August 17, 2008

Great Lakes School of Log Building
1350 Snowshoe Trail
Isabella, MN 55607
voice: 218.365.2126   fax: 218.365.2335
www.schooloflogbuilding.com
courses@schooloflogbuilding.com

Quotes:

How to overthrow the system:
brew your own beer; kick in your TV; kill your own beef;
build your own cabin and piss off the front porch whenever you bloody well feel like it.
--Edward Abbey, from A Voice Crying in the Wilderness, 1989

Out there where you're going you'll need firewood every day, and you'll need buildings, fences, tree houses, and all the other things a chainsaw can provide. It doesn't matter whether you've never seen a chainsaw and it doesn't matter whether you've been in the woods for five years or are just getting ready to go. You need a chainsaw, and you can take Parp's word for it...It won't be long before you're the expert who can fell dead trees safely, cut your own firewood, make your own lumber, and keep your own chainsaw correctly sharpened and running perfectly. Finally, if you're a woman who went back to the land with someone who finds it difficult to lace his shoes in the morning, you certainly need a chainsaw. After you use it to cut the first decent wood supply since you arrived, you can use it to wake him up and chase him out. And that's the only violence in this book.
--Walter Hall, Barnacle Parp's Chainsaw Guide, 1977

When lifting anything, keep your back straight and your outriggers down.
--Willie & Amber, Great Lakes resident log dogs.

Special Notes to Graduates:

An excellent article entitled "Height Safety for Timber Framers" appeared in Timber Framing, No. 88, June, 2008 - one of the publications of the Timber Framers Guild. This piece, applicable to log builders and timber framers alike, deals with preventing falls and available fall-arresting technology.

The 2008 cabin is for sale - (see "student cabin for sale" on main menu)

An additional loader truck, sawmill and crane for sale - see the end of this Newsletter.

Some new chainsaw trousers are available. See info below.

Ron is selling a 35 acre parcel just south of the school. There is a tiny creek on part of it and a lake with public beach and boat landing a short walk away. It has frontage on and two driveways from Lake Co. Rd. 2, several scenic building sites, two ponds, and a gravel pit. Landline phone, high-speed DSL and electricity are available on the property, which is bordered on two sides by national forest land. There is much potential log building timber as well as sawlogs on the land, including tamarack, black & white spruce, aspen, and northern white cedar.
Lake County zoning is FR - Forest-Recreational, which allows, among others:
single family dwellings, forest management, soil & water programs, home occupations, compatible recreational uses, farms & commercial livestock, portable sawmills, and customary accessory structures and uses.
Contact him if interested  - 218.365.2126, or call Bear Island Land Co. in Ely at 218.365.2800

After trying out many kinds of saw-resistant safety trousers, most of them way too heavy or clumsy, along comes the Timber Savage Three-Season - comfortable, light, and less than $50. Duane Sellman of Sellman Log Structures in Forest Lake, MN clued me in. Pants are available at wholesaler Ahlborn Equipment in Wisconsin. However, you need a business name to buy from them - 800.472.7600. Tamarack may also have the pants in the near future - 763.783.9773.

Because there has been some confusion about the source for one of the post-log-peeling biocide products, PQ-80, here's the skinny:
5 gallons of the PQ-80 concentrate (a several years' supply that several builders could share) is currently $284.40, plus shipping, which is less to a commercial address than to a residence. The accompanying "Adjustabor" liquid borax product is $50.00 for 5 gallons. ISK Biocides' (the manufacturer and sole course) customer service number is 1.800.238.2523. Even though your usable mixture is mainly water, it is toxic. Never have it where pets or children can access it, wear protective rubber gloves, and carefully follow all of the manufacturer's directions. This is not a preservative as such, but will prevent some of the formation of fungus, molds, sapstains etc. on your freshly peeled building logs.

Henry Held of Ely recently crafted some safe, attractive leather sheaths for students who had purchased handlebar gouges from Tamarack. Henry will custom-make these as well as very handsome chisel sheaths. He is widely known for his moosehide belts and warm chopper mitts. You can reach him at his shop: 218.365.7454, or home: 218.365.4836.

