Oxfordshire Woodland Group

The top ends of both cruck blades were hewn square down to heartwood.

One of the cruck blades was raised on blocks matching the equivalent thickness of the other cruck blade and both crucks were then scribed to cut a lap joint towards the top end of the cruck blades.

After the laps were cut the blocking was removed and then the top cruck blade was positioned over the bottom cruck and then tapped down into position to merge both cruck blades to form the first part of cruck frame no 1.

This type of lapped scissor apex is generally recognised as being an Alcock type "D" apex with only one other of these existing in Oxfordshire and the adjacent county of Buckinghamshire. See :-

Once the cruck blades were locked together it was possible to position the head of a 5" diameter large rubber commander between the overlapping cruck blades that form the apex. This arrangement illustrates that the type "D" apex could easily accomodate a 5" - 6" dia ridge to which the common rafters will be pegged.

Ken Hume - OWG

Following the fitting of the cruck mantle (tie beam) the cruck collar was then moved into position and the same process employed to mark the cruck collar lap joints was repeated by Andrew Jarvis and Mike Jenn (Men's Sheds) to scribe the crucks & collar in very challenging wet weather conditions.

Several days later when the weather had improved Course instructor H Russell then cut the cruck collar lap joints.

Ken Hume OWG

The two principal rafters have been profiled and fitted to the cruck apex -

and jointed to the cruck mantle (tie beam) and collar using mortice and tenon joints

The frame even though not yet pegged is extremely robust.

The final primary timbers needed to frame cruck no 1 are the side wall posts. These timbers will be jointed to the underside of the cruck mantle (tie) beam and then profiled and skew pegged to the side of the cruck foot.

Checking the hewn timber stock pile reveals that these timbers have not yet been hewn and so its off to the woods to fell a suitable tree that will yield the necessary stock.

Ken Hume OWG

After layout and scribing of the first corner post for cruck number 1 it was determined that this would require to be tapered at the top end to more closely match the end dimensions of the cruck mantle.

Cutting the post taper with the Wetterlings hewing axe was undertaken a little more care and caution than usual removing a number of skinny layers to produce the required profile.

The pink Douglas Fir heart wood is now more evident.

The 2 corner wall posts and 2 door posts have now been hewn and laid up for scribing.

Ken Hume OWG

The door posts are fitted into housed mortices (top & bottom).

The top tenon on the door post is partially inserted into the housing ready for "double cutting".

The gap between the housing and top shoulder is measured using dividers and then this is applied to the underside tenon shoulder and then the double cutting allowance is cut to the scribed line

The bottom of the door posts are cut with 2" long stub tenons. These are not pegged but fit into a mortice cut in the sill housing.

The top of the sidewall (corner) posts is cut and scribed around the cruck mantle (tie beam) to ensure maximum bearing around and on top of the post due to the excessive waney edge present on the smaller end of the cruck mantle. The post top is cut with a 6" wide tenon and a bare faced shoulder to help reduce any weakness in the cruck mantle due to the mortice needed for same interfering with the principal rafter mortice cut into the top surface of the mantle.

The bottom end of the sidewall post needs to be cut with a profiled end that matches the slope of the bottom of the cruck blade together with a step lap seat that will carry the vertical downwards post load. The Wetterlings hewing axe was used to remove the surplus wood in short order.

The sidewall post and cruck blade will be joined together with two stout oak pegs - one horizontal through the set lap housing and a second driven at a downwards angle to prevent the joint moving apart i.e. as load increases the sidewall post this will tend to slip down the angled peg towards the foot of the cruck blade.

Cruck Frame No 1 nears completion with only the second sidewall corner posts needing to be scribed and fitted.

Ken Hume OWG