Cool Timber Framing Tools at Northern Timber Crafters

Beautiful timber features require vision and the right tools to bring that vision to life. Most timber features have a thickness of 8-12” and lengths up to 40’. To work on timbers at this scale, the right tools become critical to ensure quality and accuracy. As a specialty subcontractor, we have tools that the average General Contractor doesn’t have, and that’s often why they choose to partner with us. We continually reinvest into our business by buying tools that honor traditional timber framing while also reducing time, thereby giving the customer the exact product they require at a cost they can afford. In this blog, we would like to highlight some of the specialty tools in our timber frame shop and how they are used to craft our custom timber features. 

Slot Cutter

This beautiful piece of equipment is like a horizontal chainsaw with all of the guides and bracing to make it extremely stable when plunge cutting. The most common use for this tool is when we have to cut channels in to the middle of timbers to receive metal plates that will serve as the connecting hardware.

Notch Cutter

This tool makes a sawdust blizzard! It can cut a 5” wide notch or dado in one pass. It requires sharp blades and a strong shoulder but makes a beautiful cut. We like to cut a dado on the bottom of king posts that can shoulder the end of the bottom chord on straight or curved bottom chord timber trusses.

Chain Beam Saw

This tool would get the award for the most extreme looking saw in use in our shop. This will cross cut a beam up to almost 16” deep. The special carbide chains provide an extremely clean cut as well. Since the table of this saw will bevel up to 60 degrees in both directions it is the only tool that can successfully cut large angle compound cuts in beams. These compound cuts are commonly required on hip rafters or diagonal kicker struts found in timber roof structures.

Articulated Bandsaw

This beautiful Italian bandsaw can spin in 360 degrees and also rotates 360 degrees around a stationary pedestal. When decorative cuts on the end of beams are required, nothing will cut them better than this bandsaw.

Portable Bandsaw

Timbers are heavy and difficult to transport. These portable bandsaws allow us to leave the timbers in place and cut and finish them without moving them around. They do a great job of making perfectly plumb cuts, even when cutting in a tight radius. One of our most popular timber truss style is the arched bottom chord truss. This tool is commonly used to cut the large curved beams from the timbers.

Chain Mortiser

This tool is probably as common in any timber shop as a slick or chisel. This chain mortiser is what we use to cut the square pockets into timbers for mortise and tenon joinery. These machines clamp onto the timber and allow for easy side to side and front to back movement to cut almost any sized square pocket. The chain is ¾” thick so its similar to a really thick, vertical chainsaw that can make quick work of removing material.

If you got to the end of this article, then you must agree that these tools are pretty cool! From specialty cutters to saws, we have what it takes to make your vision come to life. To get the conversation started, fill out our Get a Quote form or swing by our shop to see these tools in action!