Building the Traditional Hewn-Log Home

Article Tools

Image Gallery

Print

E-mail

Comments

RSS

In order to make broadax hewing easier, it's necessary to cut the longitudinal fibers of the wood every few inches along the length of the log. Using an ax, strike several scores parallel to and between what remains of each of the original juggling notches. In order to cut the fibers without gouging too deeply into the wood, strike straight in rather than at an angle as you would when chopping or notching; the object is to sever the wood slightly deeper than the final plane of hewing.

With the side of the log roughly flattened by notching and juggling, and with score marks every 4" to 5" along the log (more near knots), lift the log back up onto the sawhorses and rotate it so that the crown is up.

To hew, hold a sharp broadax at waist level, with your favored hand (the right if you're right-handed) positioned close behind the broadax's head and your thumb resting along the top of the handle just behind the head (rather than wrapped around the inside of the handle, where it might get mashed). Sight down between the log and the inner face of the broadax's blade to keep blade and log parallel.

Start at one end of the log and work forward, removing a thin shaving of wood with each short, downward stroke of the broadax until you reach the hewing line. The hewn surface should be relatively flat—but there's no need to attempt to erase all traces of the notches and scoring marks.

HEWING THE SILLS

The sills-your two straightest, soundest, most rotresistant, and largest-diameter logs-should be hewn on their inner and outer faces to match the wall logs and to facilitate notching. Additionally, because the sills rest on the foundation, their bottoms must be flattened. If you're using a continuous foundation, the bottoms of the sills must be hewn (or milled) flat along their full lengths. But if the foundation consists of pillars, you need to flatten the bottoms of the sills only in those areas that will come in contact with the tops of the support columns.

Remove just enough wood from the bottoms of the sills to flatten them across their full hewn width. The tops of the sills will be notched to accept the first two wall logs, so they should be left in the round.

THINKING ABOUT NOTCHES

Let's briefly examine the three most common notches used in log construction.

The saddle notch is far and away the most popular notch for use with round logs. A half-moon-shaped notch is cut into the bottom side of both ends of each new log to conform to the curvature of the log it rests on, often with spikes holding the works together. Advantages of the saddle notch include ease of construction and a rustic, pleasing appearance. Disadvantages are a tendency toward loose corner joints and a weakening of the walls due to a third or more of the diameter of each log being carved out at the notches.

The V notch is frequently used in hewn-log construction, especiall y when working with small-diameter logs. It's a traditional notch found in many antique timber structures—and it's the notch Peter chose to use when building his own cabin (he liked its strength and appearance). However, the V notch is time-consuming and exacting to lay out and cut, so Peter recommends it only as a second choice

RSS | Comments | E-mail | Print