CHAINSAW PALACE

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Next step was to use a quick-square to outline the exact size of the milled log we'd need: 8" x 10". We used a level to assure ourselves that the top mark was perfectly level. The basic approach was to mark the small end first, to be sure it was large enough to yield the log we needed, and then mark the large end. We used the level on both ends.

Then we pulled a chalk line from the upper right corner on the small end to the corresponding corner on the large end. When we snapped the line, we had our first saw mark ready.

To saw off the slab, which is all that was needed, I cut a one-inch groove, a sort of guideline, along the entire length of the chalk line. Then I returned to the starting point and sawed deeper and deeper until the bar reached through the log slab. I then pulled the saw along the entire length of the log, until the slab fell away and left one nearly perfect flat surface.

Next we rolled the log so that the flat surface faced upward and chalked the next lines from end mark to end mark and repeated the process of sawing the groove and then the entire slab. When we rolled the log one-quarter turn and marked and cut the final slab side, our log had four flat surfaces and was essentially as straight as an arrow should be.

This was a long, grueling chore, and we devoted a full month to sawing the logs we'd need. When we were finished and had bought the fluted spikes to hold the logs in place in the house, we had a grand total of $132.64 tied up in the log walls.

While the logs air-dried, we concentrated on the basement and foundation walls. We found earlier that we could borrow a cement mixer and mix our own concrete. In this fashion we had poured the entire basement floor for $600. We also learned that we could lay our own foundation walls and, while we were slow, could save hundreds of dollars.

A long, grueling chore:

Cutting the 8" x 10" wall logs, 118 of them, took over one month of steady work.

How to Make a Timber

As for framing timbers (We checked with building inspectors before doing this!), it was an easy matter to chainsaw timbers 2 x 10 or 3 x 10 that were 16 feet long. Here's how we cut accurate and true timbers without any chainsaw lumber mills or other attachments.

If the log was large, we chalked a line straight down the center of the log from end to end and then made the usual groove cut and ripped the log into halves. Then we decided how wide the boards we needed should be, and we marked off the width from the center of the log half.

For instance, if we needed a 2 x 10 board, we used a rule or tape measure and held one end of the tape near the edge of the log half where the wood was thick enough to yield the needed lumber. We marked that point and then marked again at the 10-inch point. Doing this on both ends of the log, we chalked a line along both edges, from end to end. Then we cut the groove and ripped off the edge of the logon both sides, leaving us with a log half 10 inches wide and with three straight or flat edges. Then we stood the log half on one edge and marked off 2.5-inch dimensions.

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