User:GrubbingEngineer/sandbox

Timber construction machines and falsework.

When iron was relatively expensive, almost all components of construction machinery and falsework were of timber. Nonetheless, some of the world's most impressive and culturally important buildings were erected using timber for the machines and the temporary works needed to build the permanent structure. Particularly for masonry structures, the machines and falsework were major structures in their own right. These were designed and built by millwrights and carpenters whose contribution to the completed building was every bit as signficant as that of the mason or bricklayer for the permanent structure. The most impressive type of falsework was the centreing needed for the construction of a masonry arch bridge or dome, which needed to carry the considerable weight of the masonry until that became self-supporting.

As an illustration, consider the principal designers of the dome of Florence Cathedral, Sta. Maria del Fiore - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filippo_Brunelleschi. Fillippo Brunelleschi was a member of the Florentine guild of silk merchants and a master goldsmith and was known for his sculptures in bronze, yet in 1418 he won a competition for the design and construction of a 42 m span octagonal dome over the already completed parts of the crossing of the cathedral. This meant that the dome needed to be built starting at a height of around 50m. Falsework for such a span and height was considered impossible in timber, and so Brunelleschi devloped a way of constructing the dome without centreing and requiring only local small-scale falsework to hold brickwork in place until its mortar had set. He still needed to hoist heavy materials from the ground and move them into place and so he devised a series of cranes. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence_Cathedral NOT A GOOD ILLUSTRATION - FIND ANOTHER BUT KEEP THIS FOR LATER WHEN DISCUSSING MACHINERY.