THE TEAM 

The number of carpenters in the workshop fluctuates from time to time (timber framing is an inconstant business!) with some mainstay carpenters and some more occasional. We usually have more longterm experience between us than any other company in Scotland (myself and Dave Saville being the two longest practicing [and best looking] framers in the country).

Below are pictures of some of the usual suspects.

My own background in framing: 

I have extensive experience (over 20 continuous years, which is more than anyone else in Scotland apart from Dave) of jointed heavy section framing, or "green oak framing", in various timbers and various stiles, having worked for a fairly diverse group of companies both in Scotland and England.

I have built houses, towers, bridges, castle roofs, iron age roundhouses, modern offices, Japanese buildings, staircases, palace doors, and composting toilets. I have worked on the biggest timber building to be built in Britain for who knows how long (Loch Lomond National Park Headquarters) and maybe the smallest (scaled down demonstration frame for Historic Scotland). I even got my 15 seconds of fame on Grand Designs when I was team leader for Carpenter Oak and Woodland on the cruck frame for the Moffats in Argyll. Not an experience that I'm very keen to repeat!

My last employment was, in fact, a six year stint at the Carpenter Oak and Woodland Scotland Yard, where I developed design and management skills as well as the carpentry and team leading I was more used to. During this time I not only finally completed their onerous training programme, but I also became the trainer and assessor for their Scotland yard, contributing many new modules to the training programme itself.

I was involved in the formation of the Carpenters Fellowship UK, serving as one of it's founding directors, and in the  organization and establishment of both "Frame" (the UK timber framers gathering, now ongoing for almost two decades) and "Skelf Frame" the Scottish regional gathering.