14 x 14 Post & Beam w/ Scribed Log Infill

[Jens]

I agree with the hand plane for the bevels, but would use a tablesaw with a dado blade for the shiplap.  The place is looking very good!  Looks like you should be able to cash in on all that time soon.

[Don_P]

I love the smell of ash off a router bit in the morning, it smells like, victory.
This is a shot I came across today of my T&G router setup. There's another router on the other side of the table for the tongues. I borrowed the idea for the hold downs from an old wooden body hand plane. There are tapered wooden shims, instead of holding a plane iron they hold strips of formica that do the work of holding the board tight to the table. If I'm doing alot of the same width I'll set up a couple of hold ins as well.

My philosophy is all over the road, I've set up gin poles and windlasses to avoid calling a crane, but, was quite happy to have a tablesaw and router to make a door frame today. In the end I remind myself that a hand tool is very often a chisel or series of chisels travelling in a line. The industrial revolution simply attached those same chisels to the wheel. I don't know then that it is an issue or if its just an observation.

If I did more of this I'd probably lose my deer gut.

[Jens]

love the hold down idea Don.  Nice looking board too.  I prefer a router for that type of work as well, although if I only had a piece or two to do, and some nice hand tools...for me, the draw in hand tools is pretty much about feeling more connected to the wood, and not having a screaming weasel drowning out G-d, my own thoughts, or my music.  Then again, I used my DA sander to sand drywall ceilings today!

[considerations]

Dear Pine Cone, what a beautiful setting...

I seem to remember, and am guessing from the pics that you are on or near the Olympic Peninsula...Your tarp shed may be ripped to shreds or kited into the next county if we get a screaming winter wind storm.   

I lost 2 in 2006...they can't take it, even anchored. I salvaged the roof frames and built again, using 4x4 PT posts set in concrete and wooden walls....haven't finished the roof yet, so yes its tarped.    We usually get at least one major field stress test per winter and I'm anxious to get the roof sheathed, collar tied, and shingled before that happens. 

We can compare war stories when it does.

Would you mind posting your location so it shows with your name?  Its hard to remember where everyone is. Thanks in advance.

[Pine Cone]

Jens - I'm planning on using a dato blade in my table saw to cut the shiplap boards.  Sunday's weather forcast looks good so with luck I can cut them then.

Don P. - I really like your router setup.  Much better for holding stock down on the table than any method I have seen to date!  THANKS!

Considerations - I'm south of Chimicum.  I have had my share of shelter trauma.  In North California I was very proud of the shelter I put up in my back-back yard that had views of both Mt. Shasta and Mt. Lassen.  A few days later the shelter was totally missing   Found it a day later about 400 yards away in a neighbor's yard

Here in Washington I haven't had any problem with wind.  Too many tallish trees around for  wind to be a problem.  My problem is wet snow or snow then rain!


Lost 4 shelters so far in 4 years.



My solution is to rebuild the shelters with tripods made of alder and/or maple and then add a new tarp or two on top...



I have great hopes that I can empty this year's shelter and take it down before we get a nice wet snowfall   If anyone needs some slightly bent steel tubing I can make you one heck of a deal...

[considerations]

"If anyone needs some slightly bent steel tubing I can make you one heck of a deal..."   

I've been doling my surviving pieces out to the neighbor, he keeps trying to rebuild his...the rest are already in my rebuilt project.  Nope, don't need any more "stuff" right now, but thanks.

[Jens]

that top photo of the downed canopy makes it look like a giant prehistoric grasshopper! 

[rick91351]

 

Jens that is exactly what I thought as well when that opened.  Wow that is weird yard art then it dawned on me.... OH OH..

Wet snow and rain in western Washington I really cant believe that. 

[Pine Cone]

Worked this weekend on getting the gable ends finished.  I'm putting up boards & battens.  Planed the rough boards last week, then they need to get painted in a heated place until the finish (with epoxy) cures, then put them up on the cabin.  Should have the exterior pretty well done within a couple of weeks.  Only get one day to work on the cabin next week due to other plans... 


This is about half the boards that were in here a few hours earlier...



Here's a look at the almost finished product...

[TexstarJim]

Its looking really good!!!

[poppy]

Nice work on the board and batten.  Interesting finish work on the bottom of the battens. 

[Pine Cone]

Nice work on the board and batten.  Interesting finish work on the bottom of the battens. 

Thanks!

I decided it would be nice to do a little something extra, so I cut the battens about an inch and a half long and then cut two small 45 degree cuts with a hand saw and used a microplane to round off the corners.



