# Floor without nails...



## 35015 (Nov 24, 2012)

Hi everyone,

I wasn't really sure where to post this (???) as it could go in "general discussions" or in "Timber Framing"...but I will leave that up to BigJim and other moderators to figure out...LOL!!!

I can't help myself when it comes to this young Marines work and what he is achieving in his life. Josh's (aka Mr. Chickadee) is simply one of the finest young Artisans out there putting an edge of iron to wood!!!


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## Jim Frye (Aug 24, 2016)

Absolutely fascinating! It could have been titled Traditional Koren Boat Building right up to the last minute. Made me feel a bit inferior after an afternoon working with my table saw. Thanks!


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## 35015 (Nov 24, 2012)

*Your not inferior!!!*

Hi Jim,

Gosh, your not "inferior" at all...It's just another way to work this material we love so much...!!!

I'm glad you enjoyed the video, I will pass it along to him. He's just a grand "old soul" stuck in the body of a young man. 

I would note, that I'm not a purest at all...:vs_whistle:...:vs_laugh:...on some of my work as I would not be able to be competitive (at all) in some of what I do. We do try to finish everything by hand, and follow traditional standards almost exclusively in my work.

I would be lying though if I didn't say firing up one of the big old Northfields to cut or plane something was not just pure joy and pleasure!!! Power or hand...OLD TOOLS RULE!!!

Thanks again for watching and I am very pleased you enjoyed it!!!

j


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## Tennessee Tim (Dec 15, 2010)

Mr. Chickadee was wonderful to watch in person. I took one of his timberframing classes and enjoyed every minute of it. 

Thanks for the link!!


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## 35015 (Nov 24, 2012)

Hey TimT.!!!

I completely forgot about that...Glad you posted!!!


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## FrankC (Aug 24, 2012)

That was an interesting video, one question, how does he secure the last floor board in the row, or is it free floating?


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## Pineknot_86 (Feb 19, 2016)

Interesting. You would need lots of time and patience. Always amazed at how things were made without the precision things we have today. For instance, how did the square get to be square?


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## Jim Frye (Aug 24, 2016)

Pineknot_86 said:


> Interesting. You would need lots of time and patience. A For instance, how did the square get to be square?



3-4-5 right triangle will make a 90 degree angle. Now, how did the ruler get to be a ruler?


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*Not by geometry ....*

Your 3,4 5 triangle is a geometric function. A ruler was divided based on an "artificial" or arbitrary dimension of the human body like a cubit.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cubit


then a long came the furlong;
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Furlong


Quoting:
The furlong (meaning furrow length) was the distance a team of oxen could plough without resting. This was standardised to be exactly 40 rods or 10 chains






Jim Frye said:


> 3-4-5 right triangle will make a 90 degree angle. Now, how did the ruler get to be a ruler?



The ruler just killed off everyone else in the line of sight and since he was the last man standing, he annointed himself the "Ruler". :surprise2:


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## 35015 (Nov 24, 2012)

Hey Everyone, 

I am so glad folks are enjoying this...And Tenesse Tim, do add your voice as you have spent time with the man and seen his work and style of it!!!



FrankC said:


> That was an interesting video, one question, how does he secure the last floor board in the row, or is it free floating?


Hi Frank,

Its a simple...friction fit...with a premium piece of quarter sawn wood (I think he used White Oak for those, but I can't recall what we discussed?) The can be locked into place with a sliding toggle but in the style he did for the video a friction fit is much simple and all that is called for...

As the green floor planks dry further in place they can be slid down and a new "key board" fitted into place if need be. Seldom is a new "key board" necessary in this version of the floor style. Just the addition of a new board next to the "key board" becomes necessary sometimes if one hasn't taken the time to select quarter sawn stock...

In some versions, for example like the last big one I did quarter sawn stock was out of context. I used super wide (30", 40" and sometimes 50" wide) plain sawn fletchs off a single log. The intent was to see a tree of choice and in less than one week have that tree milled and into a floor!!! 

Even with all this "green wood" even after 6 years of drying in place my largest gap between any set of boards was only about 12 mm next to the 48" wide Summer Beam and the widest floor plank that was 38" wide.



