Introduction to the Art of Timber Framing Bridges to the Past has plans to cut and raise a new outdoor pavilion and gathering space on its 40 acre campus. Timing of this class is dependent on completion of the foundation, block and stonework. This class will tentatively occur in 2024, and information will be posted here when registration is open. Check back with us for more info as available! Bridges to the Past is offering classes in ancestral living skills through our extended week-long workshop in May of each year called Between The Rivers Gathering . We also host a similar camp in October: FallCamp. Check them out and plan to come camp with us and enjoy a broad range of subjects from many instructors in an immersion setting! For your information, below is info from our last Timber Framing class: When: April 25th - May 1st, 2021 (Sunday thru Saturday)  Cost: $700 per person - nearly full, only 1 spot left! Location: Valley, WA (1 hour north of Spokane) David Kretchmar and Jed Petterson of Sandpoint, ID will be leading our Intro to Timberframing workshop taking place this spring at our new 40 acre campus in Valley, WA. Participants will take part in and learn the aspects of building a small traditional wood joinery 3 bent 14X20 timberframe structure from the layout process, the cutting of the mortises and tenons and making pegs, and the raising of the frame by the end of the week, all using simple hand tools and square rule. No previous experience required! We have room for 8 workshop participants. A deposit of $350 will hold your space, and the balance of $350 will be due by April 24th, 2021. A full refund will be offered if the workshop is canceled due to Covid19 or another untimely pandemic. Tuition covers workshop instruction and use of the campus facilities for the duration of the workshop. Participants are responsible for their own transportation to and from the workshop site, and meals/food while they are there. There will likely be 1-2 pot luck meals during the workshop.  Participants are welcome to camp on site for the duration of the workshop, or lodging can be found in the nearby communities of Chewelah or Loon Lake. If you are camping please bring your own tent or camp trailer and camping gear. There will be a porta-potty on-site and potable water will be available for drinking and cooking. The Bridges to the Past Campus is raw land and there will be no electrical or sewer hookups available, and there are no showers. Workshop participants are encouraged to buy a copy of "Learn to Timber Frame" by Will Beemer and read beforehand. If you have timber framing tools you are welcome to bring them and use them (clearly labeled with your name). Daily Schedule: Start around 9am, work until noon, hour break for lunch, work 1-5pm. About our Instructors: Jed Petterson  I’ve been building in some form or another as far back as my memories go. I grew up a farm boy fixing fence and building corrals, then on to helping my dad in the world of typical stick frame construction at the age of eleven. Some boys grow up rock climbing or racing motorcycles, but to me nothing was as fun or rewarding as looking back upon a hard days work building something. And that’s what I did. When I was 21 I started my own business building high end furniture using mortise and tenon joinery. I loved the process but grew disenchanted by the awareness that the creation I worked so hard on may soon be discarded at the whim of an interior designer when trends changed. I currently own Next Dimension Builders and focus primarily on alternative building techniques, including tiny homes, and gypsy wagons. I have believed for a long time that the path to financial freedom comes most easily by, living simply and by taking control of your housing. Timber framing embodies this philosophy, and encompasses the joinery techniques that I love so much. It doesn’t matter if you are in filling your timberframe with cob, cordwood, strawbale, or anything else, having a strong beautiful structure that you created yourself is the perfect way to start. Inspiring and instructing others how to free themselves from the financial slavery of buying a home or perpetually renting, is how I hope to spend a large portion of my time from now on. Dave Kretzschmar  Director of Education of Kaniksu Land Trust (208) 597-6284 |
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