Mixed hardwood and softwood in a frame.

How do you approach a frame of mixed hardwood and softwood? It is fairly easy to pick 2" joints for softwood, and 1.5" for hardwoods. But what about when you have a joint that is half hardwood and half softwood? Go with the 2" joint to accomodate the weaker softwood? Or would you use all one joint size? Thanks.


Dave

Hi Dave:

Well over the years and examining many old frames I would say that the majority of them had a mixture of hard and soft wood in the frameworks.

They seem to mix good without a problem or they wouldn't still be standing, and in pretty well all cases the mortise and tenon joints are 2" in thickness predominantly.

Most of the time the long plates would be pine or in some cases bass wood, trees that grew straight, and hewed easily.

The posts were also a mixture, and sometimes depended on the specie that grew on that particular parcel of land. Around here the original stand of timber contained northern white pine, which grew both on the low land and right up into the higher stoney land,

I hope this helps

NH