Pineknot_86 said:


> Interesting. You would need lots of time and patience. Always amazed at how things were made without the precision things we have today. For instance, how did the square get to be square?


Great questions and observations...thanks!

I think I reference a book someplace recently you may like called (??) "By hand and by eye" that speaks to training your senses to be accurate and for us to trust what we see. Between traditional methods of applied geometry and training of senses, much can be achieved! I didn't own or use a tape measure for years (into my twenties) and only used story poles, dividers and other traditional modalities of design and layout...

As for time and patience...not as much as you may think. From beginning to end, with only his hand tools, Josh only spent 30 days doing this floor. I personally don't think that is too bad a time frame for anyone...especially for the first time ever doing it...!!!

So much has been overlooked in the past 50 years that modern workers often have very strong misconceptions about the traditional systems and the required time frames and/or efficiencies...



Jim Frye said:


> 3-4-5 right triangle will make a 90 degree angle. Now, how did the ruler get to be a ruler?


Yep...Jim nailed it. The "magic triangle" of days gone by!!! A cornerstone of the Masons, and other craft guilds. If you study the art of the Pentagram much of history is within it. What many erroneously call the "Devil's Circle"...or..."Lucifer's Door" ...the old Orthodox Churches and even today's Old Order Amish called the "Star of Christ" and use on barns to ward off evil. Within this pentagram, we are looking at the foundational geometry that built almost everything we found in antiquity. Within the Pentagram is the 3-4-5 triangle, the golden section, and countless other geometries that built our known world...Even some (not all) of the rulers and other measure devises started within these odd lines that form a star...

Thanks for adding that Jim!!!



woodnthings said:


> Your 3,4 5 triangle is a geometric function. A ruler was divided based on an "artificial" or arbitrary dimension of the human body like a cubit.
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cubit...


Yes...absolutely!

However, that is only in primarily a European cultural context interpreted from some of the Middle Eastern concepts stemming primarily from (or within) the Abrahamic faiths...It is not the majority of contextual understanding for either... or the root forms of it. It is a very limited and narrow perspective at best, and doesn't' take in the Mesopotamian, Syrian, Egyptian, and countless Asian system that predate this by millenia...nor anything from the New World that also used it in there layout systems like the Inca and Mayan cultures...


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## Tennessee Tim (Dec 15, 2010)

LOL...most say it takes so MUCH longer to do by hand....what WE don't realize from our western culture and times is how to sharpen tools properly.....MUCH less HOW SHARP they kept theirs...IF you couldn't shave with them they WEREN'T considered sharp. I seen 3 cuts made by misuse, carelessness and one major by extreme exhaustion... Mr. Chickadee accidently dropped his ax early one morning prepping for the last day...hit the floor and bounced into his leg....I believe the count was 20 stitches and lots of blood...his tools you didn't fight with, you just enjoyed the glide...it's neat to watch the Japanese and Korean craftsmen compete in the thinnest and longest shavings....EXTREMELY sharp tools!!!!


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## hawkeye10 (Feb 18, 2015)

Thanks for a great video. I watched both of them and I am getting ready to watch another. I was wondering, what is going to happen when the flooring dry's out and shrinks? I didn't see that addressed.


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## FrankC (Aug 24, 2012)

hawkeye10 said:


> Thanks for a great video. I watched both of them and I am getting ready to watch another. I was wondering, what is going to happen when the flooring dry's out and shrinks? I didn't see that addressed.


I believe Jay addressed this in post #10

"As the green floor planks dry further in place they can be slid down and a new "key board" fitted into place if need be. Seldom is a new "key board" necessary in this version of the floor style. Just the addition of a new board next to the "key board" becomes necessary sometimes if one hasn't taken the time to select quarter sawn stock..."


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## samandothers (Jan 20, 2012)

I’ve watched many of his videos and enjoy the skills and tools.


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## KevinM (Apr 22, 2018)

That is impressive I had stumbled across his YT channel and already subscribed but had not seen this as of yet.I keep filling massive holes in the bank of knowledge on joinery.


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## BigJim (Sep 2, 2008)

My stars, I don't know how I missed this thread, but I am sure glad I did finally find it, very very interesting. The man is amazing.


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