Hello all,

I've drawn a lot of useful info from this sight and thought i would make a possible contribution in return: I am by all means a beginner timberframer. I built my first structure; a loft addition to my 1866 timber frame [school] house, last fall with some guidance from Jack Sobon. Without much experience of my own to draw from, I came up with, what to me anyway, seemed a unique ways to integrate a couple posts between the existing plate and sill of the house. What I came up with, and succesfully used, was a spring loaded "tenon".

Since the post had to fit within a space which was not going to grow to allow for traditional tenons, i milled extra deep mortises in the butt ends of the post and drilled a counter bore which would serve as the seat for a compression spring. I fashioned some nice tight fitting Oak "tenons" or splines if you will, soaped them up with Ivory Soap and compressed them into each end of the timber against the springs. I drilled a hole thru the wall of the mortise at each end of the post and into the tenon so i could place a pin (nail) to hold the tenon in place, hidden within the end of the timber and against the now loaded spring. When i positioned the post in its final location between the sill and plate, i simply pulled the pins (nails) and heard a nice thud from the tenons being forced into their mortises (carved into the existing sill and plate) via the spring force.

Has anyone else ever done this? I like to think I may have invented something new, but know probability is typically against this idea... Anyway, If it is a new idea, i hope some else may be able to make use of it. I have a .CAD drawig of it which you are all welcome to see. I stuck the original prints of the plan behind a wall in the house, so someday someone will find it..

Regards,

Shaun Garvey
Dalton, MA