Piece en Piece Update

A Piece en Piece Update.   A project we’ve been working on for a fabulous client in Washington State. It’s unique in that the traditional cross corners have been replaced by large western red cedar flared posts. The house is designed to be non-settling to minimize any shrinkage. The walls were prebuilt and then dropped into place between large diameter posts that are channeled or keyed.

Here’s Rodney giving us a demo on cutting a Tenon joint.   This type of joinery has been used for thousands of years by woodworkers and logsmiths, mainly when the adjoining pieces that connect at an 90° angle. In its basic form it is both simple and strong. Although there are many joint variations, the basic mortise and tenon comprises two components: the mortise hole and the tenon tongue.

• The first log image shows where Rodney has marked out the log for cutting the tenon and for cutting it square.
• The second log image shows after he has cut the log square, and the mark out for the tenon.
• The third log image is the tenon after it has been cut.
• The last image is the final result – a standing post with a mortise and tenon joint at 90°.

Rodney, one of our highly skilled log-smiths showing us how to cut a tenon joint.