milling half-logs

jimmy · July 22, 2005, 09:27:49 AM

i am planning in the near future to build my own half-log home? Does anybody have any tips on milling the logs. I will be using white pine logs off my property. Do i peel the bark off first or mill to correct size first? After they are peeled do they need to be treated with any kind of chemical? Are there any good web sites or books on the correct way to use your own logs from the milling process to the drying and staining.Thanks

Don P · July 22, 2005, 08:20:23 PM

The Wisconsin, Wilderness, Expedition... style is to debark, saw to a symmetrical 2 sided 8" thick cant and then take a roughly 5" thick slab cut. If everything works out right you end up with about a 2" flat spot top and bottom from 10-12" logs. Then its off to the drawknife to clean them up. I like to scribe a line down the flats and make one about 1/4" wider than the other, this will give you drip edges rather than water catching ledges. Sapstain preventatives and borates are 2 treatments often applied at that stage. Got some pics round here summers.