Some of you remember the great Soren Erickson Swedish chainsaw and logging tapes we used to watch on the first day of a course. These finally wore out and are no longer available. For the last two years, we have used another, very technical dealer-oriented Stihl film, the utility of which was probably questionable. However, Stihl, Inc. has recently produced a DVD called Chain Saw Safety, Maintenance & Operation, which is very comprehensive and understandable. At some dealers it may be free; others will charge. Regardless of your level of experience, you will benefit from it.

In the March 2007 issue of Log Homes Illustrated, Dr. Edward Burke, professor of wood science at the University of Montana, has written a very understandable article on log drying and comprehending moisture content of wood. Most of us build using a system that does not require that logs be dry. Nonetheless, you can gain much understanding from this article. Online, it's at loghomesillustrated.com.

Robert Chambers, in Issue 63 (May/June/July 2007) of the ILBA's Log Building News, has an excellent piece on right-hand vs. left-hand twist in logs, entitled "Spiral Grain - The inside Story."
 

The Blue Ox log carrying tool, detailed below in this newsletter and used by the school for several years, is handy for moving logs around a building site or out of the woods. Former students Mark and Kate Benoit came by recently with information and a video from www.futureforestry.com, which has many other carrying arches - for arborists or log builders - for hand, ATV, or tractor use. They have purchased several kinds - pictured below.

Or, you can do it like my neighbor, Bob Moss, used to. (photo from John German)

A partial roof workshop was held along with the November 2006 course. Purlins and ridgelog were prepared and installed, after cutting the truss kingposts to length. Participants were Ben Olson, Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin and John Dart, North Pole, Alaska (pictured below r to l).

A Roof insulation and metal application weekend a year ago went well. We re-roofed the French-Canadian and Wolverine Cabins, trying out successfully Bruce Wheelright's method of pre-drilling the metal 10 sheets at a time, so as to get the rows of screws straight. This was a time-saver, as was some new store-bought scaffolding. We used a different metal saw blade purchased at Tool Crib. Lubricating the metal sheets with special wax from Menards was still necessary. Steve also came up with a method of wrapping a metal ladder with old bed sheets to eliminate scratching. Some of the participants below are Randy Jacobson, Steve Brodigan, and Todd Parisian.

More metal roofs and a sod roof will be installed on weekends during summer of 2008. Call if interested in participating.

Garrett Ferderber and Ann March work on a wall during the August 2006 short stone course

The 2008 International Log Builders' Association conference and annual general meeting will be held near Whitefish, Montana, next to Glacier National Park at Grouse Mountain Lodge April 3-6. Keep abreast in the field - join ILBA at www.logassociation.org

It is always encouraging to receive pictures from former students - of their works-in-progress as well as completed log structures. Requests for assistance from graduates with finding resources, and questions of any kind are always welcome, especially by email. There is no charge, of course, for such help.

Part of your planning for building a log cabin or house should include the construction of a working model. Use ¼ to ½ inch wooden dowels, using a scale of ¼ or ½ inch = 1 foot wall thickness (even if your walls will be smaller or larger). A good example is this recently built model of the house that Justin and Leah Nelson are constructing:

Mark Benoit and Jim Nelson use a ripping chain and stinger (aka "helper handle") for precise flattening of a purlin on a roof-construction seminar for graduates.

The stingers can be had for between $30 and $100 and should be mounted on a 20" or longer guide bar. Best results, of course, will be obtained with a ripping chain and a heavier saw. Drilling and mounting on  the bar are best done by a saw shop. For safety, be sure the open side of the stinger will be "up" when the saw is being used.

Items of interest:

Blue Ox Log Hauler, sold by Ben Meadows Co., 1 (800) 241-6401. After looking at this tool in their catalog for at least a decade or more, I finally secured one and we tested it out on the July 2003 log building course. It is definitely a very efficient way for one or two people to pick up and move a fairly heavy log around the worksite. We make a point of using it daily now. Every owner-builder needs one of these.

