Hello all,
I would appreciate any guidance in finding information about utilizing trees branches as knee braces.I've tried looking up via the internet and YouTube, but I can't find much concrete information. Maybe I'm using the wrong descriptive words??
I would love to be pointed towards any books, videos or posts that could be helpful in seeing how this has been done in the past. I can visualize how I might do it, but I'm not trying to reinvent the wheel and would like to see the "proven" way of doing it.
I put a picture from the internet below to demonstrate what I mean.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
http://www.uncarvedblockinc.com/from-the-field/tag/Jack+Sobon (http://www.uncarvedblockinc.com/from-the-field/tag/Jack+Sobon)
(https://i.pinimg.com/originals/da/77/4a/da774a6e834ba5127b8f73a57c7da068.jpg)Look at boat building techniques. We join by scribing.
I wrote a story about how to make a curved piece of wood into a brace using a standard brace layout and locations.
Some of the stuff that Jack Sobon does is done with a scribe method of layout.
My method is less work but it doesn't look that nice.
see attached pdf file.
Jim Rogers
Set up for the scribe(https://shinglemaker.files.wordpress.com/2016/06/p6171551.jpg?w=720)(https://shinglemaker.files.wordpress.com/2016/06/p6151504.jpg?w=720)cut the tenon.(https://shinglemaker.files.wordpress.com/2016/06/p6161535.jpg?w=720)
Scribe housing.
(https://shinglemaker.files.wordpress.com/2016/06/p6161544.jpg?w=720)Assemblage.
Wonderful!! This has been very helpful! It confirms that if I want to use a branch (still attached to the trunk) as a knee brace, then I'll have to learn how to scribe. I'm familiar with scribing where everything is horizontal i.e a log house, but haven't done it where a vertical log mates with a horizontal one. I'm sure there is great example of that on YouTube, if anyone has a channel or demonstration they recommend I am all ears.
Jim, that guide you shared was very helpful in showing me how to use a curved beam as a knee brace, without scribing.
Don, your photos were very helpful in seeing the layout if using the scribing method. It definitely helped me visualize the process. Thank you all for sharing.
You can follow how to scribe curved braces on the Oxfordshire Woodland Group Twitter (http://oxfordshirewoodlandgroup.co.uk/forum/?mingleforumaction=viewtopic&t=465.1) feed.
Try not to make braces from branch material as these will have offset heart and therefore be full of reaction wood which will tend to move in due course as it dries. It's probably better to use curved stem material which although similarly affected this will be to a lesser extent.
Subtlety in curvature is enough to please the eye.
Chilterns
I had a small spruce branch with one smaller twig forking off it hung on my front gate. I'd follow the movement of the twig relative to the branch to track when to expect rain.