log cabin build from Sweden + nice axes

[dirc]

Just thought I'd share this with everyone, great video of a solo log cabin build in Sweden using some very nice axes

share your thoughts on his axe use? the build method? etc ? (at 1:02 the axes are laid out nicely)

 

[jake pogg]

share your thoughts on his axe use? the build method? etc ?

His axes appear to be what GB offers(not sure about the adze).

His choice of method is a bit odd(for where he's at).It's a fairly modern method usually called "Canadian scribe".It's based on the elements of older,Swedish and Norwegian work,but was designed for speed and efficiency and the use of a chainsaw.

He does a good job,i don't have capacity to watch the entire video,but he does just fine,kinda reinventing the wheel here and there,which is pretty usual in cabin building.

The one thing he omitted,knowingly or not,is to remove an outside layer of wood +/- 3/8" thick or so.So close to the cambium the wood is so saturated with sugars and starch(that also becomes sugar in decomposing) that it'll be consumed by bacteria,making it difficult to preserve the outward soundness of those logs.
But then again,much of that depends on the local climate,and on the personal finish preference.
Normally,after removing the bark(barking)that layer is planed off(peeling;using a curved-base electric planer such as a Makita 1002B).

So yes,he built a sweet little cabin,using a new(-er)method and re-translating it to older tools.

 

[dirc]

since he's in Sweden, maybe the slow growth of the wood minimizes the outside sugars? just guessing...
thanks for good points, I've only built smaller structures from logs (eastern/northern white cedar)

I do plan on making something this size but have been agonizing over details & approaches ; )

 

[jake pogg]

since he's in Sweden, maybe the slow growth of the wood minimizes the outside sugars?

I don't know if the trees grow any slower in Sweden...(i'm in interior Alaska,with no Gulfstream anywhere close.
I'm afraid it's just biology,that's how the trees eat and metabolize the nutrients.

Sap wood was discarded wherever possible in any trades,for a number of reasons,it's best to avoid it.
For Practical building clues i'd look to the older European methods.
When encountering something especially laborious,try to think for the reason why someone would go through all the extra trouble.If the reason is not readily discernable,i'd still consider employing the technique.There's only a very small probability that it's a purely cultural effect,chances are it's to do with structural issues.

Look to the Swedish,Norwegian,Finnish building traditions.
I think it's best to disregard all American/Canadian log construction as it was never really practiced in the New World,and is practically all newly resurrected by the hippies,and has a very large dose of sentimentality,and even a larger one of conspicuous consumption,all at the expense of the real,structural,practical considerations.

One important issue that is Invariably ignored in the New World,when building with evergreen timber:A conifer consists of 3 very different sections,commonly numbered 1 to 3 from bottom up.
#1,from jug-butt to beginning of knots;mostly clear;of a moderate taper.
#2,the knots are moderately sized;taper increases somewhat;twist,if present,may also increase.
#3,knots are excessively large;grain waves in and out around the knots;taper often exceeds the reasonable.

What it means is that the mixing of all three makes for a poorly designed and therefore constructed house.
Possibly one can use a log containing ## 1 and 2,but certainly not all 3(as is too commonly done,to achieve that "space",that very long single wall length.
It's best to break up the length of wall down to whatever the natural log will "divide" into,according to your local species.
For example,mature White spruce in my area would produce a #1 section of an 16'-18',and similar or slightly less for #2.
Jog the wall to account for that,and everything will change for the better.Jogs,and an interior log wall or two can then be used also to carry a part of roof load.

If you try to disregard that you'll inevitably find yourself in a situation where a 9" top needs to be scribed over a 22" butt.You can see a bit of that in that young man's cabin,where the notch is so deep as to almost sever the log.
(As a matter of fact Canadian scribe can be said to've been "invented" to resolve just such a misalignment.In effect Canadian is using only a half of a so-called Norwegian scribe method,but in the latter the log selection is dome very carefully indeed).

A good(or rather the opposite)example of how sentimentality has no place in wooden architecture are the ridiculous tails that everyone wants hanging Way overboard of the building.
Worse than that,they like to shape them in some outlandish manner which is(i think)intended to indicate that their grandpappy whacked these trees off with an axe.
Aesthetically these tails end up looking like beaver-chew,and structurally they often spell doom to the whole building,as they grab Lots of driven and all other moisture and capillary it right into the corner,which rots very rapidly from it.
Meanwhile their grandpappys are all turning over in their graves with shame,as They'd most certainly trimmed the corners of the building as close as possible,And covered them up with Very generous overhangs of the roof as well....