Cranes or other lifting systems for sale (free classified ads):

The two items above are for sale by Bill Olsen of Michigan. First is an old-style hydraulic loader for $1,000, and second is a 15-ton Bantam road crane powered by a fuel-efficient Chrysler 8-cylinder engine. Both have been used for log construction. Contact Bill at 906.296.3331.

1973 4WD RT hydraulic crane. Long reach plus 18' jib. Ser. #21853, Detroit Diesel, 17.5X20 20-ply tires, cab heater, brakes, backup alarm. Inspected 6-21-03. Owner operated only. Write Dick's Welding, 440 N 15th Ave. E., Ely, MN 55731 or call 218.365.3586 and leave message. Dick has another crane for sale also.

Lucas 827, 2005 model, sawmill for sale in Joice, Iowa. Swing-blade, with low-hours Kohler engine. Cuts 52' lengths, any diameter. 5 extra blades. Asking $15,000. Call Gabe Beal at 641.420.4007 for more info and digital pictures.

If you have a lifting system appropriate for log building, logs, or other log building stuff for sale, there is no charge for ads in this newsletter.

Help Wanted:

Jack Nicholson of Ely, MN has some high-quality red pine house logs for sale. If interested, give him a call at 218.365.5960.

Fred Johnson, also of Ely, has red and white pine house logs for sale. His number is 218.365.2906.

Reminders:

Laser levels

Of the many kinds of laser tools on the market nowadays, several have proven useful in original layout and leveling of the building site and in re-erection of a structure. One, which is pyramid-shaped, self-leveling, and emits a vertical beam, is a timesaver for marking truss pieces prior to cutting.

Read, if you haven't, Del Radomske's long paper, Overscribing of the Lateral Groove, found at: www3.telus.net/delradomske/overscribe.html. This explains in a very cogent way what most of us builders have been doing for a long time, in one form or another. Radomske pretty much began the revival of the technique, and certainly covers every aspect of it in his paper.

We have been teaching it the same for several years: the final notch scribe interval equals the widest gap plus about one-fourth inch (for contact). However, this has to be checked on each intersection on that same log to make sure you're not going much above or below half the diameter of the log at the notch. Then, when setting down (in an oval on the log) each of three records for scribing, the lateral setting is one-quarter inch more for the lateral on the first half (vertically) of the building, and one-eighth inch for the second half. The flyway is usually set at a greater interval than the lateral, often three-eighths or more. This is where my opinion has changed: I feel that between an eighth and a quarter is a sufficient extra setting for the flyway. Two reasons: 1. It won't look so un-workmanlike, and 2. it won't allow mice or insects access to the notch.

The above suggested settings are appropriate for cabin-size buildings and need to be increased slightly for larger houses.

Prenotch Reminder

Be sure to cut, with your chainsaw, about a 2" bevel on either side of the prenotch for ease of final scribing. This allows the scriber pencil to reach and complete the top of the final notch.

Stonework tips

Several things in stone construction stand out as extremely important. One, of course, is putting a serious footing beneath whatever you are building. The footing must have sufficient depth (for the soil type and climate) and width (for the type of foundation and building) with metal, usually rebar, reinforcement. The footing mixture is known as concrete and usually consists of 4-6 shovels of gravel and sand to 1 of the Portland cement.

The gravel, sand, and stone must be clean to begin with. The Portland cement (2 shovels), lime (1 shovel), and sand mix (9 shovels) that you may use for binding rocks to one another must be as dry and well-mixed as possible and you must clean all work within about 6 hours, meaning dry wire-brushing all cement from the rocks, after which it is immediately wet-scrubbed with non-metallic scrub-brushes and rinsed. This has to be done once or several times per workday.

The other mortar mix commonly used is mason's cement, type S, which is good both below and above ground. 1 shovel mason's cement to 3 of clean sand is your mixture.

Ready-to-go bags of cement known as Sacrete are generally too expensive for everyday mortar or concrete use. It is commonly used for small repairs, especially in an off-season when it would be difficult to obtain sand or gravel.

Only after finishing the entire project, and after vigorously dry-brushing with wire brush (above) will you wish to scrub (with non-metallic brushes) and wash one last time. My preference is Sure Klean 600 Detergent, a mix of muriatic (same as hydrochloric) acid and special cleaners. This product is easy on the mortar, in contrast to heavier solutions of acid and water. It must be applied to wet rocks and rinsed within minutes of scrubbing!

