Once you have the sill logs secured in position, place the next log on the wall directly above where it will permanently reside, mark the notches with a marking pen, roll the log 180 degrees and use a ratchet strap to secure it to the logs below.Ĭut the notches, then rotate the log into position and add moss or your chinking material of choice. This can save you time searching for them later. While removing the limbs from a large tree, watch for those that are usable as dowel pins. Insects and rot make for a weak log, and sand will dull any cutting blade. If you use a windfall or a log washed up by the river, be sure to inspect it very carefully for insects, rot and sand. For deep ones he makes border cuts by hand, then uses the chainsaw. He makes parallel hand cuts, then cleans out the notch with a hammer and chisel. A green tree will warp and split when drying, and during the winter it will form ice on the inside wall of a heated structure. Taking a living tree means far more physical work due to the water weight. We use only dead standing trees, leaving the living to the forest. There is no end of uses for this, and having one ready when you start work on the cabin or cabin logs saves time. The first item we built was a large sawbuck (sawhorse). I recommend following up the tool list with one for hardware. However, you have to be certain both will be usable-many are not. Libraries provide a source of knowledge and antique shops offer tools. Old timers are a wonderful source for this information and you may hear some grand stories about old-fashioned ways of doing things or how our ancestors lived.
#Building a log cabin with notched ends how to#
Then it was easier to research how to use those I was unfamiliar with.
I’ve found that making a list of all the tools I thought I would need was very important.
#Building a log cabin with notched ends manual#
This collection of odds and ends is not intended to be an all-inclusive how-to manual on cabin building, but offered instead with the hope that it will make a first-time log wrestler’s experience just a little easier. That is not to say we will never again indulge our fantasies of experiencing the magic of four seasons, dancing auroras and the blissful solitude that only the Arctic offers.īuilding a log cabin is like any other physical task: There are tricks learned by “doing” and those revealed to those who have “done it.” Here are some of the tricks and insights that have come my way over the past 22 years of building with trees. The truth is that we are at the time of life when it is appropriate to share our experiences and hard-won knowledge with the younger generation. It is there where we spend our summers and speak wistfully of wintering over “just one more time.” Our Class on Building a Log Cabin
Building a log cabin actually isn’t that hard. My wife, Jeanie, and I have built five log structures at our remote homesite snuggled deep in the foothills of the Brooks Range of Arctic Alaska. In our small hometown in Alaska, I am frequently stopped by those who wish to compare, share or query me about a particular element of log cabin construction.
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