Find out as much as you can about the history of older European wooden building,agonize about it in a rational manner,and make a good plan! Agonizing is good,it can save a Lot of trouble later on!

 

[jake pogg]

This Norwegian museum historic replication/reproduction exemplifies many of the concepts i point to above:

In the very beginning it's obvious the wall-logs are not round,they're oval(sometimes in the past an elongated hexagon;that is (in part)for the removal of sapwood.Starting at about 10:00 you can see that the logs have been milled two-sided,on a mill no doubt,to facilitate further use of hand-tools.
One of the many lessons here,use power tools(so it doesn't take you a generation to build a farmstead as it did in the past),but just because you use modern power tools does not mean that your joinery,Or the aesthetics of your house need to end up looking like it came from IKEA.

Another important lesson in this particular film is to help one with the correct positioning of the proverbial horse and cart.The reason they build like that is because That's the kind of timbers they have in their hood,not the other way around.
Techniques are not necessarily transferable in that way.
As an example i'd like to point to the way that the homesteaders built in Colonial era Appalachia.
Starting from many similar elements as seen above,they however did Not join timbers wood-to-wood.I believe it was due primarily to the hardwoods that were their material(not as straight,and much more laborious to work down),as well as the climatic requirements that were also different.
That building style however has retained the removal of sapwood,and also the idea of keeping the ends of logs Minimally protruding outside the structure(to protect the vulnerable end-grain).
Personally i believe that that's the style that can be truly termed an "American" log structure,and is very well thought out and engineered,(and beautiful in large part as the result of the above factors).

 

[crbnSteeladdict]

The one thing he omitted,knowingly or not,is to remove an outside layer of wood +/- 3/8" thick or so.So close to the cambium the wood is so saturated with sugars and starch(that also becomes sugar in decomposing) that it'll be consumed by bacteria,making it difficult to preserve the outward soundness of those logs.
But then again,much of that depends on the local climate,and on the personal finish preference.
Normally,after removing the bark(barking)that layer is planed off(peeling;using a curved-base electric planer such as a Makita 1002B).
.

Jake, thanks for pointing it out.
Did Skandinavians use some kind of paint/stain on their log houses?
I remember old D. Whipple's cabin video when he had to come back and wash all the logs with bleach before staining them.
start at 10:40

start at 4:35

Can somebody advise some good books on traditional log houses? Thanks

found some old US Forest Service manual
https://archive.org/details/USDeptAgForestServiceBuildingwithLogs0001/page/n29/mode/2up

 

[jake pogg]

Did Skandinavians use some kind of paint/stain on their log houses?

Yessir,basically-good ol' tar...Here's an example:

I remember old D. Wipple's cabin video when he had to come back and wash all the logs with bleach before staining them.

I washed Miles of logs down with bleach...it sucked a big one......Bleach degrades the cellulose,ruining it's integrity,exacerbating the problem...
Today,there're commercial products termed "log brightener" and such that are ridiculously effective(and equally costly),but they seem to be better in some ways,technically speaking...
However,having to resort to such is right there an indication of a failed strategy...

 

[jake pogg]

Can somebody advise some good books on traditional log houses?

I'm personally not aware of any.
However,interpreting "traditional" more broadly,here's a book i cannot recommend stronger iffen one contemplates such a scary move as building a log-home:
https://www.amazon.com/Log-Construc...t=&hvlocphy=9033835&hvtargid=pla-801064575839

(sorry,the link may've come out funny);it's "Log Construction Manual,by Robert Chambers.

I have a love-hate relationship with Chambers:He represents the worst of affectation-ridden "American/Canadian" style,a prophet,an avatar for it practically.

However,the man is absolutely Brilliant,literally so,the way he grasped the essence of log-building,and applied math to all of it in a revolutionary manner.
He also saved my sorry befuddled ass several times,at several Very challenging junctions...
For which i'm eternally grateful,and do have tons of respect for his cerebral abilities...