They look a bit rough rustic, but then it's a cabin.  They also help mask the fact that the boards just might not all be the same length   Of course since the boards aren't the same lengths, the battens should match the boards so they aren't the same lengths either.  It all goes up-and-downhill from there


Forcast is for rain for the next week plus, so while I can get the outsides finished, I will have to wait for dry weather before I can turn the  next set of boards into shiplaped boards.  With luck it will dry out for a few days at some point in the not-to-distant future. 

At least I'm not snowed out from my cabin project.  I would go into severe withdrawals if that ever happened.  My wife is worried about what I will do when this project is finished.  I have averaged about 3 visits a week for the last year...  Only a 45 minute drive each way, and since the company I work for owns about 40,000 acres of forestland just north of my property I have the occasional opportunity to work nearby and then visit the cabin on my lunch break. 

My cabin-project calendar is already booked through March and I have plenty to do beyond that.  My goal is to have a cabin-warming party either at Memorial Day or at the worst by the 4th of July. 

[Pine Cone]

Making slow but steady progress.  Nothing too exciting, got more battens up, more boards run through the planer to be used for ceiling and trim boards.  My wife got almost all of the inside walls painted, only one more wall module left to paint and then some spots need touchup.

Our kerosene heater is working great!  I had to learn how to adjust the flame since too little or too much means lots of odor.  When you go back and read the manual it does a pretty good job of telling you what to do, but I just wasn't reading it right the first time around.  Now it has lots of heat and no odor except on startup and shutdown.

The big news is that with a break in the rain on Saturday I got one of the rain gutters up.

This has been a wet winter and the drip off the south side of the roof is inside the "dry area" we are trying to establish with a french drain that surrounds the cabin and deck.  Now the water will drain outside of that area.



Still need another dry day or two so I can mill up some shiplap or T&G boards for the ceiling, but dry days are hard to come by, especially dry weekend days. 

[poppy]

Looking good.

I forgot if you mentioned it, but are you going to use any of the rainwater?

[Pine Cone]

I have a small 4' diameter stock tank that is filled from rain off the deck, and 5 55-gallon barrels to collect water from other roofs.  I'd like to store some of this but haven't found a deal on a tank yet.  Right now I'm storing about 500 of the 22,000 gallons I could be collecting each year.

I'm sure if I wait long enough I can find a tank or three on Craigslist...

[OlJarhead]

I have a small 4' diameter stock tank that is filled from rain off the deck, and 5 55-gallon barrels to collect water from other roofs.  I'd like to store some of this but haven't found a deal on a tank yet.  Right now I'm storing about 500 of the 22,000 gallons I could be collecting each year.

I'm sure if I wait long enough I can find a tank or three on Craigslist...

I shouldn't tell you this but did you know the State of Washington prohibits the collection of more then 50 gallons of rain water?  They claim the state owns the rain.

Ya, i know, crazy huh?  I personally don't give a rats arse what they think and will collect all the flipping rain water I want, but you might want to keep the barrels out of site and mind

[MountainDon]

It's the old old tale of western states water rights. That collected rainfall is being prevented from flowing naturally downstream, where there may be lawful owners. There have been some changes in CO, but I forget what they are. Just like I have forgotten if I'm collecting any water here in NM or not. 

[Redoverfarm]

You can always say that you are just creating a diversion.  They will eventually recieve it in some form or another. 

[Pine Cone]

Last fall the Washington Department of Ecology relaxed regulations on rainwater collection, but... the new rules still prohibit collection into a below-ground tank without a permit.

http://www.downtoearthnw.com/stories/2009/oct/21/rainwater-collection-break-clouds/

http://www.wagreentech.com/2009/10/washington-department-of-ecology-has.html

[Pine Cone]

We now have gutters on BOTH sides of the cabin and the inside walls are totally painted.  Since the ceiling isn't finished that doesn't count.



Warm around here lately, especially after our December deep freeze.  I think this January will have been the warmest on record, while December set a few record low temps.  Still wet enough to delay projects and alter plans, but warm is nice.  Temps have mostly been between high thirty's to low 50's. 

I'm trying to get the remaining boards being stored in my Costco metal & plastic tarp carport milled up but it's been too rainy this week to do anything.  I brought home six 15/16" X 8" X 100" boards today so I can set up the table saw with a dado-blade so I can test making some shiplap siding if weather permits some afternoon this week.  I'd like to get the wood milled up ASAP so I can put it up on the inside gable ends and free up some of my cabin space which is full of stacks of boards.

