Framing into a bent is the fitting and joining of timber members into the bent — the load-bearing cross-frame of a traditional timber structure, for example of a farmhouse or roof. It is a form of traditional carpentry.
How does framing into a bent work?
The individual timber members are carefully cut to size and joined with timber joints into complete bents. Important members are:
- posts (the vertical uprights)
- tie beams (the horizontal top beams)
- braces (the diagonal corner connections)
These members are joined with connections such as the mortise-and-tenon joint. This creates a sturdy cross-frame.
Assembling the structure
Once the bents have been assembled on the ground, they are:
- raised upright;
- connected to one another lengthwise with plates and braces.
In this way the individual bents together form a stable load-bearing frame. Traditionally the carpenter used assembly marks on the members, so that during assembly and raising it was exactly clear which piece went where. These marks helped to keep all the members together and process them in the right order.
Related terms
- Bent
- Anchor-beam bent
- Timber joints
- Mortise-and-tenon joint
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