At this point it is wise to cover your work for a week or so with wet burlap or black plastic sheeting. This will allow your mortar cement to cure properly rather than drying out.

Caution is advised on cement and rock coatings. They may temporarily improve the appearance of the rock and offer protection to the mortar, but many of them (due to chemical cross-linking) will turn the rocks gray over the years. Removal is accomplished only with sandblasting, which will also substantially alter the appearance of the stones - negatively, in my opinion.

My preference, from no small amount of experience, is leaving the rocks untreated. If you do use coatings, bear two things in mind: (1) that these materials are very toxic and require safe handling. Read and follow the instructions with the product. (2) You will never be able to remove the coating, except by sandblasting, which changes the appearance significantly - perhaps for the worse.

Brock-White Co., a regional mason's supply house. is a good source for metal fireplace basic structures, known generically as heatilators (also a brand name). With these, the damper, throat, smoke shelf, smoke dome, and interior ducts and fans for good heating, are all properly done and included. This type of fireplace, known for producing good heat, is easy to cover with cement blocks, topped with an outer layer of rocks for the appearance.

Some good stonework references

Ken Kern & Steve Magers, Fireplaces, Charles Scribner & Sons

Basic Masonry Techniques, Ortho Books (publ.)

Basic Masonry, Sunset Books

Kern, Magers, & Penfield, The Owner Builders Guide to Stone Masonry. Owner Builder Publ.

If you want a more complete list, contact us and request a copy of the (printed) Stonemasonry Bibliography.

In addition to a number of stone barbecue structures, there were several display foundations done during  courses several years ago, including mortared rock foundations, rock facing on cement blocks, and Eco-Block foam forms filled with concrete and faced with medium-sized round rocks.

Products of Interest:

Jack Wrap: Nortek Log Home Systems in Wisconsin, 1 (888) 488-2380, is making "Jack-Wrap" to conceal small settling jacks at the bottom of vertical posts. Made of copper and other materials, it can be seen at www.jack-wrap.com  The jacks themselves can be obtained at Schroeder Log Home Supply.

Mildewcide/fungicide: We sometimes use a copper-based product known as Mitrol PQ-80 (from ISK Biocides in Memphis) for inhibiting the inevitable mold, mildew and sapstain in logs right after peeling. Simple household borax, sodium tetraborate decahydrate, in powdered form mixed with water and brushed onto the logs (rather than sprayed), also works well. "Twenty-Mule-Team Borax" at the grocery store will do the job. Whatever biocide, fungicide, or mildewcide you choose, be sure to keep it out of reach of children and pets at all times. To better keep the borax in suspension, introduce it into boiling water, then add more borax. It does not need to be used hot.

Clear Wood Finish (CWF): A favorite for the final exterior coating on a log building. It's fairly safe to use (brushed on), easy to apply, has good longevity, and the price is modest: $14-22. per gallon at hardwares and paint supply centers. It's provided in redwood, cedar, clear, or honey tones (looks great) - all with ultraviolet ray protection.

High Sierra: A stain product available in several colors, has been around for several decades and seems to have proved itself. It can be used for exterior and interior coatings.

Cautionary note: All products and chemicals used in log or stone construction should, or course,  always be handled with prescribed safety gear (heavy rubber gloves and respirator, at least), stored properly, and kept away from pets and children. You should always secure and read the material safety data sheet (MSDS) for any product you plan to use, and, of course, read and follow the manufacturer's label directions.

Furniture projects:

A brief description of the making of a red pine pole bed: this was built in several days using an electric chainsaw (indoors) for cutting and trimming the wood. Round mortises were cut to a 3" depth with a 2 9/16 " self-feed bit on a Milwaukee 1/2" heavy-duty drill. Tenons were marked with pencil and scored with a hand saw, the 180C Stihl and a #5 Tyrolean gouge (or the Two Cherries #3) took out the remaining wood.. A hand rasp and some elbow grease with the sandpaper - 36, 100, and 220 grit (in that order), completed the project. Boards across the lower ties to support the mattress were 1 X 6" red cedar. Finish was 1/2 quart of sanding sealer and two quarts of marine spar varnish. Any furniture project can be accomplished with the foregoing tools, along with a homemade "tenon checker" - a scrap of plywood drilled with several specifically sized holes. Besides Norways, good poles for such a project are young balsam fir, spruce, tamarack, jack or lodgepole pine, any of the aspens/poplars, and others.

