Timber Frame Gazebo Corner Braces

I made most of the braces for this Timber Frame Gazebo and my Woodshed Project at the same time. If you saw the Woodshed Build Series then you might recognize some of these images. But I’ll quickly go through the steps again for this project.
I made the braces using two by eight red cedar.

Timber Frame Gazebo - Trace corner brace plywood pattern onto 2x8 red cedar — Trace corner brace plywood pattern onto stock

I laid out and cut a plywood pattern according to the plans. I trace the pattern then cut opposing forty five degree angles on the miter saw.

Cut angles on the miter saw - Timber Frame Gazebo — Cut angles on the miter saw

This ensures the brace will be ninety degrees.

The curves of the brace are rough cut on a bandsaw — The curves of the brace are rough cut on a band saw

I cut the curved sections on the band saw.
I sand this cut smooth with a small hobby belt sander.

A little smoothing on a 1" sanding belt of a hobby sander — A little smoothing on a 1″ sanding belt of a hobby sander

The flexible sanding belt follows the curve of the brace quite well. The braces will be attached to the posts and beams with a long lag bolt at a twenty degree angle to help pull the brace tightly into the corner.

to the Drill Press

Setting the drill press table to 20 degrees

I tilt the table on my drill press to this angle, mark the hole center, and clamp some simple stops to the table to hold the pieces in place.

Stop blocks added to hold brace steady — Stop blocks added to hold brace in position

A countersink with a forstner bit drops the head of the bolt neatly below the surface. Then I switch bits to drill the pilot hole for the shank of the lag bolt.

Timber Frame Gazebo - Brace is countersunk to bury the head of the lag bolt — Brace is countersunk to bury the head of the lag bolt

Using my angle grinder with a sanding disc, I bevel the edges of each corner braces except the edge that mates with a post, girt, or beam. So all the outside edges.

Stack of corner braces are chamfered with angle grinder and sanding disc attachment

Install Corner Braces

I mark the post and the beam two inches in from the outside edge to guide the brace location. I applied some exterior wood glue then hold it securely in place.

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Corner brace is held in place and post is drilled with long 1/4" bit — Corner brace is held in place and post is drilled with long 1/4″ bit

Then drill into the post and beam and drive in a lag bolt with an impact driver. I’ll hand tighten with a socket wrench to prevent thread rip out.

Lag bolts are hand tightened to prevent over torquing

For this structure, I think this simple brace is more than enough to give the frame rigidity. A brace with a proper tenon mortised into the post and the beam is always the best option, but for this build I think a flat mounted brace with a long, angled, lag bolt is sufficient.

Lag bolt is driven in with impact driver

On the plans I have included a slightly larger brace for the inside corners as an alternative.
The braces that mate with the girts are installed flush with the outer face of the post, as the girts are the same thickness as the braces.

Corner braces are centered on narrower side girts

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