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Click on the picture below if you would like to read this article about our journey towards the up coming Timber Framing events at Grampians Paradise 21st to 30th October 2018.
Two events are on in October 2018 at Grampians Paradise:
The 10 day Fox Maple Traditional Timber Framing Workshop 21st to 30th October 2018.
Those wanting to learn the craft of traditional timber framing, and be part of an amazing learning experience are welcome to en-role in the 10 day Fox Maple Traditional Timber Framing Workshop. For information see below. Dates: 21st to the 30th Ocotber 2018
The two day (weekend) Traditional Timber Framers Gathering 27th and 28th October 2018.
Anyone is welcome to come and attend for part or all of the weekend Traditional Timber Framers Gathering. Dates: 27th and 28th October 2018
The October 2018 Fox Maple World Tour Timber Framing Workshop is to be held at Grampians Paradise Camping and Caravan Parkland form the 21st to the 30th October 2018.
Pictures from the Spring 2017 Fox maple Workshop. Left: Cutting joinery, Middle: assembling the frame, Right: using a chain mortiser.
The 2018 Fox Maple Australia Workshop at Grampians Paradise offers:
Theory and practical hands on learning while working on a large scale traditional timber frame project.
Free camping (bring your own tent) and all meals are included with the workshop tuition fees.
Note: Free camping is on the large workshop communal camping sites Parkland 1 (P1), Parkland 2 (P2), Parkland 3 (P3) and Parkland 4 (P4). See the choosing a site by location or map page on the Grampians Paradise Website for their location and sizes.
Facilities at Grampians Paradise include hot showers, children's bathroom, accessible bathroom with toilet and shower and camp kitchen.
There are also other accommodation options for the workshop participants:
At Grampians Paradise - Powered Sites (non communal area) at 50% of standard rates (Lakeside 1, Lakeside 2 and VL&V4 and South 5).
Additional Unpowered sites - non communal area are available at 50% off standard rates (V3, V5, V6, A1 and North 1).
These powered and unpowered sites are
a good option if are after a site for yourself, or you and your partner or family if
they are staying with you while you attend the workshop.
There is also a limited number of Vintage and Retro onsite caravans: See our Vintage and Retro Onsite Caravan Page for more info.
Also Wanderlust Glamping luxury bell tents (set up with mattress, all bedding, and trimmings) are currently available (contact Grampians Paradise for availability and pricing for workshop participants) as well as Wanderlust Glamping's retro caravans. See Wanderlust Glamping's website for more information and pictures.
Within 10 minutes drive there is also other accommodation options.
Places are limited for the October 2018 workshop. Bookings can be made through Fox Maple on their web site:
Information at Fox Maples School of Traditional Building and Registration Form
Pictures from the Spring 2017 Fox Maple Workshops. Left: learning to use a chain mortiser, Right: Assembling the timber frame cut on the Fox Maple Spring 2017 Workshop.
The Fox Maple Australia Timber Framing Worshop will be held at Grampians Paradise Camping and Caravan Parkland, on the edge of the Grampians National Park, under its highest mountains, just 15 minutes drive south south-east of Halls Gap at 443 Long Gully Rd Pomonal 3381, Victoria, Australia.
The workshop will start early on Sunday 21st October and comes to a close late on Tuesday 30th October 2018
Pictures from the Spring 2017 Fox Maple Workshops. Left: designing the frame, Middle: an example of scribed to stone posts, Right: measure 27 times, cut once.
Workshop Background:
The Timber Framing Workshop will be run by Steve Chappell of Fox Maple School of Traditional Building:
Over the last 5 years or so I've (Aidan Banfield of Grampians Paradise) had become aware of Steve Chappell, and his now 36 years of teaching traditional timber framing. This all started with the purchasing of a number books, included Steve Chappell's "A Timber Framers Workshop" to help me progress towards a number of Timber Framed projects for our camping ground and family. Steve Chappel's book was the one that time and time again I returned to as it gave me the best, and most comprehensive (and useful) information about the details of traditional timber framing.
Books however did not work out to be enough to learn what I needed to know to advance my timber framing projects and ambitions, however they did ignite a passion for timber framing in the way it was done before the industrial revolution, with the use large beams and posts, crocked timbers, and jointed with mortises and tenons and timber pins to secure the joinery. There is a magic in the buildings of old that have stood for 100's if not even in the odd case around 1000 years.
