up to give an idea of the finished fence' - and still no rain! Still, great to have the job mostly done - even if it means racing through at quite a pace. My back is certainly feeling it now - I'm self medicating with Sloe Gin...

This is the cleft fence which I started yesterday. The posts are a bit 'rustic' and not quite straight, but the mortise and tenon joints are incredibly strong and don't allow the posts to sit quite straight. As the sweet chestnut rails dry out they will shrink slightly, allowing the posts to be pulled upright.

A view of the curved post and rail around the corner of the track. It definitely gives a great feeling of ownership and enclosure - even though the track is within our boundary, it felt quite 'public' without the fence. The bottom rail will be added as soon as I've strung the stock fencing.

Tomorrow's jobs are stock fencing on the square post and rail, hanging the two gates and adding the second rail - and that'll be the job finished!

Building a fence in day-long drizzle

A fairly typical Autumn day I suppose - it was drizzling ALL DAY today. The worst thing was that it was just light enough to make you think that a jacket was unnecessary, but just heavy enough to soak you to the skin! It was also warm - so a waterproof would just cook you from the inside out.

Enough metrological moaning - let's build something!

Today's job was to start fencing between what will be the corner of the log store on the east wall of the Barn, and the end of the hedge which separates our garden from the paddock. This will be the main divide between the house and the car parking area, so we need a gate as well.

The result of the day's work isn't very impressive - but there is lots you can't see! I cut mortises in six fence posts using the chain mortiser, and tapered these three rails (they are twice as long when delivered) on the bandsaw, before they were finished with my drawknife - which gives a much nicer surface.

The patch of gravel is just temporary mud-management - it's where I'll hang the gate tomorrow. The left hand post will eventually butt up to the oak post at the very corner of the Barn.

Must dash - we are making home-made pizza tonight using the newly-delivered bread machine!

Steam Trains, Fence Posts and Hens

Another catching-up-on-the-last-fortnight post I'm afraid; I really must try harder to Blog a bit more frequently.

My neighbour Graham and I like beer. We really like beer. Actual beer. Ale. Real Ale.

Two of our great beer-related discoveries in the last few months have been the Village Beer Festival and the Real Ale Train. We both volunteered to work at the Beer Festival, which gives unlimited access to 'refreshment' from the barrels as one is pouring pints for the visitors. Tremendous!

The Real Ale Train is a marvellous thing indeed, combining three of my interests - beer, trains and Victorian engineering! It runs along the Watercress Line between Alton and Arlesford in Hampshire, which gets it's name from a previous function of the line - to transport produce from the watercress beds of the upper Test Valley towards London. The idea is simple - buy a ticket, ride the steam train and drink cheap beer. Splendid!

Tickets are so popular that we had to wait some months for a space - being quite late in the year meant it was dark for much of our journey. Still, we arrived early enough to have a good look at the engine.

Anyway, let's have some beer! Here is Graham in the bar carriage. Everything is preserved beautifully - even the stations are done very well, with period signs, adverts and equipment. 

Arriving in Arlesford, we had a good opportunity to see the engine shunting as it reversed on the line. Despite the darkness, and thanks to my amazing new Fuji X100S, I managed to pull off a couple of lovely shots of the Fireman lit by the firebox.

A great evening out - we are already planning a return journey, but this time in high summer so that we can enjoy the view as we travel.

Anyway, enough beer - back to work!

I ordered a load of fencing in order to provide a perimeter for our terrier Monty. We had stripped the old fence out when the ground workers came, and the garden has been insecure for a few months now. Dear old Monty has a bit of a habit of running away - so a fence is a real necessity. To make the job a bit easier (we had about 40 holes to dig, what with the fence and some trees we had bought) we hired a big hydraulic auger. It turned out that this was fine when the soil was good - but ALL the fence post holes were on very stony ground. It was very hard work, even with the auger. Eventually, we discovered that digging as far as possible with the machine, followed by a bucket of water in the hole, would soften the earth enough to allow the larger stones to be dug out with the auger and a digging bar to shift the bigger lumps.

My parents were kind enough to visit for the day to help - here is my Father having a go with the auger, digging a hole for a tree up by our top shed.

By the end of the weekend we had dug all the post holes for about 40 metres of post and rail fencing and planted 15 trees and large shrubs. This is a view of the longest run of post and rail, which will be behind the Barn when it is built. The gate means I'll be able to get the tractor out to mow the front paddock without driving through our neighbour's farmyard.

Finally, I woke this afternoon after a night shift to find that Kristy had bought more hens! We are due to return Mummy (actually called Indigo, as it turns out...) to her rightful owner, which would have left Isla (possibly a Barnevelder, who we raised from an egg) on her own. Two new Black Star hens have now moved in - one is to be named Florence, but we are stuck for a third name.  We now have a flock of three - a perfect number for us!

Here are the Egg Squad - Isla is on the left, and the two new girls are on the right.