Cutting two halves from large logs for dovetail corner cabin...

[LOGDOG]

What do you folks think? I got in 3 loads of really nice big Loblolly pine logs. The sticks run from 20" diameter to about 36" in diameter. The largest butt cuts I was going to mill into vertical grain 4/4 either for trim or flooring. The second cuts that are down towards 20" in diameter I had thought about milling flat on two sides - leaving a two sided log 16 and 1/8'' thick. I had thought about rotating the log and skimming it down to a uniform thickness on the two remaining sides just to eliminate taper. I'd then split the 16 & 1/8" thick dimension into two 8" thick slabs. What I'd have left are two wide (tall) slabs. They're likely to be 19" tall or so and 8" thick if they were standing on edge. I wanted to cut dovetail corners on the ends for stacking. Because they'd be milled uniform without taper I could go with a tight fit or leave a uniform gap in between for chinking. Because I'd be splitting the center of the log, one edge is going to have a deep rolled edge (the outside) and the center won't have much if that makes sense. I could put either face inside or out. It would make for a really chunky looking cabin. Splitting that center of the log like that though - and the cants being as tall as they're likely to be - I worried about how those logs would dry and move. Looking at Sobon's book this morning and the illustrations of how a cant moves when it drys made me wonder if that movement would pull my joints open eventually. Any thoughts? Another concern is that the chinking could end up being quite thick in that outside groove. There have to be some concerns with that I would think.  ???


LOGDOG