Firewood Shed – Build Timber Frame Style Part 2

Attach Firewood Shed Braces

I mark the post and the beam one inch in from the outside edge to guide the brace location. I hold it securely in place and drill into the post and beam and drive in a lag bolt with an impact driver.

installing a curved brace — Hold brace in place, drill, then run in long lag bolt with impact driver

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

Install more girts

On the other side of the shed I’ll attach the girts to the posts in the same fashion.

setting a girt in place — Set upper girt in place

running in a lag bolt with an impact driver — Secure with a long bar clamp, then drill and run in some lag bolts into post

I countersink and secure the lower girts to the posts with lag bolts. And attach the corner braces.

Staining the Firewood Shed

At this point I’ll apply two coats of a semi-transparent stain with a small roller.

staining the firewood shed — Apply a semi-transparent stain to the frame

This green colour will match the paint on the house. It’s easier to stain the frame now than later when the roof and walls are on. I try to pre-stain as much as possible or when it’s convenient.

Top Beams

trim a beam with a handsaw — Cut the long beams and four sides with circular saw, then finish the cut with a hand saw

Now I’ll select the long front and rear beams and cut them to length. They are a bit too big for my miter saw stand so I’ll cut them with a circular saw. I mark all four sides with a square, make four cuts, then finish off the middle with a hand saw.

Trace the ellipse profile on the end of the beams

The beams have a quarter ellipse profile cut into the ends. I laid out this pattern on thin plywood and trace it onto both sides of the beams at each end.

chisel to clean up dado on a beam for the Firewood Shed — Layout the 1″ deep slot in the underside of the beams to sit down on the posts

I measure the distance between the posts and transfer these dimensions to the beams. I want these beams to sit down on the posts by an inch. I’ll cut these wide grooves with my circular saw and clean them up with a chisel. I think this looks better than simply attaching the beams to the posts on the flat, and it prevents the posts from twisting and the structure from racking.
I bought a new jigsaw specifically to cut these end profiles on the beams.

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Bosch jigsaw with long stiff blade — 7.0 Amp Bosch kick ass jigsaw

Some research led me to the Bosch with it’s seven amp motor and it’s sturdy guide that helps prevent the blade from wandering. I also bought some long blades that will cut at least six inches deep.

Cut the profiles in the 6×6 inch beam with 9″ blade on jigsaw

These blades are fairly wide so I wasn’t sure if I could cut the sharp elliptical radius. I decided to start from the end and work my way in and try to keep to the line as best I could.
The vibration moved the beam on the sawhorses so I had to stop and weigh them down.

Almost a perfect cut – certainly good enough for this outdoor structure

I was happy with the result and I only had a small degree of wander or pushoff.

angle grinder for chamfering — Chamfer the beams with a power hand plane, then finish with angle grinder

As before, I’ll chamfer the edges with a power plane and angle grinder.

using a drill guide on a beam — Drill beams for long lag bolts

The beams attach to the posts with a long lag bolt. I’ll countersink the head with a forstner bit, then drill a pilot hole straight and square with a drill guide, then finish with a bit slightly smaller than the bolt’s shank.
Now I’ll stain these beams and let dry.

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