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log constructing ??

Started by dustyhat, May 25, 2017, 10:28:44 PM

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dustyhat

This might be on here but i been through alot of pages and my eyes are burning. if i was to saw 8x8s for a cabin what do you guys put in between the log flats,i know i need to chink a outside gap but i know there should be something in between ,i here no plastics or rubber, are there calking for this. next ? is if i stack one on top the other how do you guys make the chinking slots do you router them out .next ? when you saw and stack to dry the logs do you score the top and bottom with a chain saw to help from the sides checking, i just heard that helped, dont know.( any close up pics would be nice). would like to have all the feed back i can get. thanks.   Ok i did find something about sills and about log on log . can i still chink if i do log on log ?

Don P

Milled log homes usually have strips of foam gasket in between log courses and a bead of caulk towards the outside edge. On some 6x12 styles there is a ~1/4" x2" rabbet milled into the upper outside face of the timber that can be chinked, or left unchinked according to personal taste.

It helps to direct the checking if you do mill a groove in what will become the bottom face... with an 8x8 that is easier, the checked face is the bottom.

A timber tends to dry with convex faces, a pregnant square. I like to mill a groove in the bottom face with a pass or two with a power planer down the middle of the bottom face. This lets the log bear on the edges rather than rocking on two crowned faces. It also give that foam a place to be. Smashed foam doesn't recover, it needs a bit of a gap to live in.

The drier a timber is the better, it has already done some of its shrinking and showing of its bad habits if it has any.

moeh1

If you visit the log home supply stores, you can find closed cell rubber strips and a caulk type product like log builder, both are designed for sealing.  I used foam on the inner and log builder on the outer  (my milled logs had 2 tongues on the top).

Ox

I was going to build a log home before I got half crippled.  I read many books but mostly about the backwoods methods.  I was going to do log on log and put a tongue and groove in the middle of the logs.  Basically I was going to just mill logs top and bottom for flat surface (I wanted rounded outside and inside), snap some chalk lines and hog the wood out in a strip with a dado blade and Skilsaw top and bottom and fit a furring strip in there and stack the logs.  Spike on each side of the tongue furring strip.  This was my plan.  Maybe it'll spark an idea for you.  Maybe not and everybody gets a laugh.  Good luck.
K.I.S.S. - Keep It Simple Stupid
Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without
1989 GMC 3500 4x4 diesel dump and plow truck, 1964 Oliver 1600 Industrial with Parsons loader and backhoe, 1986 Zetor 5211, Cat's Claw sharpener, single tooth setter, homemade Linn Lumber 1900 style mill, old tools

1938farmall

For a "flat-on-flat" method similar to what you are thinking about, if you wanted the "log look" inside & out, you might be interested in reading "Building the Alaska Log Home" by Tom Walker.  He slabs each log to show a 4"-5" face which results in a tapered log, but eliminates the mismatch problem where the log below the joint is wider & catches water.  He seals the joint with tan fiberglass & wood pegs eliminating the spline.  The corners are saddle notched or fitted butt & pass.  A bit more work for a more authentic look.  If you are set on using 8x8's I would consider a taper cut on the outside face of the stick to keep the water from above out of the joint.
aka oldnorskie

dustyhat

Thanks everybody i have done learned something  from each post, so what tools are important , i have a router but guess i will need another one or two if i do chinking grooves or are there better tools for this? wheres the cheapest places to get log screws and such?

Don P

I'd be more tempted to saw the chink groove, I've been through a lot of routers. Till you get to the ones that are what I called a hand held shaper they aren't much. If you want to round edges or something like that after taking out the majority of it with saws that would work but they aren't made for heavy hogging.

I like the Makita 16" saw but it is limited to about 6" cut depth. I also have a prazi beam saw hooked to a Milwaukee worm drive saw. It is a 12" chain bar that uses the saw motor to run it. Does fair, not as smooth a cut as the Makita.

The chinking is expensive and with an 8" log a ~1" line might be more in scale.

dustyhat

Im learning, sawing the chink grooves , man i must of had a brain freeze ,i did not even think of it. i must be over thinking. keep it coming everbody.

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