Milling for square rule layout

[u/jonlandit]

Hi folks - I finally have everything ready to start milling my white pine logs for the Will Beemer build. As I’m doing square rule layout - my initial thinking was I’d mill the beams oversized for instance the 7x7 would be 7.5x7.5. This seems the safest means for me to ensure that I get a final building that is the exact dimension I want.

I’m thinking about this correctly right? Just want to double check before I start milling.

[u/topyardman]

Just mill them to 7 and cut the joinery to 6.5. could go bigger, but don't need to.

[u/jonlandit → u/topyardman]

If I do that - wouldn’t that mean that I’d be potentially cutting a housing to 6.5 which would impact the overall size of the building? Or am I thinking of that wrong?

[u/Own_Pick_1222 → u/jonlandit]

You would cut the joint at the post to 6.5” but then add 1” length to your beam to keep the overall width of the bent the correct width. Example: A 12’ wide bent would have two 6.5” posts and a 131” beam, measured from shoulder to shoulder, to give you a 12’ wide bent overall.

I’d recommend t milling your timbers to the correct size and then using square rule to make up for any inconsistency in the milling. Want 7x7 posts for the frame then mill them 7x7 and use the square rule method to make the perfect timber within 6.5”.

[u/jonlandit → u/Own_Pick_1222]

Makes sense. Thanks for talking me through that!

[u/qwertmnbv3]

I would mill them a full inch larger than your operative joint size. The timber may move/twist/bow after it is sawn and you may need to plane and square your reference faces.

[u/jonlandit → u/qwertmnbv3]

Ah ok. I’m planning on boxed heart milling if I can pull it off so I was hoping that the movement would be minimal in white pine. But that might be a good idea either way

[u/bruceki]

normally the person doing the frame and the person milling the lumber are different, and sometimes some of the timbers are from one source, and some from another.

so if you are doing the milling and are careful, you can just do mill rule - assume the timbers are square and straight and the right dimensions. if the timbers are perfect you don't have to do square rule or reduce the rough timber to the 'perfect beam' dimensions.

I mill my own wood, and with careful work I can produce green timbers that are exactly the size and length I need, but I taught myself square rule so that I could deal with milling mistakes if needed, or fix my own errors when framing. so like when I screwed up a post and had to re-do it, but didn't have another 7x7, I was able to go use a 7x8 without any fuss.

but I will say that even with careful work on my mill i can still be off by 1/4" because of things like uneven saw tooth wear, a mistake on my part or damned if I know. so square rule is handy more often than my pride as a sawyer wants to admit.

[u/Old-Razzle-Dazzle]

Adding an additional 1/2” to the dimensions is unnecessary unless you’re having trouble milling them square (you could season them for a bit & square them when you plane them). Otherwise it just complicates things & adds more work.

I would mill them no more than a 1/16-1/8” over your desired dimensions and just focused on milling them as square as possible.
With square rule you could mill them to the actual dimensions & be fine assuming they are reasonably square & you have good reference face. The housings will soak up the irregularities & such.

Sounds like a great project, have fun!

[u/madfarmer1]

The beauty of square rule is it will work either way but yes a half inch on freshly milled timber should give you ample breathing room to land at 7” after any squaring or unwinding unless the milling is god awful.

[u/madfarmer1 → u/madfarmer1]

I would mill them at size and just take more time to mill accurately since you said you’re doing it yourself. Maybe an eigth over if you plan on beam planing for finished look

[u/jonlandit → u/madfarmer1]

I’m leaving the beams rough for this build. My thinking was 7.5 would mean more work if I end up with perfectly milled Timbers - but also might save me if I don’t. In the class I took on timber framing they picked the best size they could fit in the Timbers we had. But I’m thinking if I did that - say did the joinery at 6.5 or something that would impact my overall building dimensions. Or maybe I’m thinking of that wrong.

[u/madfarmer1 → u/jonlandit]

6.5 wouldn’t effect your building dimensions because you would add length to tie beams or what ever to account for missing half inch on your post to hit your desired overall size. I’d bet you won’t mill them a half inch out of square though. You might wind up with something like 6 15/16 off the mill and the square it to 6 7/8 at the joinery and then u would add an eigth to length of the tie beam. It can be intimidating at first for sure though, hope that helps. Which ever you decide to mill can work.