workshop project question?

I'm searching for a good joinery project for an intro level timberframe workshop. The current project is a braced mortice and tenon joint. We cut the joint from 6x6, with a 3x4 brace and the students take it home after the course, but I'm wondering if there is something more useful that could be made? The course is two days long.
-Mark in Ontario.

I teach a 2-1/2 day timber framing course at North House Folk School and the students take home a pair of Timber Trestle Sawhorses , which are made from 6x6 rough-sawn EWP. Some folks use them for future timber frame projects, others use them as a base for a table or workbench. There's no braces, just a straight M&T, but each student executes the joint 8 times, so they get some practice at it. CB.

How about a mailbox post? I used (1) 8' 6x6 and some 4x6 for brace stock. I didn't have the big powertools that I have now, but it only took me a few hours to build it (considerably more to to design it)

While my design has an extended "beam" and a custom welded base, the basic design could be modified to have a shorter "beam" and it would give you a longer post to be buried in the ground, however you'll eventually run into rotting issues.

-Steve

BTW, daiku, nice Timber Trestle Sawhorses!

Yes, the horses are nice.... but I think too much for our course, as we do the hand tool thing.
The mailbox is another kettle of fish, though. It's the exact project that we do and I beleive I will make it an option for the students.
thanks for the ideas

[QUOTE]Originally posted by raycon:
[QB]A variation on the mail box maybe the "T" shaped clothes line pole. Granted the principal post needs more length but it'll serve a useful purpose in a country setting.

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It's funny...I was just thinking about this last weekend.

When I first got into timber framing, I was looking for a book on simple timber framing projects, but as far as I could find, no such book existed.

The standard starter project seems to be 'the shed' but that was more than just a weekend project.

So, the Timber Mailbox came to be (especially since I needed somewhere to put my mailbox)

However, there were some other basic projects that I thought of:

1. arbor or trellis
2. a hitching post....(you know--a place to hitch your horses)
3. A hanging sign (trestle or post).
4. A coat rack (trestle or post).
5. A small bench.
6. A plant holder/hanger
7. Shelf brackets.

Good luck on your project. Let me know if want exact dimensions on the Timber Mailbox.

-Steve

the workshop was held last weekend.
we settled on three projects: the mailbox post, a simple roof truss, and a shelf bracket.
The shelf bracket seemed to be the best choice, designed to use half of the wood provided in the course, so that the student could build a second bracket at home.

The challenge for me as a teacher was that multiple project choices slowed down the cutting process. In the previous workshop, all students were essentially cutting the mailbox post, and all 8 of them finished the joinery. Only one of 6 students finished the joinery last weekend(the weather was also a factor, with temperatures around 35degC)

So, again, thanks for the project suggestions, and I must say that for us it is proving easier to sell workshops than timberframes....

Mark,

Do you have any pics of the workshop to share/post!

Bruce,

yes i have pics but currently have "puter probs"
let's just say i'm working with the teenagers pc while i await a new router for my beloved imac.
I'll do my best to get them up asap....

have some pics up on the web at:
http://www.piczo.com/wpltree?g=18210278&cr=1
sorry for the ads, it's a free server.
we have now settled on using the bracket plan in our joinery level workshop. It is the same connection one might find at the post top/plate, with a brace, of course.
more pics sometime soon, we have 3 more courses booked this fall.