News:

Wool has replaced fiberglass

In the 1970s we used local sphagnum moss from local bogs or oakum (tarred fibrous hemp or jute) for a filler in the lateral channels on the undersides of the logs and within the notches. These worked out satisfactorily, but when it became trendy to use fiberglass, we got on that wagon for a time. Unfortunately, the fiberglass, unless very well sealed into the lateral channels with caulk, can become damp and moldy from moisture generated in the house, or from condensation. Moldy fiberglass insulation causes its own health concerns throughout the housing industry, in many different kinds of buildings. The glass fibers, leaking from the laterals, get into the air of a building and, for the most part, are swept around, vacuumed through, and remain airborne unless taken up with a HEPA air filter of some kind. Some medical sources regard this as one of the exacerbating factors in the American epidemic of asthma, and, in some cases, a cause.

In the early 1990s we began experimenting with wool alternatives to fiberglass for packing the log laterals, notching and other insulating uses, including framed structures. We went from washed raw wool to grey-top, and then to inexpensive bales of flocking from Faribault Woolen in Minnesota. Some German and Australian students got me interested in the idea during the '80s. Fiberglass is pretty much out of the picture in many other countries, and it is, unquestionably, very dangerous stuff - not only the tiny airborne fibers getting in the lungs to stay, but the toxicity of the formaldehyde used in the manufacture of the stuff. If you would like to do your own internet research on the subject, begin with "Victims of Fiberglass" or fiberglass hazards. In any case, there is no need to use it on log buildings or any other kind of construction these days. Lots of safe wool products, some treated with borates, are made specifically for the log home industry. A good example is Good Shepherd Wool Insulation in Alberta, (403) 845-6705 (www.goodshepherdwool.com). It is sold both in rope and batting forms - convenient for lots of uses. Schroeder Log Home Supply in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, (218) 326-4434, is also offering several kinds of wool lateral insulation products in both rope and batting forms. There are also sources on the Internet for cotton insulation products.

If you want the source for Ron's favorite and less expensive wool product, give a call.

And, if you are living in a log home that was insulated with fiberglass, in order to isolate that material and prevent it from continuously contaminating the interior air, caulk the inside seams with the product known as "LogBuilder" - available from Schroeder Log Home Supply and other vendors. It comes in several colors and Schroeder has some good applicators.

A thin bead of high quality caulk on the inside and outside seams of your log home is a good idea in any case, and will probably be universally required by code in the near future - as a means to preclude any air infiltration no matter how good the workmanship.

International Log Builders Association - ILBA

For those who may not have it, the contact for the International Log Builders Association (ILBA), the largest group of handcrafted log builders in the world, is PO Box 775, Lumby, BC V0E 2G0, or (800) 532-2900). Membership is slightly lower if you have been a student here). You will receive the quarterly, Log Building News, and much more in the way of meeting announcements and educational articles. The Log Building Standards , a consensus among handcrafted log builders of the best methods, is available on the website, which is: www.logassociation.org. It is absolutely necessary  for any handcrafted log builder to read and internalize the Log Building Standards.

Great Lakes School of Log Building is a member of the International Log Builders' Association, and instructs students in accordance with the Log Building Standards.

Inexpensive Cabin Rentals:

There have been increasing family outing weekend visits to the school by former students. With electricity, refrigerators etc. in all of the rustic log cabins, it's a great place to hide away and go canoeing, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, fishing, and hunting. The place is busy with skiers and snowshoers in the winter, but in summer and fall there are lots of vacancies. Get in touch for a great weekend or weekday hideaway. We're pet-friendly! Visit our new website maintained by the old golden retriever, Teddy's successor, Willie:

www.snowshoecountry.com