Hi Jay, thanks for the input, I do appreciate any and all advice, help and shared knowledge gained from experience. One sticking point I probably have is I trust myself more with power tools for the bulk of the work than to finesse it all start to finish. I do trust myself to finish the joinery with chisels, hand planes, anything else necessary….at least well enough to be sure this thing will stand for as long as routine maintenance is done to protect it from the elements.
The other problem I have which I know will cost me a lot of time is that I over-analyze things such as the joinery lay-out because while some people might measure 27 times and cut once, I will probably measure 227 times and cut once (I believe one might call it OCD).
IF I were to end up cutting by hand, what do you recommend Jay for hogging out the mortises? Can you give me specifics such as what tools to buy where? I've seen drill bits in my web searches that cost $300-$600 dollars! I understand I would be paying for the built-in craftsmanship of the bit but aren't there cheaper bits to do the work? Those bit prices are almost as high as some of the chains for mortisers.
I'm still open to suggestions regarding the entire process except having already payed for the timber. I hope to learn a lot during the winter.
I will try to get my rough drawings linked here today so everyone can give me constructive criticism. I especially want to here how badly I over-engineered my brackets for securing the frame to the foundation.