Timber Frame Tools

So with the gazebo up and the roof on, it was time to get the siding in place. You may remember from a previous entry that the siding was ship-lapped 1″x8″. This was applied one course at a time and fastened to the posts and studs with 1/2″ diameter dowel pegs.

I cut the dowel to roughly 4″ long using my compound miter saw. I had to build a jig to hold the dowel securely while cutting several at once.

Care has to be taken as the compound miter saw can grab the pegs and throw them with a lot of force. A well made jig can prevent this.

With the ship-lap siding cut to length, I drilled the holes at opposing angles so that as the siding shrinks, it actually draws the siding tighter to the posts and studs. Since the dowels were store bought they had a pretty smooth finish on them. I was concerned that they might easily work back out as the wood swells and shrinks seasonally. It can literally “breathe” the pegs (or even nails) right out. So before pounding in the pegs I would cut a series of little barbs into them with a knife (they end up looking like gills on a fish) This helps prevent the peg from creeping back out of the hole. (If I was really worried about it I could have used a dab of glue, but I wasn’t THAT worried.)

Over the years that this has been up, only a few of the pegs have breathed out a little. In this photo of the corner of the gazebo you can see one of the four pegs visible has worked itself out a bit. A tap with the mallet will drive it back in, and it will likely stay put.

Notice at the corners I simply butted one side to the other side. If I had it to do all over again I would have taken the time to rabbet the ends of one side so they fit more snugly into each other. AND as mentioned before, I would have tongue and grooved the siding instead of ship lapping it.

With the siding on and the siding and shingles stained, the timber frame gazebo is really starting to look nice.