Dave,
We should make a note here about the German language. This is a language with the position of offical language of 3 very different countries, and an important minortiy language in many others. This language also has thousands of dialects which are not mutually intelligible.
The reason I say this is because the word Zimmermann carries with it a number of different meanings, especially when it comes to different countries or even regions within the same country. In its general sense, the word is a direct translation of the English word Carpenter. It is used especially to distinguish a builder of buildings and their frames out of wood. As opposed to the word Schreiner, which would be a maker of furniture, cabinets, doors, etc. The building of a house consists of Zimmerei, or the rough carpentry, and Schreinerei, or finish carpentry (roughly). That is the normal and common use of the word. There is the German carpenters guild as well, and its members are indeed called Zimmermann. However, the word is not restricted to members of this guild. It is not the same as Compagnon. One is free to call himself a Zimmermann even if he is not in the official guild.
This is even more the case when you go south into the hill country, and especially into Switzerland. Here the guild structure is not there in most places. Zimmermann is just a carpenter.
I refer to myself as a Zimmermann not because of association with the German guild, but rather because I practice carpentry in the Swiss-German tradition as much as I can. However, in irder to avoid futue confusion such as this I will switch my word choice, and instead use the word Zimmerer, which has the exact same meaning.
Now that said, I do have some degree of training and teaching. I did learn a lot about the methods I practice through personal study, but in the end I was taught the specifics by a Swiss carpenter, who I have had considerable contact with. To this point, he has taught me what all I needed to know about Riegelbau, which is the Swiss equivalent of German Fachwerkbau. Also through this man, I am currently pursuing an opportunity to travel and work in Switzerland for at least a year. If this works out, I would be going to the Berner Oberland (the alps, Adelboden, Gstaad, Interlaken, etc.) and studying the log buildings techniques of Swiss Blockbau, especially the unique Oberland tradition of Chaletbau. This however, is not timber framing, but is a method of stacked timer (or squared log) construction.
