Anyone build a log cabin?

[TreeGuyHR]

My family and I built a one-room "Trapper's Tilt" in Massachusetts in the 70's. It was called that because Dad bought a book on building cabins, from which he got the design. Around 16 ft. by 18 ft. inside, it was meant to be a quickie that you "throw up" in a few weeks, to stay in while building your main cabin. It was not only off-the-grid, but off road and up a hill at least a quarter mile.

The whole process took around two years, going up to the property from CT on lots of weekends. Too bad -- if we had been quicker, my Dad might have bought the neighboring property with some nice white pine on it and road access, where we would have built the "nice" cabin. He would have had to pay $500 an acre, so he hesitated -- damn -- now there are a few modern homes there, and I am sure they payed 10 times as much per acre or more. If you can believe it, the cabin property (70 acres) was sold to him for $150 an acre -- wooded and with a creek and washed out old road.

I was the brawn of the op, between the age of 14 - 16. We just used a Stihl 032 with a 16 in. bar, a primitive Sears "Alaskan Mill", and an ax. (kid with the ax in the pic)

We used eastern hemlock trees that were growing nearby -- and found out that almost none of them were straight! So we straightened them by cutting a few saw curfs on the convex side.

We saddle notched the logs by making a series of saw curfs and cleaned them out with an ax, rolling the log in and out to check dimensions. We were proud of it when we had all the logs up (no chain hoist -- just several sets of hands -- I think we may have rolled the top few up some poles) and the roof on --- made of red maple poles covered in heavy tar paper. That night, it looked like a fish trap with the light coming out from a Coleman lantern. We figured that it would settle and close the gaps -- which it did to some extent. We ended up filling the gaps with local clay, moss, and thin saplings.

Bunks and flooring were ripped with the saw (why we didn't burn it up, I don't know -- tough saw). The hemlock knots threw sparks. We sharpened our two chains with a clamp-on file guide. We carried in a small stove and insulated pipe up in pieces.

I was thinking of the cabin because I just fixed up the saw and used it to cut some downed pine off their root wads at my Dad's CT place. Same bar -- no paint, and a burr around the bar around a mm deep on both sides! Didn't get to filing it down.

Unfortunately, the cabin is no more, because we didn't keep up with fixing the roof. Lot's of memories though.

Anyone want to describe building a cabin?

Cabin:

View attachment 265485

Saw:

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[abbott295]

Loved your story. Time for a round of "I'm a lumberjack and I'm OK."

 

[TreeGuyHR]

Loved your story. Time for a round of "I'm a lumberjack and I'm OK."

I did become Python fan, but that was later. Have also song the "Lumberjack Song" as part of a drunken chorus of forestry school students at our weekly TGIF kegger (luckily, no YouTube back then).

Growing up, my Mom shot Super 8 film of all kinds of things, including building this cabin. However, it is stuck on a disc, playable on some sort of software that prevents easy copying or uploading to the web -- or I would probably upload it an provide a link to all 29 minutes of it :msp_scared: Weird thing, my Dad is younger than I am now by 5 years in the video (just played some of it).
Amazing no one lost appendages -- no PPE at all, except ear-muffs.

Wish I could at least play the part where we are ripping boards --- the Sears thing was just a guide made up of a square frame frame with an adjustable runner on one side and a slot on the other; it was bolted to the saw and allowed you to cut a "board" from the squared log; you squared the log on two sides first by running the slot along an aluminum track nailed to a 2 x 4 that was in turn nailed to the log; once you had two flat sides, you pulled off the 2 x 4 and used the runner side to adjust the thickness of the board and cut parallel. Problem was, it was easy to screw up the board by tilting the saw side to side on the small diameter logs we were milling. Plus, someone had to sit on the log and hold it steady (that was apparently me) -- good thing I was on good terms with my brother

 

[Dave Boyt]

Tree Guy,

Great story! You've GOT to find a way to get that 8mm on a CD. Google for a service that does it, and post it on YouTube!

My own building experience was a little different, but interesting (to me, at least). My wife, two kids (still in diapers), and I lived in a mobile home while I built our post and beam home. Every week, I'd cut down a few trees and haul the logs to a local sawmill. I'd let the sawyer know what I wanted, then helped by off-bearing, turning the logs, and shoveling sawdust-- all within inches of an exposed 60" circle blade and a flat drive belt that occasionally flew off in random directions (this was in the early 1980s). The mill threw wood chips the size of golf balls at me no matter where I was, and the old Detroit Diesel was deafening. I'd haul the posts & beams, floor joists, or siding back, put them up (green), then repeat the process the next week. We got in a hurry to move in, and did so before it was finished. In the last 30+ years, it has sheltered our family, along with an assortment of stray cats & dogs, a couple of ferrets, and an iguana. Flying squirrels nest where the board and bat siding has come loose, and a raccoon has learned to come in through the dog door at night to mooch dog food. My daughter, Erin, says that growing up in our house was like living in a barn-- but with more animals! Kids are grown & moved out, and I still keep promising my wife (Becky) that we'll finish up the drywall and get a permanent floor in place one of these years (no need to rush things). Twelve years ago, I got my first portable sawmill, with the idea of finishing the house, but got distracted cutting lumber for other people. I'm on my third sawmill, a Norwood MX34.

I didn't take many photos in those days, but you've inspired me to look for them!

 

[TreeGuyHR]

Great story on your part too!

The Super 8 was converted to digital and put on CD -- problem is, the guy hired to do it used some sort of software for access and playback that resists any monkeying around. In fact, when you load a disc, it simply uploads and starts playing, unless you click on the drive icon first, and then you can go through another step. Apparently, it was made by someone at 8mm Film to DVD Buyers Guide: Dirty Little Secrets 8mm and 16mm film to video in 2004. I suppose it was done this way so that we would have to through the site to get more copies. I hope my Dad got his film back (there are 24 CDs with around 40 min. on each one).

When you pop in the CD, your only choice is to play what is on it. I suppose someone with the computer skills might be able to get around it.:msp_confused:

 

[Dave Boyt]

Kinda getting off topic here, but if you have audio & video out on your computer (or can add a card with the A/V out), you could either connect to a digital video recorder or a digital video camera to record it, then put it on DVD. I'll play with it and get back to you. Strange that it won't let you copy. Maybe a computer guru on the forum will have a better idea.

 

[TreeGuyHR]

Didn't think of trying to record output. When I typed in the name of the website, it converted to a different name after a posted my message. Weird. (I typed in Film-to-DVD with the www before and .com after, just what is printed on each disc)

I checked out the site, and apparently the guy is pushing additional formats that do allow you to do what you want with the digital recording, because DVDs will degrade (and the playback tech will go byby soon). Of course, I am sure there will be a charge for that, even though he probably has kept the digital data from his clients, and now he is saying that the DVDs he sold you will be ng soon