[considerations]

"and free up some of my cabin space which is full of stacks of boards."

That is a real sweetie - I really like the covered open space.  As for the cabin space, I can relate, I had to cobble together a structure to house the building materials because it was becoming impossible to work inside with everything stacked up in there.

[bayview]

It's the old old tale of western states water rights. That collected rainfall is being prevented from flowing naturally downstream, where there may be lawful owners. There have been some changes in CO, but I forget what they are. Just like I have forgotten if I'm collecting any water here in NM or not. 

   Meanwhile, in LA, they may require rainwater collection . . . .

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-rain-barrels1-2010feb01,0,1154413.story

/

[Pine Cone]

Making steady progress.  I got a break in the weather and got the 1x8 shiplap siding made for the inside gable ends.  After planing the boards I used a dado blade on a table saw to cut a 1/2" wide dado on each side of the board, then I used my trusty Stanley No. 7 plane to put bevels on the edges, then I choice the finish side and sanded them with 120 grit until they were sooth and oh-so-pretty.  Then we though a finish coat on them. 

Next weekend I will cut them and install them.  Shouldn't take too long but I do have some electrical outlets to make cut-outs for.







This is the first time I've done this and I'm pleased with the results.  I think I will do the 1x6 ceiling boards like this.  I was considering making tongue-and-groove, but this seem to work fine and it's pretty quick.

I got to thinking about how many times I will have handled each board before I put the finished product in place...

1st debark the 33 foot logs and buck into 8-foot lengths
2nd move the log away from the pile for storage before milling
3rd move the log to the mill
4th place the newly made board on a cart so we can move it to where it will be dried
5th stack for drying, wait 3 1/2 years...
6th, 7th, 8th, 9th plane each board twice on each side to get to final thickness of about 7/8"
10th, 11th cut shiplap dado on each edge
12th, 13th cut bevels on each side
14th sand finish side
15th paint before cutting and installing board
16th cut board to final dimensions
17th time the board is handled it gets nailed in place...

It changes the way you look a lumber.  Some boards get handled less, for instance, I built a shed/outhouse out of rough-surfaced boards so they only got touched eight or nine times...

Dollar-wise it's very inexpensive, but you have to enjoy the time you spend with each board or it will make you crazy   It does give you a great appreciation of the final product. 

The wood we are building with has a long personal history by now.  I work for a forestry company, so I looked at the sales we had planned for the next few months after we bought the property.  I looked at the forest inventory data to see the size and species mix for the expected harvest and choose the most likely unit which was close (less than 5 miles) to the cabin site. 

Then my wife and I went for a walk in the soon-to-be-harvested area so I could look at the trees to see if they might work for cabin logs.  They looked good, so I got my company to agree to sell a load of logs to me. 

The next step was to choose the individual logs while they were on the landing.  That gave me a chance to choose the best of what was available.  There isn't much of a market for white pine here since we mostly grow Douglas-fir.  I think I paid $360 per thousand board feet on the landing, and then had to pay about $250 or $300 to get the logs delivered to the cabin site.  I bought a total of 4430 board feet, mostly western white pine for a delivered cost of about $1800.  Log markets are poor now, so today it would cost less than $1500.  Milling the logs into a mix of 8x8 posts and 6" thick cabin timbers left me with a lot of 1" thick boards.  The milling cost about $1500 and three long days where my step-son and I worked harder than I had worked in 15 years.  If we hadn't done our share the milling price would have been three or four times that. 

On the plus side, it didn't cost much, and I have enough wood left to build a second cabin similar to the one almost completed.  So basic material cost for cabin walls is about $1750 per cabin, so I can't really complain about having to handle the boards 10 or 20 times.

I just want to wait a year or two before I start on the next one...

[poppy]

Excellent report on using available resources.  Your hard work is paying off. 

But who is that mean looking guy operating the table saw? 

Maybe we should have an old fart photo contest. 

[Pine Cone]

But who is that mean looking guy operating the table saw? 

Beats the heck out of me... probably some guy who wants to make sure he keeps all his fingers on his hands and is trying to warn the board and the table saw about the possible consequences if that doesn't happen.

Unfortunately I know enough people missing finger parts that it is hard to take it lightly.  I almost lost several fingers to a radial arm saw back in 1970 and I never forgot...  Earlier that year I ground off most of one thumbnail and it left a lasting impression (but no visible scars)