A Japanese timber framed garden shed

I'm working on grids for the gable ends. My plan is to make 4 sash that can be applied after the frame is up, backed by screens to keep the bugs out.

My inspiration is this photo from a book:
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And here is my interpretation for my shed.

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I don't really know the best way to go about this but what I am doing is making a separate sash that can be applied over a sill and inset into the frame.

I made frames for the sash:

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These are joined simply with saddle joints at the corners that will be glued. But I added a coped joint called in Japanese a jaguchi joint on the outside to accommodate a beveled face. Here is one before clean up.

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The grid will be half lapped and morticed into this frame. That layout on a square frame is not so hard but having a sloped top member introduces some challenges. When i imagined it I said, "No worries, I'll figure that out later. Later is now and I'm still working on the best way forward. Trigonometry is my friend, I hope.

Well within your capabilities

My first attempt at doing the lattice parts didn't work. I made a jig for the table saw using a dado blade and indexing strip as if I was making box joints. I started on the horizontal parts. The result looked great from afar. Mesmerizing, even.

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But for reasons I won't go into the way I did it introduced an incremental increase in slot width from just below the target 22 mm wide to about 22.4 mm wide over 15 cuts on the long horizontal pieces. Not good.

So back to work. I remade the horizontal stock and I'm working on a different approach using a router jig. I had to order a 22 mm bit and it is in hand. The jig is nearly done. I hope to restart tomorrow.

Plan B seems to be working. An mdf jig/fixture with spacers to add at the proper lattice pitch.
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But my Lord, what a mess of mdf flour and chips everywhere. I did clean up for the pics so you can see what's going on. I really hate using a screaming router but sometimes it is expedient.

Horizontal slats are remade. I have half the verticals done, too. The verticals are meant to sit 2 mm proud of the horizontals on the front side and be flush on the back.

There is going to be some challenging joinery where the horizontals and verticals meet the sloping upper rail. I have a plan for it that involves tenoning the verticals but not the horizontals. I hope to get to that part next week.

Pictures are just the parts laid out.

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And the laps on the verticals are done. Here is a quick test fit to see whether everything lines up. The frame is just resting on top. No joinery yet.

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Here's how, conceptually, I'm planning to do the joinery of the verticals and horizontals along the sloping upper rail. For scale, the horizontals are 18x22 in section and the verticals are 20x22.

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I have 60 verticals to do and about 24 horizontals. It's going to take me awhile. But this is the fun stuff. Much better than routering.

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That last one at the bottom RHS will test your steady hand and sharp tools

I have the vertical and horizontal lattice slats done. I made a little sawing/planing/paring guide for the verticals and another for the horizontals. They worked great. I could mostly work right off the saw with only a little paring afterward. I decided to carry one of the four frames through to completion as a test case before doing the other three. I hope to catch and not repeat mistakes that way.

I generally like to make mortices first and fit tenons to them but in this case I've done the reverse since the rigid lattice determines the mortice spacing.


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Fitting this first frame has not gone well but I'm getting closer. Here is a dry fit. Still some tweaking to do to get that upper rail seated properly. I do like the layered look of frame proud of the verticals and beveled, and verticals proud of the horizontals and beveled. In the background you can see the carriage I had to add to my morticer to get the proper mortice angle on the upper rail.

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One sash done except for flushing the frame corner joints.





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A small update. A friend in central New York state, on the other side of the country, sent me a box of cutoffs from wood his son used to build a deck. The wood is commonly called black locust, Robinia pseudoacacia.

Black Locust | The Wood Database (Hardwood)

This is a north American hardwood common to the eastern half of the continent and often used for fence posts because it is extremely rot resistant. It is hard and dense and slightly brittle but machines well. I've never seen it used for furniture but it certainly could be although the tree rarely gets very large. I'm using it for the pegs and wedges and pins for my shed for its rot resistance, because pegs should be harder than the timbers, and because it was free. Well, at least a swap for a birdhouse I made for my friend.

I hope I'm not the only one who gets a surge of pleasure by getting a box of scrap wood in the post.

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And after a few minutes of band sawing, planing, an chiseling, a couple of wedges. I have 24 more of these to go.

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I finally finished the four gable end lattices. They aren't perfect but I'm calling them acceptable.
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And here is more or less what a pair will look like with the central post and their sills.

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A weekend project. I'm getting closer to being able to test fit the joinery and I need to have at least one persuader. This one has a head of Oregon white oak (about 2.5 kg) and a European beech handle. I've never made one of these before and wasn't sure how long to make the handle so I left this one maybe a bit long. Better than too short.

I have another one in the works that is about 7 kg. I'm calling that one a commander.

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And the second one is done.

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