The Island School of Building Arts is located on the South End of Gabriola Island and run by master TimberFramer James Mitchell. In this Post & Beam class, we accompany the students as they accomplish the raising of their two story structure.
Timber Framing is the art of building with timbers but more importantly, the art of wood joinery. What this means is that every piece of wood is locked into place by a cleverly thought out joint where one piece is usually male, and the other female. By not using any fasteners, the entire structure maintains some “flex” in the connections allowing it to age well over centuries.
Hammer Bent with bough at ISBA, 2023
Bents usually refer to the traditional method of Timber Framing where every cross section of the building is pre-assembled on the floor and than raised and connected together for the final assembly. The Post & Beam method is more like working with “legos” where one piece (or a few pieces) are assembled one after the other until the structure in completed. To celebrate the successful raising, a traditional Bough is placed at the top as a sign of respect for the trees that have offered their wood.
The Island School of Building Arts offers courses for Post & Beam, Hammer Bents and even Log Building. All the structures you see have been built by previous student. It is a wonderful way to learn how to work with the traditional hand tools such as chisels and planers all while being part of a community of devoted builders. This film is in a way a tribute to the professor James Mitchell who has been teaching for 27 years.
Side Beam made from Douglas Fir
Filming in Black & White and hand processing the footage seemed very in-line with the Timber Framing method. The imperfections of working with the hands is also what helps the soul in the elements not get lost.
