This 50’x50’ pavilion was the focus of an 8-day workshop with 45 volunteers and 5 instructors, hosted by the Timber Framers Guild in conjunction with the Greenbelt Land Trust. This frame is truly a feast for a carpenter, featuring king post trusses, hammer beam trusses, giant curved oak braces, hip and valley rafters, and 5’ long scarf joints. My task was to lead the rafter crew, much to my delight, which included facilitating a 2 day, pre-event layout workshop in compound roof framing. This subject is always a fun challenge and we even used stereotomy to solve for a bunch of the layout. This workshop was a huge accomplishment for all involved, to take this from a pile of uncut timber to a raised pavilion in 10 days with a volunteer group of mixed experience. This was an unforgettable workshop!
Ariel Schecter describes the workflow in the rafter station at the Greenbelt workshop.