How to Cut Logs for a One Room Cabin
When building a log cabin, the first task is choosing serviceable logs and cutting them to fit. If you've ever stacked Lincoln Logs, you understand how the system works. Lay out your cabin design on the site, measure the dimensions and then make up a cutting plan. It's a fairly straightforward task if you're good with an axe or chainsaw. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Chainsaw or felling axes
- Buck saws
- Two ten-foot lengths of 5/8 to 3/4 inch rope
- Marking paint
- Wedges and sledge hammer for splitting logs.
Instructions
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Choosing Your Logs
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Measure the lengths you are going to need for the sides, front and back of the house. Makes sure you allow an extra two feet for the overlap at the corners.
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Identify trees in the harvesting area that are about equal in diameter. Slightly larger trees can be used for the lower courses, so some variation is acceptable.
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Figure an average diameter for the wall logs and for the height of the wall.
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Figure how many logs you'll need for each wall and obtain a total.
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Go through the harvesting area and choose the number of trees you need, marking them for cutting.
Cutting the Logs
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Cut down the trees you've marked. Be sure to fell the trees in a direction where you will have room to work around the tree to prepare it for transport.
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Trim the branches away and cut the logs to the proper length.
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Drag the logs to the building site with a truck or four-wheel-drive vehicle or a lot of really strong people who enjoy that sort of thing. To drag the log by hand, tie a timber hitch to one end of the log and the other end of the rope to a six-foot pole. Two strong guys can lift the pole to raise the front end of the log and drag it. In some spots, that may be the only way to get the log clear where you can drag it with a vehicle.
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Place the logs at the building site in roughly the position and order in which you want to stack them.
Trimming
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Cut notches about a foot from the ends of the first four logs (the sill logs) about a quarter of the way through the log. The sill logs front and back will only have notches in the top.
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Cut notches top and bottom in the sill logs for the side walls.
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Test-fit the side walls to the front and back walls. Make sure the front, back and side logs lock together securely and sit flat on the foundation. You will have to cut and split a half log to push under the gap below the side walls.
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Measure the length of the space between the front and back walls. Cut a log to that length and split it in half so that it fills the space below the side walls and hammer it into place. You will fix it in place with a spike later.
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Repeat what you did with the sill logs, except all logs will be notched top and bottom. Don't worry about doors or windows. You will cut those out and frame them later. For now, cut and fit the logs to make four solid walls. Finish the four walls, and you're ready to cut out doors and windows, add trim and the roof, which is another how-to all by itself.
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Tips & Warnings
Leftover wood can be saved for firewood or kindling. Start cutting down trees farthest from the building site so that as you tire, the last logs you drag back are the closest ones.