 

[jake pogg]

And lastly,of what comes to mind right off,this is a good video to agonize about:

Again,agony is a good thing if directed towards understanding of Why certain things are done a certain way.
The idea is not to build a structure that closely resembles an 18th c. Suomi cabin,but to design a place based on your own tools/materials/climate/other requirements,and Not make the mistakes that a 1000+year old building science have already learned to resolve or avoid.

 

[Old Axeman]

I would like to acknowledge the effort this young man has put into his log building project.
But, pay close attention to every word Jake has posted. I would like to add some thoughts of my own to Jake's.
I am talking about new log structure construction, not historic preservation of log structures. Preservation requires that your restoration work protects the original design and construction of the historic structure, even if that design and/or construction is not very well executed.
New Horizontal Log Construction, as good as it gets in my experience:
-Start with winter cut green (not seasoned, as you have read many times) logs.
-Select trees with good decay resistance, clear of knots, and as little taper as possible.
-While the stick is still green, broad axe hew two sides (what will be your exterior and interior wall surfaces) down to the heart wood.
-Now season the logs through the summer.
-Start construction with the larger logs at the bottom courses and the hewn surfaces on the interior and exterior walls. Alternate butt to tip and then tip to butt as you go up to keep everything as level as possible and very little gap between the logs.
-Use a half, or even a full, dovetail corner notch, NO projections of the log ends extending from the notch. The notch should be laid out so that the round, unhewn top and bottom part of the logs have very little gap.
-When you are finished with the structure's construction, stuff oiled/waxed okum in the gap and daub the gap using a mix of creek sand, lime, and throw in a little white portland cement. Profile the daubing so rain water on the logs can not run down and underneath the daubing.
-When everything is dry, coat the exterior log walls with a mix of linseed oil, pure gum turpentine, and wax.

 

[Ernest DuBois]

Yes, I think all that is mostly right on. At the same time I love these scrappy farmer/settler built log houses and buildings that have functioned now a hundred years and more, still going, and would not even think of plunking down a Euro model even up in the woods. No I'd sooner replicate th'n innovate.
If there ever was a Finnish or Swedish or Estonian log house that was tarred than it was tar mixed with a good portion of pigment( iron oxide ) and linseed oil ( see roslag ) because tar alone gets broken down by UV in about six months. A typical finish on exposed logs in these places is a boiled rye flour base colored with iron oxide or they were sheathed with a thick board & batten.

 

[jake pogg]

-Start with winter cut green (not seasoned, as you have read many times) logs.
-Select trees with good decay resistance, clear of knots, and as little taper as possible.
-While the stick is still green, broad axe hew two sides (what will be your exterior and interior wall surfaces) down to the heart wood.
-Now season the logs through the summer.
-Start construction with the larger logs at the bottom courses and the hewn surfaces on the interior and exterior walls. Alternate butt to tip and then tip to butt as you go up to keep everything as level as possible and very little gap between the logs.
-Use a half, or even a full, dovetail corner notch, NO projections of the log ends extending from the notch. The notch should be laid out so that the round, unhewn top and bottom part of the logs have very little gap.
-When you are finished with the structure's construction, stuff oiled/waxed okum in the gap and daub the gap using a mix of creek sand, lime, and throw in a little white portland cement. Profile the daubing so rain water on the logs can not run down and underneath the daubing.
-When everything is dry, coat the exterior log walls with a mix of linseed oil, pure gum turpentine, and wax.

This is SUCH an Excellent recipe...(Dirc,if i was you,i'd save this and keep it for later,And pass it on to others as well).

Old Axeman,you break my heart.....How i'd love to do Just that...

I have a cabin to do,a shell to be weathered in by next fall,but it won't be Anything like that...(it'll be a horrid "3-sided log" constr.,not considered a "log-house" even by the liberal Volunteer CanAm Log-Building Standards...In the past i vowed to Never put my hand to anything like that,but this time it cannot be helped,long sad story......).

The "client"(in parenthesis as it's not a paying job,i'm more like an unpaid advisor/general contractor)can't afford to get a set of real logs,in terms of money Or the necessary crew,so a set of milled sticks have been bought instead.

I'm now attempting to at least harvest some timber to be milled into lumber for roof trusses,girders,and some other odds and ends.

