I'm looking to take some evening classes in CAD. I would like to get into an apprenticship in timber framing but I'm kind of limited on what I can commit to for the next six months. So I thought taking some evening classes until then might give me a head start. Some CAD classes were the first thing that came to mind. Is this a good idea? Should I be looking at different programs? Whats going to look the best to TF companys that might want to hire me or offer me an apprenticeship?

~Cole

from my experience most timber frame companies
use specialist programs that are linked to factory programs and such. generally cad or autocad is by architects or engineers which most companies will convert to to their own programs.

So learning how to run cad/autocad would be a step in the right direction?

Thanks
~Cole

AUTOCAD IS GENERALLY THE INDUSTRY STANDARD PROGRAM, MOST OTHER PROGRAMS USE THE SAME PRINICIPLES. LEARNING IT WOULD BE A GOOD START.
MORE IMPORTANTLY HOWEVER I FEEL WOULD BE TO LEARN HOW TO DO DETAIL DRAWINGS. PEOPLE WHO ARE GOOD AT DETAILING ARE AS RARE AS HENS TEETH, HENCE VERY PRECIOUS.

Could you elaberate on "detailed drawings"?
Detailed renderings of the purposed finished product??

Are there classes that offer training in this field?

~Cole

Cole:
If you take a sheet of paper and a ruler and draw two parallel vertical lines on it. And two parallel perpendicular line to the first two, these lines could represent a post and an intersecting tie beam. A detail drawing could show the joint used to connect these two timbers, either exploded or together with dotted lines.
I'd be happy to email you some examples.
A rendering of a completed drawing is where the program creates a surface that looks like wood and applies that to the 3-d drawing so that the finished drawing would look like a real timber frame structure.
Again, I'd be happy to email you some examples.
I'm not sure if there are courses in your area that offer this type of training.
My advice to you would be to first learn about timber framing from books on the subject. Then try and learn how to draw the joints.
You can learn AutoCAD or any CAD program while your reading and learning about timber framing, then once you understand timber framing and have learned CAD drawing you can try to draw some joints.
If you go to the guild home page and select Publications from the pull down menu, then Joinery, then Historic you'll go to a page where you can download (for free) a series of works by Jack Sobon showing all kinds of joinery details.
This could be a good place for you to learn and understand how frames have been put together in the past. This series is also available in printed format from the guild online store, for $10 or so.
Good luck with your studies.
Jim Rogers

Jim:

I have been reading and learning everything I can about Timber Framing.

Enrolled in the local Community College yesterday and I'm going to talk to their construction technologies advisor about their Autocad class and any thing else that might be helpful.

Would interested in seeing those examples you mentioned. I belive my email is in my profile.

Thanks
~Cole