Hank Silver, owner of Rattlesnake Gutter Timberworks in Western Massachusetts, was asked to build a tool shed for Grow Food Northampton, a community garden space just outside the city. An opportunity! He thought, to invite members of that community with an interest in learning timber frame basics to build something for themselves.
Hank, who is also a former TimberHomes employee, designed the frame and managed the project. Eight people came out to stretch their sawing and chiseling skills under Hank’s instruction (with additional help from this author, another local framer, and Heartwood School apprentice Adam Watters) and learn how to read plans, translate them into layout, and cut joinery. Two weekends of work plus some additional nighttime hours resulted in the frame you see here.
Hank (fourth from the left) and students before a fresh frame
What a handsome barn door!
Pegs reveal the joinery within
