Before the advances in technology that allowed for the rapid resawing and shaping of modern dimensional timber, many historical buildings were assembled through traditional timber framing methods. Logs were hewn by hand into large beams that formed the frame of these buildings. Due to the size of the beams and the labour involved in their making, the structural members of the building were spaced much further apart than in modern construction. Despite this large spacing, the assembly of these large beams into larger frames provided incredible load bearing capacities. In a time before the widespread use of modern fasteners, these frames were held together with precise joinery methods. In areas of the world where the application of timber framing was more complex, equally complex joints and joinery methods were employed.

• Hewing timber

• Timber framing joints

• General assembly processes