post & beam cabin from cedar

HuZzEy · October 13, 2011, 06:48:16 PM

hey all I was talking to my service manager today and got the topic about building a cabin from cedar he asked if i would mill the cedar for him but he wanted to know if cedar would be strong enough for this he said he got alot of it thats decent size 16-18" chest hi what do you guys think is cedar strong for post and beam. I would be sawing them on my thomas 2411.

laffs · October 13, 2011, 07:34:37 PM

if you have sound cedar, and big enough logs. sounds like you do. it would work alright

HuZzEy · October 13, 2011, 07:49:23 PM

I'm going to take a look at these cedar trees tomarrow he wants me to fell haul out and saw them I want to do this for him that way we can get a little more chummy with so i don't get in so much trouble at work hopefully. it would be easier for me to take my mill there I'm working on a froestry trailer to go behind my atv I made a walking beam axle for it now a loader is all I need. could haul my skidder there but I would have to charge him more for that and it would be more disturbance to his land

laffs · October 13, 2011, 08:01:03 PM

if he wants to sell some it may make some differance, if he wants a skidder, horses or a tractor.

i know a few people with horses

HuZzEy · October 13, 2011, 08:08:56 PM

he's a busy guy he actually lives like 90 miles away from this propety i live like 20miles from there he wants this cabin for hunting. I didn't think of that i could cut enough to pay operating cost and some for my time I'll ask him about it it's 50 acres all woods i was told.

hackberry jake · October 13, 2011, 08:33:42 PM

Cedar trees like to get heart rot once they start getting that big. Around here anyways. I would say close to 50% of the cedars I've cut in the 18' dbh range have some form of heart rot. It usually only goes 3 or 4 feet though, right at the base of the tree.

HuZzEy · October 13, 2011, 08:49:41 PM

yea same here on our property I'm gonna check it out tomarrow

Dewey · October 13, 2011, 09:32:02 PM

I've been sawing cedar for years and have sawn out several Post and beam buildings....It all depends on how the building is designed ....

HuZzEy · October 13, 2011, 09:47:58 PM

I don't think it's going to be very big like 16x16 maybe 20x20 I'll have more info tomarrow

Groo · October 13, 2011, 11:06:43 PM

I was just talking about something like this with a forester who is teaching a class I am taking, the other day.

I think the main problem will be that cedar tends to not produce long lumber. You can get over its weakness by just making the beams thicker than you would for pine. for example; a 2x8 is twice as strong as a 2x6 in bending along its strong axis. so if your wood is half as strong (like cedar vs. pine) you just use 2x8s where you'd normally use 2x6s and it would be the same strength but a great deal more rot resistant, bug resistant, easier to cut and lighter. Sounds like an all around win to me.

HuZzEy · October 13, 2011, 11:28:38 PM

thanks all for your answers it will help us greatly hopefully the more I can impress my service manager the further I will get sooner(raze!!!) 8)and maybe better jobs it's been a while since I've rebiult a truck motor

James P. · October 14, 2011, 07:32:59 PM

That is going to be a good smelling cabin.

carykong · October 15, 2011, 02:09:22 PM

Eastern Red Cedar can be really stunning in trim and panel applications. Its relatively expensive compared to yellow pine and oak. When building my house I kept the structural posts and beams restricted to graded pine and oak and dedicated my cedar to paneling and trim.

Slingshot · October 15, 2011, 08:16:24 PM

Working with a little ERC myself. I cut these logs off some property I have about
25 miles from my home

and got these two loads from them;

Sawed enough mostly all red lap siding to do do this on the back of my house;

Still some trim work to do and I need to get a couple more logs to make enough for the other end of the dormer.

------------------------------
Charles

HuZzEy · October 15, 2011, 10:53:04 PM

I like that hoist on your trailer slingshot did you buy it or homemade oh the siding is amazing also how did you make the lap siding I haven't been milling that long and I started only to build my house that is not done yet so still pretty new at it I can saw stud material and boards like no tomarrow thats what I'm used to since I was kid working with my grandfather on his circle mill

Slingshot · October 15, 2011, 11:28:08 PM

The boom and hoist on the trailer is all homemade. I have an 8-ton ram on it and a 3000 lb
winch. As for the siding, I have the WM shingle and lapsider attachment that I used to make bevel siding for
part of the lower(and flipped the cant up and down without the jig for part) but for the upper I used flat sawn 1/2 inch boards. A little faster to make.

Here is the siding jig;

_____________________-
Charles

HuZzEy · October 16, 2011, 04:43:55 AM

I just went and looked on my mills website $300 for that attachment probly will have it next week.

Magicman · October 16, 2011, 07:47:50 AM

When you have a sawmill, opportunities abound and the options never end.

HuZzEy · October 16, 2011, 10:55:54 AM

yea even though I don't have top of line mill it does a great job with a sharp band dale thomas bandsaws are inexpensive and built good I think. with plenty of options

thecfarm · October 17, 2011, 07:15:35 AM

I would put my Thomas up against any for accuracy. It's only a manual mill so others can cut a lot faster.

Magicman · October 17, 2011, 07:27:39 AM

I agree. Any properly adjusted sawmill with a sharp blade will saw quality lumber. Bells and whistles only increase speed and provide log handling options.

Actually the only thing that any sawmill does is to pull/push a blade through a log and make sawdust. The sawyer makes the lumber. ;D

HuZzEy · October 17, 2011, 04:00:02 PM

yea I have alot of watch and learn experiance my mill is the only one I have ever operated my grandfathers mill is a pretty amazing mill but to motor is tired and the carrige rail pillars are crumbling away it would have cost more to fix it then to buy my own bandmill I'll get some pics of the old mill and make separate post for all to injoy. anyway My service manager wants to wait till next year to start anything so another plan on hold like I don't have enough on hold already :-\

beenthere · October 17, 2011, 04:06:46 PM

sure no caps hard read to know period some thoughts up jumbled together
;)

Help us out here

paul case · October 17, 2011, 08:49:50 PM

He had a cap. It started with''My service manager....'' ;D pc

HuZzEy · October 17, 2011, 08:57:42 PM

sorry about the mumble jumble in that post. I never said I was good at English in school Infact I had to take a night class in English in high school to graduate. I am a better hands on learner thats why I'm a diesel techincian The school I went to was 80% hands on 20% class work and I graduated with honors from there.