scooter1 Loc: Yacolt, Wa.

I've been working on this project for 9 months now. It's a gable in the making. I'm changing the outside of our home into a log cabin. All the logs come from my property. I pick out the size for the part of the project, some small and some big, that I will need. The next step I fall the trees then winch them out cut them 2' longer than I need for adjustment. Then I lift them with my log contraption and bring them up to the house to peel and seal. They're stored out of the sun as the sun can cause them to warp. I'll send more pics as the project continues. I'm also re roofing with metal roofing but I obviously have to build the gable prior to the roof.

The white on the ends is a sealer to slow the drying of the log so it doesn't crack. When the sealer dries it shows the color of the wood.

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These are the uprights to be mounted on concrete pads to hold the weight of the gable. They are 23" across and 12' long.

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These are for the roof of the gable which starts on the peak of the house roof and goes out over the front deck.

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This is the contraption to haul the logs up from where I fall them to where they're stored. Found it on pinterest. Works with a come a long to lift them into the upside down U with the other end hooked on the front winch of my truck which lifts it j

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This is the peeling or debarking tool I use to skin the logs. I also have a draw knife but with fir it's not as effective as the scraper.

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UTMike Loc: South Jordan, UT

Very interesting. I hope that you plan to keep us posted as your project progresses.

Robg

Thanks for sharing, that's really interesting. Looks like a LOT of work!

Your manual efforts remind me of a conversation I had a number of years ago with the owner of a small sawmill in Canada who was very technologically oriented and had installed all sorts of automation. He said he had a computer that scanned each log before it went into the mill to determine the best cuts, ones that would maximize the board feet for that log and that it had to work really fast because, and I found this hard to believe, logs were moving at several 100 miles per hour!

scooter1 Loc: Yacolt, Wa.

I've got a few more of the smaller diameter to cut and in the next month I hope to have poured the concrete pads. It's fun but lots of work. My 2 brothers think I'm nuts to start this at 68 years and I completely agree. I'm too far into the project to stop now. I will definitely post more as it progresses.

scooter1 Loc: Yacolt, Wa.

What did he mean by them moving at several 100 miles per hour? I've also tried to figure out the cuts to maximize the board feet. I've got a chainsaw mill and with all the trees I've got it helps since the prices of lumber are outrageous. Lumber is so much harder to store since the wood is wet and you have to keep everything from warping while it dries. Another project I've got going involves a large western red cedar I fell last summer that I will be making live edge tables with. I've attached a photo of one of them with my wife and buddy Bandit in the photo. Our property slopes down to a salmon spawning creek and the slope is steep. I burned out a 16500# winch so I bought a 25000# winch to pull the logs up the hill. I've got a diesel ford pickup and have to wedge it against a tree to be able to pull these logs up. Thanks for the interest and I'll keep posting as it progresses.

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NMGal Loc: NE NM

I hope your house is not very big.

Robg

Upon reflection, I think he was pulling my leg. I just did a little research and calculation. My research found that modern sawmills can produce up to 2 million board feet per day. That is a humongous number! But I used that number to try to get a feel for speed. Assuming the mill is running all 24 hours, then it's producing 83,000 board feet per hour. If those board feet are moving sequentially then we can think of 83,000 board feet per hour as equal to 15 "board miles" per hour and if there is only one saw that says the product is moving out of the saw at 15 miles per hour and not at speeds over 100.

That's still probably a lot faster than you!

As to optimizing yield, there is likely to be some software out there. I found an article describing a technique (Best Opening Face) being used in the 1980's. It's old, and probably quite outdated. However, the article is interesting because it goes into some of analysis then being used. Here is a link: https://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/fplgtr/fplgtr48.pdf

scooter1 Loc: Yacolt, Wa.

That is really interesting. I'll have to read it and see if it will help with a chainsaw mill. Thanks. I grew up in central Oregon with 5 saw mills in town. Now they've all but closed down.

scooter1 Loc: Yacolt, Wa.

It's not huge. My plans are to side it with something similar to T-111 except with ridges and stain it rather than paint. Then all the corners will be logs with a quarter of the round cut out to fit against the siding. If I wanted there is enough timber here to build a large log home but that I really didn't want to tackle.

lxu532 Loc: Cherry Hill, NJ

Incredible! I'm looking forward to more photos.

scooter1 Loc: Yacolt, Wa.

Thank you. It is going to be a lot of work. I'm hiring one guy to help with the gable and roofing. but most will be my job. It's a slow process as I've got other time consuming projects going on also. I'll post some photos of them also. 2 years ago I built a 22'x24' back deck that hangs out over a hillside that goes down to the creek and this year I built a walkway that is semi covered with part of the big cedar from the photo. I've planted wisteria on all 4 corners of the 23' cover so in the next 2 years it will have those long trailing purple flowers growing all along it.

This shows the wisteria plants before they've wrapped around the cedar logs.

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I lit the pathway with lights and have since added rope lights that go along the uprights and the full length of the semi cover.

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The start of walkway with firepit to the left.

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The fire pit just to the left of the walkway.

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ecobin Loc: Paoli, PA

I'm impressed and amazed that you can do all that work by yourself.

nanaval Loc: Cornwall

Very interesting and what a great place to live...

Drbobcameraguy Loc: Eaton Ohio

What about cedar shakes instead of T111?

yssirk123 Loc: New Jersey

Wow - now that's an ambitious project! Please post updates.