At Hamlet, we build our traditional timber frames using French carpentry techniques that date back to early medieval times. We learned these techniques while serving our apprenticeships in England & Scotland, along with a host of other complementary skills that the medieval carpenter had to master to be considered a true journeyman. Instead of cutting our joints by calculation using squares and bevels, we chalk our drawings out full scale on the floor of our workshop and lay the timbers directly over the chalk. Each timber is then scribed to any others it intersects, and is marked with a unique number - usually in the form of a Roman numeral. This piece is unique, and can only go in one position within the finished frame; therefore the mark tells us exactly where it goes during the raising. Using this form of scribe carpentry allows us to integrate beautiful curved pieces very efficiently, and gives us more creative freedom when we are designing your timber frame. To work with timbers, you need to start with a tree. Very few carpenters actually go through the process of selecting & felling trees, converting them to timbers through hewing & pit-sawing, and then using the timbers to frame the house. It's a shame, because it's incredibly rewarding, and gives the carpenter a more intimate knowledge and deeper respect for their raw material.
