First I would like to thank the folks who gave me advice off my last post. Your information was valuable in my search for timber framing knowledge and training. Unfortunalty, due to my time frame all of my options seem to be going down the tube. Heartwood's classes start too late, Goshen's spots are filled, I could go on and on with every school on the tfguild site, nothing seems to be working out. The ISBA school in BC seems to be my best bet, but I am only on the waiting list there. Again, I am looking for a timber framing course or apprenticeship between March 15th and June 1. I will be driving from Alaska in a campervan, well my work van which I put a bed in, and I don't care where I go. Just looking for any oportunity to gain an extensive knowledge of the trade. My short term goal is to timber frame the 1st floor of my home next summer, my long term goal...aka pipe dream...is to build custom timber frame lodges in remote Alaska. If you can't tell I am getting sort of desperate in my search for training this spring. Any information or insite would be greatly appriciated. If any of you have some pull at ISBA that would be great too! Now I am asking too much! The following is a brief bio on me if interested. Thank you for your time.
My name is Scott Dillard, I am 26 and I grew up in Fairbanks, Alaska. My father is a custom home builder so I have been around the trade all if my life. Growing up I had no desire to ever go into the field, but during college I started to realize my love for building and being a craftsman. I graduated from Weber State University in Ogden, Utah in 2004 with a degree
in Exercise Physiology, a minor in Zoology, and a 3.8 gpa. Towards the end of my college years I decided I wanted to be in the construction field so I took as many classes I could in Construction Management, but I was so far in
my other fields that I ended up staying with my major. I was lucky enough to have a full-ride football scholarship in college so after school I had no bills. Thus, for the past three years I have worked in Fairbanks for 9 months out of the year, and done some world traveling in the cold winter months. I'm actually posting this from New Zealand right now. My second
love besides being a craftsman is whitewater kayaking, which is why I travel the world seeking out the best rivers. Through all of my traveling I have been seeing what other cultures do with wood and it has made me that much
more interested in the field. I'll stop blabbing and just reiterate one more time how much I would appriciate the opportunity to become a timberframer. Thank you for your time.
Scott Dillard
scootsdillard@hotmail.com
