Thanks Don for coming on board and your list of building material preferences
Personally I really enjoy working with hard wood like oak, my dad used to say it separates the men from the boys
Oak was his favorite wood and when he died I made sure he had an oak casket to lay in.
In my opinion anyone can work with a soft wood like pine, but put a piece of oak in front of him and you soon find out his skill level, and how sharp his tools are, and his carpentry experience.
I think that everyone will agree with me that producing a timberframe using oak, ash, or any other hardwood, is not near as simple as pine or other soft wood.
Mind you there were many frames produced using soft wood, that are still standing, but having said that I did reconstruct a 3 bay drive shed using white ash (as was the original), and it is hard to describe how or why I felt the difference as I stood there looking at the bare frame after the raising.
One thing that was noticeable was that the connecting girts, posts, beams and braces seemed slimmer and more elegant, with a smoother finish, making the whole structure appear special in some way
Does any one have anything to add to this or have experienced such a feeling??