My husband and I are new to sawing. We recently purchased a Timberking 1220 bandsaw mill and are developing an interest in building a Timber Frame structure. We are in Eastern Washington and are surrounded by Ponderosa Pine. I'm curious of the appropriateness of using Ponderosa Pine for a TF structure.
Ponderosa has good compressive strength. Not the best bending strength. Good for posts. Not the best for horizontal members.That's not to say they couldn't be used in that application. I built a little shed completely out of ponderosa and it's still standing proud...but it's a little shed. I would question any significant span and perhaps get the advice of an engineer.
It's ot to be stronger than Eastern White, and you can build anything with EWP, just make the section big enough. Welcome to the Forum.
There is a sight you might find useful, it is the wood database. You can compare the ponderosa to about any tree you can think of.
I built my frame out of ponderosa. I just made sure that my spans were under 16'. It's great wood to work with.
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Dakota- Did you mill your timbers yourself? If so, did you Box the heart? Did you have much issue with twisting?
Yes, I milled my own timbers. I boxed the heart on all of them. I had only one twist a little bit on me. It was a 24 ft. tie beam, so I had to scramble a bit on that one, but it wasn't bad.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11185/2010_toshi_065_-_Copy.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1476369180)
Quote from: Dakota on March 22, 2018, 08:32:30 AM
I built my frame out of ponderosa. I just made sure that my spans were under 16'. It's great wood to work with.
That is a wonderful frame!
Thank you. It's a tad overbuilt, but we get a lot of snow.
Dakota- Can I ask where you are located?
Deadwood/Lead, SD are the closest towns. My place is 16 mi. south of Deadwood on Hwy 85, and about 3 miles off the road.