I dreamed of attending one of Steve's Traditional Timber Framing Workshops, and in June 2017, the oppertunity came to spend 2 weeks in Maine, USA attending the 35 anniversary year Introductory and Advanced Timber Framing Workshops. An amazing experience, with so much learning in those two weeks. As a group of students to be guided though the process of design, calculation, cutting of the frame and the raising the frame we had made with the wisdom and experience of Steve's 35 years of teaching experience was nothing short of amazing. At times it was challenging, and pushed us all, but though the hard work and effort we all came away with so much more knowledge (both in mind and body) and with "tools" to be able to tackle our own timber framing project. It was one of the most empowering experiences I have had.
To help you work out if a Fox Maple Traditional Timber Framing Workshop is for you have a read of this article in the Owner Builder magazine.
Click in the heading above or the picture below for the link to the PDF copy of this article.
For more information on Fox Maple's School of Traditional Building and Steve Chappell see:
Fox Maple's Web site http://www.foxmaple.com/
Fox Maple's Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/FoxMapleSchool/
My (Aidan Banfield) Wetlands Creations facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/wetlandscreations/ Go back through the posts to June 2017 for the post from the Spring 2017 Fox Maple Workshops
Pictures taken at Fox Maple's Spring 2017 workshops. Left: 1 inch Barr Framing Chisel being used to pair back a tenon. The 2 inch (and 1.5 inch) Barr Framing chisels are Fox Maples preferred chisels for Timber Framing Workshops. Right: Re Checking the design and measurements before cutting the joiner.
What's Unique about the Fox Maple Workshop at Grampians Paradise?
One of the principles of Traditional Building, is the use of Materials that are local to the building site. This principle, while not unique, does lead to something unique for the Fox Maple Workshops. We will be working with local Australian hardwoods - The Box Eucalypts. these will included some of the local timbers of our area: Yellow Box, Red Box, Red Iron Bark, Yellow Gum (or White Iron Bark) as well as possibly River Red Gum and the Acacia "Black Wood". - It all comes down to which timber framing project is chosen for the workshop as to which species of timber we will be using. Many of these timbers have a dry density of over 1000kg per cubic metre (they sink in water), and were favoured timbers of the Bridge Builders in the earlier days of Australian settlement.
Pictures taken at Grampians Paradise in May 2018: Australian Hardwood timbers for the 2018 timber framing projects: Left: Australia River Red Gum - to be re cut for Jowled posts. Middle: timber pins to hold the joinery in the frame together. Right Australia Red Box beams and post at over 1000kg per cubic metre. These Red Box beams are yet to be Planed on all 4 sides.
What's in common with other Fox Maple World Tour Workshops?
The Timber Framing Project for the workshop will included working with crocked (crooked or natural curved timbers) and scribing timber to stone, where the end of the timber is carefully cut away to match the shape of the foundation rock it will bare its load onto.
Traditionally Framed Buildings at Fox Maple Maine USA campus. Left and Right pictures: The Bath House. Middle: The Library.
What to bring to the Timber Framing Workshop.
For information on what to bring to a Fox Maple Timber Framing Workshop, go to the page of the Fox Maple Website's for "Timber Framing Workshop's" and click on the booklet image (at the bottom of the page) and down load the Fox Maple School Booklet, or use this direct link to down load the booklet.
Tools: Aside from the essential hand tools of a timber Framing Mallet, and high quality Framing Chisel (see the Fox Maple School Booklet for details on what types of mallets and chisels are up to the task and for the other essential hand tools).
Steve Chapell also invites you to bring other tools to the workshop, as well as power tool. If you are bringing your own power tools, they will need to be compatible with Australia supply (230 to 240 volts, 10 or 15 amp Australia plugs and run at 50 hertz), and they will (including battery chargers) need to be tagged with a current testing tag by a certified tester (they cannot be used on an Australian work site if they are not tagged with a current tag).
NOTE: We may have a person certified to test electrical tools on the workshop, but this is yet to be confirmed.
I would also recommend bringing sharpening stones and a strop to keep your edge tools sharp and honed. Some of the Australia Timbers are hard on cutting edges, and your tools will need to be kept sharp to effectively cut the dense (but beautiful) Australia timbers we will be working with in the workshop.
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE): Australia's (particularly the state of Victoria's) Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) regulations are very strong, and Personal Protective Equipment is a requirement for any one on a work site - the area where the workshop frame will be being cut, and where it is being raised will be considered a work site by OHS.
You will need to bring (and it will have to be used to be able to enter the "work site"):
Steel Capped Boots,
Safety Glasses,
good quality hearing protection
a high visibility vest, or clothing
Hard hat (where there is the risk of items falling from above).
It would also be very sensible to bring good quality work gloves, and some sort of mask for flittering out wood dust from the air you are breathing (some of the Australian timber's wood dust is considered to be an irritant).