It must needs to come out from close by(within a dozen mile radius +/-),as the only means of fetching it out is a borrowed small dozer.
I've been out trying to cruise some trees on a snowmobile,with zero luck so far...Temperatures been very low,the snow conditions very difficult,but the biggest problem is that i cannot find a decent concentration of decent trees...
My time is rapidly running out for the "winter cut",in spite of the cold i can feel the trees will be beginning to wake up very soon,and my hopes are just about shot(maybe one more trip).
After the River opens in mid-May or so i may get a more/less usual shot at driftwood,but it'll be too late then,and the best part of our building season,the beautiful(and bug-free)spring will be lost...
Had i at least a modest budget,+a couple good hands And an extra year to do it in,i'd go to our usual logging grounds where the USF&WS lets us log on a personal-use permit,and get a set of logs,and do Exactly like you set down...
(sorry to be so whiny but Damn it hurts.......).

 

[crbnSteeladdict]

The one thing he omitted,knowingly or not,is to remove an outside layer of wood +/- 3/8" thick or so.So close to the cambium the wood is so saturated with sugars and starch(that also becomes sugar in decomposing) that it'll be consumed by bacteria,making it difficult to preserve the outward soundness of those logs.

How about charring the surface of the logs? Would that slow down bacteria growth?
Are there any examples of charred log cabins built by Pioneers?

 

[jake pogg]

Are there any examples of charred log cabins built by Pioneers?

Sorry,no,i personally never heard of such.

 

[Old Axeman]

Never in my experience.
But, when I replaced logs in the restoration of a historic log structure I would make a slury of crushed charred wood and ashes from the wood stove and water, paint it on the new exterior log surface with a whitewash brush and let it age until the rain washed it off. In short order the new replacement logs matched the patina of the remaining original logs. You do not want to use any sort of stain for this matching. you might be able to get the stain to match initially but you have now locked in the color. The original patina is organic and will continue to change while the stained logs will not change and therefore no longer match the original. My slury mix is organic and will also change.

 

[Ernest DuBois]

How about charring the surface of the logs? Would that slow down bacteria growth?
Are there any examples of charred log cabins built by Pioneers?

It's worth repeating and re-repeating that if you are relying on any finish to protect your cabin sides a serious blunder has already occurred in the design. The function of a finish is strictly to enhance or otherwise alter appearance.

 

[Peck Price]

I stumbled on to the video in the OP and watched the whole thing. I was blown away by the young man’s persistence and patience. Now I am blown away by this conversation, carry on gentlemen and thanks. If we could get you guys together it would make a killer round table or “Ted Talk”.

 

[Bigfattyt]

Watched them all. Now I have to wait for the finish.

Looked like he went from a teenager to a man.

As a child, I helped build a cabin. My father and his best friend. They both had logging jobs when younger. The best friend was from a family of loggers. The cabin was big enough to sleep 25+ people. So we used cranes to hoist the loggs. Cut the trees down, limbed and barked them our selves. I was to young to do anything but peel the bark with a draw knife.

 

[veeteetee]

The traditional Finnish surface treatment for log cabins (and all farm buildings) is "punamulta" (red ochre paint, use Google for pictures), the recipe is from Uula Color, the most profilic maker of this paint https://www.uula.fi/maalausohjeet/muut/keittomaalin-valmistusohje/:

To make 50 litres of paint you need:
40 litres of water
3 kgs of red iron sulphate
4 kgs of rye or wheat flour
8 kgs of red iron oxide (ochre)
3 litres of boiled linseed oil

Add iron sulphate into warm water. Add flour slowly and mix carefully over a fire until a porridge is formed. Add iron oxide slowly, carefully mixing. Finally add boiled linseed oil and let slowly boil for 2-3 hours.

The paint is applied liberally with large brushes and carefully smeared into the wood. The surface allows the wood to breathe and pait can be be re-applied when needed diring the next hundred years or so.

 

[Ernest DuBois]

The paint is applied liberally with large brushes and carefully smeared into the wood. The surface allows the wood to breathe and pait can be be re-applied when needed diring the next hundred years or so.

what this means is no more paint removal and scraping, just a vigorous brushing and re-coating. Not an insignificant saving on labor. The paint most suited for rough surfaces so on planed wood best to let weather for the first year. And the unused portion keeps a long time. I have some I still use after these 20 years stored.