The timber framing process we used was modeled after that described by Rob Roy in Timber Framing for the Rest of Us. Roy contends that while timber framing lends itself to the thick walls necessary for many natural/alternative building methods, most books talk about the craft and art of old-fashioned mortise-and-tenon timber framing. However with inexpensive mechanical fasteners such as brackets, plates, and bolts, "regular" (read, "inexperienced") people can build strong timber frame structures.
Cordwood structures don't require a timber frame. But cordwood is a slow, labor-intensive building method. We finally decided that infilling a timber frame with cordwood, as opposed to building a load-bearing cordwood walls, would allow us to get the roof up on top of the timber frame and lay cordwood under its protection as we had time.
Here are photos of some of the very basic hardware we used to build our "everyperson-style" timber frame. Below, our son Isaac uses a plate to join two beams over a post.
Another thing that Rob Roy advised for a low-pitch (1:12) roof like ours, and which we highly recommend, is to shim the rafters over the beams, rather than cut birds mouths into the rafters. The shims are easy, require less precision, and accomplish the same goal, which is to transfer the vertical load straight down onto the beam. Gravity and friction will hold them in place.
Shims under rafters:
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