Wild life at Grampians Paradise, and the Grampians National Park. Left: Kangaroo and her Joe at Grampians Paradise. Middle: The Pinnacle lookout, one of the great walks of the Grampians National Park. Right: Corrella's, a type of Cockatoo parrot are frequently seen at Grampians Paradise.
How to get to Grampians Paradise for the Workshop.
Grampians Paradise is located 3 hours from Melbourne (and around 5 hours from Adelaide), on the edge of the Grampians National Park, in Victoria Australia.
The Grampians mountain rangers are up 1167 metres high, with Mt. William being its highest mountain. Mt William can be seen from the workshop Camping Sites at Grampians Paradise and is just 5km away. Grampians Paradise is 280 metres above sea level. The Grampians National Park is very large (nearly 100km long) and has a wealth of amazing landscapes (many crags and cliffs). Of 1500 species of native plants that are found in the Grampians, quite a number are endemic to the Grampians, and being mid spring in October the wildflowers will still be out.
The other natural attraction of our area are the native Australian animals and birds, among them many types of Parrots (including cockatoos). We have recorded over 100 species of native Australia birds at Grampians Paradise, there are usually at lest 20 species present at any one time. Kangaroos are often in the camping ground in the evenings, as are at this time a couple of our Swamp Wallabies. At night time the possums are often seen in the trees and if you are very luck you may get to see one of the Sugar Gliders.
If you are wanting to explore Grampians National Park, you will need a car (we are away from public transport by 10 to 30 minutes drive).
The closest Bus to us is 10 minutes Drive away at Pomonal, however this is only 1 service each way on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday (not a lot of help for getting to and from the workshop).
However Ararat is serviced by regular Trains and Buses from Melbourne (many per day). It is a half an hour drive from Ararat to Grampians Paradise. There is Taxi service from Ararat.
If you are hiring a car this may be easiest to do at the Melbourne (Tullamarine) International Airport (if flying in). It is a 3 hour drive from there to Grampians Paradise.
For more directions and a link to Google Maps got to our Where We Are website page. There is also a sketch map and aerial pictures of our location on that page.
Camp fire stories and relaxing at the end of the Spring 2017 Fox Maple Timber Framing Workshop
Places are limited for the October 2018 workshop (21st to 30th October).
Bookings can be made through Fox Maple on their web site:
Information at Fox Maples School of Traditional Building and Registration Form
Information on the above photos:
Top left: Traditional 2 story timber frame built in the Spring 2017 Workshop at Fox Maples Maine, USA campus. This was the 35th Anniversary Year of Fox Maple Workshops.
Top right: Course participants assembling the
frame they had cut - Spring 2017.
Bottom Right: The Dining Hall
at Fox Maples Maine, USA campus - the frame was cut and raised by students in the June 1997 introductory and advanced workshops.
Photos taken by Aidan Banfield while attending the introductory and advanced workshops in USA - Spring 2017
For additional resources see:
Fox Maple's Web site http://www.foxmaple.com/
Fox Maple's Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/FoxMapleSchool/
My (Aidan Banfield) Wetlands Creations facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/wetlandscreations/ Go back through the posts to June 2017 for the post from the Spring 2017 Fox Maple Workshops
The Grampians Paradise Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/grampiansparadise/
The Grampians Paradise Instagram page https://www.instagram.com/grampiansparadise/
For more about Grampians Paradise, these is lots of information and pictures on the website
Terms and conditions for bookings and stays at Grampians Paradise
in addition to those listed on the Exclusive Wildlife Stays - Cancellation Policy page:
Follow these links for information on:
Exclusive Wildlife Stays information page,
and the Exclusive Wildlife Stays Welcome Package where there is more detailed information.
Stories from some of those who have experienced an exclusive wildlife stay
The History of the Creation of a wildlife haven at Grampians Paradise
and the story page about my letter to David Attenborough and the letter he sent in reply
Sorry no Pets.
Rates effective 1/3/2022 (Including rates for Exclusive Wildlife Stays) and subject to change without notice.
There is some important and really useful additional informational that you need to read before making a booking to stay at Grampians Paradise Camping and Caravan Parkland in our Terms and Conditions. We have written and formatted our terms and conditions so that they are easy to read and understand. The terms and conditions information includes information on how you can pay, deposits, what to do if you need to cancel or change the details of your booking, night time noise restrictions after 11:00pm, when and where you can have camp fires and lots of other useful information. Click here to read our terms and conditions.
Grampians Paradise offers a retreat from the pressures of busy life — a place to relax and to relate to a rich and varied country environment. You can take time to sit and enjoy the views of lakes and mountains and listen to and watch the native Australian birds and animals.