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natural building workshops Archives - Page 2 of 6 - The Year of Mud

Sep 24
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Our Recent Cob Bench Creation

By Natural Building Workshops, Cob Building
Cob Bench

Our Cob Building Workshop participants and the cob bench they built

Our recent Cob Building Workshop participants were able to build a cob bench from the foundation up, and I was very pleased with what we came up with. A cob bench is the perfect beginner cob building project, as it is simple, yet provides enough of a design challenge to be interesting and engaging. The best cob bench will be comfortable, inviting, and of course visually interesting. With a bench, you can “try it on” as you go and sit and feel out the dimensions and adjust as necessary. You don’t even need a tape measure.

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Sep 14
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Everyone Loves the “Cob Toss”

By Cob Building, Natural Building Workshops
Cob Toss

Angelo starts the “cob toss” at the mixing station

I think one of the highlights for folks participating in our 2014 Cob Building Workshop was the “cob toss”. It involves nothing more than grabbing a pre-formed cob “loaf” and passing it to another builder, where eventually it will end up on the wall or whatever is being built. This is an extremely useful method for transporting the heavy material, especially when the wall is no longer at a height when it can be simply placed on the wall without much movement (on the builder’s part), or when the mixing station cannot be sited immediately adjacent to the wall.

I also love what the cob toss represents…

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Sep 08
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Our Muddy Weekend Kicks Off

By Cob Building, Natural Building Workshops
Making Cob Loaves

Some of our first cob gets the “loaf” treatment for easy transport the bench site

Our 2014 Cob Building Workshop just wrapped up, and as always, I’m sad to see that folks have to go home already, but pleased with the very enjoyable experience we all shared. Our three day class was a great chance to get our hands (and feet) in the mud, mixing up some lovely batches of cob, and building a nice little bench and wall together.

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Jul 29
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Cob Building Workshop is Just Around the Corner!

By Cob Building, Natural Building Workshops

Dancing In CobJust when I thought things might be quiet for a while, I look at the calendar and take note that we are just a little more than a month away from our Cob Building Workshop. Yow!

Our 3 day Cob Building Workshop takes place from September 5-7 here outside Berea, Kentucky. There are still three spaces remaining, so if you’ve been waiting to register, I suggest you go ahead and do that soon, because the spaces are certain to fill up. You can also save a bit on the registration fee if you register within the week.

I’m personally very excited to get my hands (and feet) back in the mud, at what will no doubt be a beautiful time of year. If you want to get your cobbing on with us, go ahead and register today.

Jul 10
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Timber Frame Workshop 2014 Slideshow

By Photos, Timber Framing, Natural Building Workshops

Hewing Hatchet

Here’s one last round of photos of our 2014 Timber Frame Workshop that ended a couple short weeks ago. If you’re interested in getting a firsthand look at our finished pavilion, the building will be up and in use during the Clear Creek Festival from August 29-31. We’ll likely be making pizza during that same festival out of our new cob oven, too… so look out. Anyway, click ahead for the slideshow.

Photos of the completed structure should be up soon, too!

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Jun 29
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And The Tools Come Out: Timber Frame Recap Part 2

By Natural Building Workshops, Hand Tools, Timber Framing
Cutting a Tenon with Chisel and Mallet

Pam works on her chisel skills on a tenon

Carpenter’s squares and tape measures are handy and all that, but they don’t carry nearly the same appeal as say, a sharpened chisel, an antique boring machine, or a Swedish axe. Marking and measuring, though arguably one of most important steps of timber framing, lacks the “cool” factor that comes with cutting joinery. People’s eyes tend to light up as soon as they see the ol’ Millers Falls boring machine come out, what with its fancy gears, the double handle, and the amazing wood chips it produces once set to motion.

Needless to say, enthusiasm ramped up on day two of our Timber Frame Workshop as people got a chance to saw and waste tenons, bore holes for mortises, and get busy with chisel and mallet.

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Jun 26
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2014 Timber Frame Workshop Recap: Part 1

By Timber Framing, Natural Building Workshops, Hand Tools
Scoring Lines: Timber Framing

Getting timber layout complete and ready for cutting

We packed in a lot of action during our four days of the 2014 Timber Frame Workshop last week. This was our first official course in our new home location in the Berea, Kentucky area, and I couldn’t be more pleased! The mountains, trees (and accompanying abundant shade), fresh spring water, and wildlife made an excellent backdrop to learning about timber frame layout, cutting, and assembly. It was great to meet new folks and reconnect with some ‘alumni’ from previous classes, too.

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Jun 11
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Timber Arrives!

By Natural Building Workshops, Timber Framing
White Oak Timber

White oak 8x8s for the upcoming timber frame pavilion

Last week, we got our timber delivery for the pavilion we’ll be building in our Timber Frame Workshop next week. It’s beautiful stuff! It’s all white oak, very clear wood, and sawn on a portable bandsaw. It smells really good since it’s so fresh. We will be working this material very green, as it was literally felled and sawn a mere day or two before its final delivery.

We have begun some prep work, doing some layout and cutting on a few pieces to ensure that we can make good headway in the four days of our course. Our goal is to demonstrate layout, cutting, assembly, and ideally raising, too (if the stars align, you know.) This past week and the few days ahead are busy busy busy. More news when I find time to write!