THE ZIG CORRAL

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What we like most about our corral, however, is its inherent sturdiness. The enclosure's sides are interlocked in such a way that they could probably safely hold a charging bull ... although, so far, the best we've been able to come up 'with is one ornery horse.

MATERIALS

We required the following materials to build a semi-octagonal barrier about 48' in diameter:

[1] thirty-five 6" to 8" X 15'6" peeled poles (for rails)
[2] ten 6" to 8" X 11'6" peeled poles (for rails)
[3] ten 6" to 8" X 8' peeled poles (for rails)
[4] eight 4" (or larger) X 10' peeled cedar or locust posts
[5] eighteen 6" X 6' boards (for rail binders)
[6] thirty-two' 6" to 8" X 24" boards (for rail rests)
[7] two 8" to 10" X 6' boards (for fence end caps)
[8] two 7" X 6' boards (for gate end caps)
[9] fourteen 6" to 8" X 6' boards (for rail blocks)
[10] 600 common wire nails (12d or 3-1/4") galvanized
[11] four 8" spikes.

Skinning the logs was less of a problem than you might think. Here in northern Maine, bark peels neatly off the trees in the month of June (which is when we undertook the construction of our corral). Both before and after this time of year, though, the job seems to take ten times as long. Even if we'd cut our trees during the previous year, then, they'd have been easier to de-bark during the spring.

To strip the logs, I first ran the tip of my chain saw the length of the timbers to slit their bark into 3"- or 4"-wide sections . . . then I skinned the poles with a peeling spud (see MOTHER NO. 40, page 122 for information on how to make one of these de-barking tools). Afterwards, I allowed the slippery rails to dry for a few days before I attempted to handle them again,

LAYING THE GROUNDWORK FOR THE CORRAL

While your posts and poles are drying, you can lay out the ground plan of a corral like ours with a tape measure and magnetic compass. We found that an angle of 30' between any two sections of the fence works well. (Also- regardless of how long your logs are-the distance between rail intersections should be at least three feet less than the length of the rails. Or, to say it another way, overlap each joint a minimum of three feet.) Put one or two large, flat rocks on the ground at each intersection point. These foundation stones will hold the lowermost rails high enough off the ground to discourage decay.

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