During their freshman and sophomore years, students specializing wood learn the basics of working with this materials. Going into their junior year, they then choose to focus on Architectural Carpentry or Timber Framing. Two-year Associate of Applied Science degrees in Woodworking are available for those that end their education after those two years.

The ancient building techniques of Timber Framing developed using logs and tree trunks to build structures capable of bearing extreme weight loads, such as barns and churches. Throughout the Middle Ages and up to the pre-Industrial era in Western Civilization, master timber framers, along with stone carvers, acted as architects (interpreted in Greek as the chief builder) because of their ability to think in three dimensions in the construction process.

Today timbers are mechanically squared off and carefully fitted with joints requiring precise engineering. With modern advancements in wood products, a 21st century timber framing student is as likely to use a laptop as he or she is an axe or chisel. ACBA students study the traditional aspects of timber framing as well as modern technology to restore old structures and build new ones, carefully mixing traditional joinery and modern fasteners to meet today’s building codes.