Well the foundation and floor are done, now begins the laborious task of building walls and by laborious I mean suck it up buttercup its time to get dirty. Unfortunately I have not figured out yet how to magically make 20ft logs appear on top of each other… moving logs by hand and without heavy equipment is not for the timid.
Lets talk about scribe fitting a log cabin
I should add that the scribe fit method is definitely NOT the fastest way for one man to build a house. If you are in a hurry to get a roof over your head, as I am before the snow starts to fly, you may want to consider a different log building method. I do believe that scribe fitting offers a better look, tightest fit and best insulation value of all the hand-crafted styles.
The basic method of building scribe fit log walls has remained unchanged for centuries. One log at a time, a log is placed on top of another and then using a Scribe (divider with bubble levels), one carefully runs the pointy end of the Scribe along the bottom log which then transfers the contours of the bottom log onto the log above by means of an indelible pencil mounted on the top of the scribe.
The two videos below show you how I am scribe fitting my cabin walls. There are several ways to approach this style of log cabin building just as there are many ways to skin a cat. Every day I improve with accuracy and discover new ways to perfect my style. As with any craft it takes time to learn, refine and to perfect.
Hello OGWarrior
I have been working towards building a cabin for a while now
thanks to You’re videos i am two logs up
it has been over a day per log so far with some completed in one but others took two
the logs i am working with are smaller and have lots of taper
one of the first logs was the biggest so the next log ended up like a but and pass because the notch broke when rolling the log off to be shaped more
this is a small cabin and was meant to be a learning experience which it certainly has been
i need to improve my drying methods as well fair bit of checking because of being dried too fast
issues aside it is now being built upwards and it is a great feeling
thanks for all the help in the details of scribe fitting!
Jeff
Awesome Blake your you tube have inspired me and now I have started construction on my own log cabin in new Zealand,can’t wait to see if you put windows in your cabin and how you do it,thanks for starting me on this journey.
Hey! Great job! Your YouTube videos have inspired me to build a log cabin on my land. Can you give me a link to where to find that scribe you use? Thanks!
Hi Dan you can find the scribe I used here: https://amzn.to/38nNvGi
Excellent! I enjoyed watching. Can’t wait to build mine!
Thank you Mini. All the best to you and getting your build done sooner rather than later!
Think I might go buy myself a log scribe and get practicing. I’m very envious of all your extremely strait tall trees though.
Keep up the good work looking forward to anything you put up.
Thank you for your comment. Yes I was very lucky with having good trees right on and near the building site. Good luck to you, this process is easy, practice, practice and practice. This is not a fast process, patience and diligence is required. All the best to you.
Hi, its really nice your work, I wanna start a cabin but I am a beginner, could you recommended me about the tools, system of the building process, foundations, logs (dry or green, kinds), I would really preciated it. COngratulations again.
What is the kind/name of Scribe you are using?
very cool.
great descriptions and excellent joinery.
thanks for sharing
Thank you! All the best to you.
Nice work. That was the best video I’ve seen for scribe fitting. It will be great to see the finished product. All the best. You do great work and have a knack for explaining details.
Your mission is awesome. The choice of life style although hard is an inspiration. I’m tired of the hamster wheel. Heading out bush as we call it down under is a salvation. Living in it a dream of mine too.
I have thoroughly enjoyed your videos. My wife and I are homesteading in northeast Washington state. We lived in a wall tent for the first 2 years of our build. That was an experience in 20 below. We used a boom truck for lifting our ridge beam and large rafters in place. All of our logs were seasoned cedar D logs. My back hurts thinking about you moving green Doug fir. A jib pole might help. If I was close enough I would love to help.
Hi Blake, glad to hear you enjoyed the videos. Two years in NE WA and a walled tend sounds like “fun”… hats off to you. We are in NE WA bordering on the Colville National Forest, this Winter has been spent in a 5th wheel, hopefully we do not have to repeat this next Winter. 3 more rounds to go for us and then it is roof time (may set up a Jib pole), just waiting for snow/ice to thaw. Keep well.
AWESOME – THANK YOU !