Log cabin notching

This is my second video so it doesn't really have any cool tunes but it does have a few bloopers like me dropping stuff and me almost falling off the cabin wall but other than that it's just an instructional video. I thought that this was called a half notch but it's not really so I have no idea what it is. I just use the method because I am used to it and the notching is fairly quick whilst using just an axe a mallet and a hand saw. The log in the example is about 11 inch in diameter and even though it's not shown, both sides of the log are notched on oposite ends. . . . so that equals 4 notches per log. It isn't shown in this video, but I also drove an 8-10 inch spike into each corner after the log was placed just to keep everything where it should be.

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• log cabin notching
• log notching
• half notch
• saddle notch
• log cabin construction
• building a cabin
• log cabin
• logcabin

[brandonr918]

watch alone in the wilderness! that dude did it perfectly

[186282plus1]

@brandonr918 Yes, that guy is amazing! I really enjoy watching his videos, very peacefull!

[avatarsummer]

AWESOME!

[dubsity280]

i thought the logs were to interlock???is this new?

[williamanthony25]

this guy say nothing can be exact with logs......i beg to differ. Craftsmanship....

[186282plus1]

@dirtTdude Yea it's kinda basic I guess, if there's dampness then there will be mold. Whether it's a castle or it's a cabin it's all the same. The real trick is to remove the dampness which propagates mold, my problem is that the bark holds the moisture in the logs for a very long time and creates the environment for mold growth. So far after 2 years my logs still have 30% moisture. So it looks like I'll be fighting this thing for another few years, the cabin is still bone dry inside.

[dirtTdude]

@Ace21425782 when you're scribing your saddle notch you have to measure the diameter of your log then dial your compass to that many inches, otherwise your saddles will be to deep or to shallow... get some cedar and split thin pieces, carve them to shape and tack them in then chink it in. you'll be fine.

[dirtTdude]

@janken919 way easier... 

[dirtTdude]

@186282plus1 i am experiancing mold problims... bleach program underway.

[dirtTdude]

@186282plus1 on my saddle notch cabin i put in 1 inch dowel and staggered them 8 inches apart at each corner, each dowel passes through two logs and 1/2 way through a 3rd.. it creates torsional rigidity that helps keep the structure plum during the settling period. not that big of a deal but it reduces chinking maintenance dramatically during the first few years... building codes in my area call for rebar in each corner for saddles, i don't know why.