Hello:

I am finishing up the timbers for the shed described in Jack Sobon's book. I am down to cutting the two 16 foot 8 X 8 plates. The one I am working on is square with no wind. However, it does have a crown of 3/16" at the centre point. I have bored the mortises but have not cut the inset to 7" from the reference face. I have placed the crown up. The rafter seats are not cut yet.

My question is: Do I cut the insets (at the mortises) and the rafter seats according to the reference face (top of plate) then hope the weight of the centre post and the roof pushes the crown flat? Or, do I drop a chalk line from end to end then reference my insets and the rafter seats from that? I know crown is undesireable in a plate, but I am stuck with these last two timbers. Maybee 3/16" crown is nothing to worry about?

Thanks... Norm Hart, Carp, Ontario