Alaskan Sawmilling / backyard cabin build

Hello, wilderness trappers, thought I'd share some photos of my chainsaw milling. This seems the appropriate place to do it. I'll admit, I have a sickness…. some people look at a tree and see the years it took to grow to size or the shade it provides, etc. I see a tree and wonder how many board feet I can get out of it.

I started a little project, this summer. I'm stockpiling lumber for a small cabin (shed) I'm gonna build at home. I want to do the entire thing out of lumber I cut with my mill.

Looks cool, why did you de-bark just that one section of the log?

Only because that's where it was high and the mill was gonna hit it. I didn't wanna re-string it and reset all the nail heights.

Pretty slick! Man what I'd give for and old frick or belsaw.. I too have the board foot sickness, I hear woodmizer has great programs to alleviate what ails us.

Awesome setup, thanks for sharing the pictures. What model of saw is that?

Lots of work there Aaron. Been there done that. I would be sure to cover those boards you have stickered by the house. Keep the sun off of them !

Well done. That shed will mean a lot when you are done

Wylee, I'm thinking of renaming this thread "board foot sickness" (like the sound of that). Hope your plans for relocating to the Great White North are coming together. Lever, the saw is a 66 and I run it at about 40:1 oil/fuel mix instead of the the 50:1. That's right outta Malloff's book although he didn't suggest those exact numbers. He says due to heavy stress on a saw that's milling lumber a stronger oil mix gives the added lube needed for constant running at high RPM's ... seems to run fine. White, I would love to see photos of your milling and what you built with it. What do you suggest in covering the boards. They ARE in direct sunlight most of the day. I considered covering with a tarp but thought it would impede airflow needed for the drying process. I'm open to ideas … thanks for looking everybody.

Not sure if there is a collective milling thread already but board foot sickness sounds good! Yes our plans are coming together, we were kind of side lined there other day which is costing us more time. Thanks for asking!
The second I get any kind of mill going up there I will be posting....if I have internet lol

A tarp is fine. Just keep the direct sunlight off of them.

Nice set up and great pictures!

I also learned some from Malloffs book, I modified my mill like he suggested, so I can change out the chain without disassembly. I have cut many pickup loads of lumber with mine. I started out with the factory sprocket and .404 chain, but now I use a smaller sprocket, new bar and .375 chain. More power and less drag, a bit less waste too. I tried the hand crank he had in his book, but don't use it much. A modified exhaust would be nice to direct the exhaust away from the sawyer. I painted my wedges red so I would not lose them in the sawdust. You can cut pretty fast with someone wedging behind you. But I usually mill by myself.

The largest, most powerful chainsaw you can find helps. I have the second largest Husquvarna they made 25 years ago, should have got the largest. Chain tension seems to be critical for smooth cuts , too loose or too tight, you get chatter and rough cuts.
The old timer that mad my last rip chains retired, I may have to get a power chain grinder and learn how to use it. I used to hand file the old .404 chain, but that's a chore and a half.

I now use a ladder for my first cuts, I have to support the ladder in the center or it will sag and make a curved cut.

I highly recommend a bench mounted, electric chain grinder that you can set all your angles perfectly. I know it sounds crazy but a resharpened chain is better than brand new when done correctly.

The other thing I did was to set up my log so that the start end was slightly higher. A little bit of gravity working for you helps noticeably.

A chainsaw race filer told me that, if filed properly, a chainsaw chain cuts better and faster until its totally worn out, simply due to more room for chips, once the tooth space is full of chips, the tooth stops cutting.

Here's what I've been using: a Granberg 3/8" ripping chain, and the Granberg 12 volt precision grinder. Its adjustable to any angle so it allows sharpening a ripping chain or cross cut chain, its reasonable priced. Also, it doesn't take a big bite out of the chain, extending chain life … can be taken to the milling site … been happy with it.

Thats a nice saw. 40:1 is absolutely no issue. We run 24:1 in our saws here at work, they get worked hard as well. I use the Husky 254XP, some guys run 359's and 550XP's..

This is my milling setup in the bush, I free hand and eye ball all this stuff lol. But its just for temporary camp setups, doesnt have to be too fancy. I love working with chainsaws, its fun to get creative and try new things.

Nice freehand boards Lever.I know a few guys that are good at that,you would think they were milled boards.One guy works for a fly-in outfitter out of Cochrane and builds and maintains outpost camps.Best I have seen with a chainsaw.

Chainsaw milling is something that has always interested me as well, but when you can borrow a little band saw there's not much motivation in getting one.

Thanks for all the pictures and replies. I figured I'd find a few like-minded folks here on Trapperman. Chainsaw lumber makers are a pretty small group.

I was able to escape responsibilities today and get into the mountains for 6 hours … just the dog, alaskan mill and me.

I have been wanting to try out Malloff's method of setting up the log. I made a similar plank and end boards and I gotta say I like it. It allows me to cut longer lengths. The only thing I think is unnecessary is using lag bolts to hold the guide board up. I tried it but don't see the point as large nails/spikes are much easier ( I think). So here's my efforts for the day.







Cleared this area out … look at all that sawdust. I was able to get 3, 10 foot sections out of the trunk and really made a haul in a relatively short time. It really helps the process when you have the logs ready (which I prepared my last time out). I only have one saw and have to take the mill off for log prep, then put it back on.

I gotta get all my lumber cut and out of the mountains before the snow flies or this project will sit incomplete through the winter. Who knows if I'll make it … but if not, I'll pick up again next spring. Thanks for looking and posting guys !

Awesome. I have an Alaskan Saw Mill. Only used it to cut a couple planks once. Was always short a big enough saw. And like Dale said in his post above. I used a ladder for my first support and got a sag in my cut. Was disappointed. I would love to mill enough to build something with it some day.
What would you say would be the min sized saw and length of bar? Does all that extra length on the saw any advantage other than when you want to cut a very large tree?
Thinking maybe your chain stays sharper longer since only half are cutting at a time it might give you longer cutting time between changing or sharpening. Does it change the rpm much running a really long bar like that?
What do you look for in a tree you are going to make lumber with. Dead standing? Green?

In the Homer area our spruce are infested with aphids. BAD!! Most the spruce around Homer are turning brown to some degree. I have one big tree in my yard that is completely needle-less. Across the bay I would say that 80 to 90% of the spruce are infested under a certain elevation. If we don't get some cold temps this winter the loss will be catastrophic. Worse than the beetle kill % when we had it. The like young trees too. Be another round of spruce to be harvested.

Hey there Family Trapper, I enjoy your posts … thanks for chiming in.

I'm no authority on the subject but I'm learning a few things as I get more experience. I only have experience with the MS660, but I do know Wranglerstar (Youtube) uses either a 440 or 460 (something like that) and he said its a bit underpowered. He says that, but I've seen him milling some pretty BIG timbers and thats about a 77cc saw. I once read someone's post which said they use a 260 (about 50cc). They said it cuts fine, but its just slow. So if you've got nothing but time, a smaller saw might be ok. I can't speak to lifespan of a small saw, designated entirely to milling but seems it would cut its life in half or so ? (just speculation)

I got the 36" bar and run it on the Granberg Mark III. I did this before I knew anything about milling and was just going off of what I'd read. I have yet to need all of that bar as the biggest thing I've milled has been about 28" fir. I guess its nice to know I could mill bigger timber, but just today I was eyeing a dead, standing monster and my back started to hurt just thinking of having to work that big sucker.

Your logic on keeping the chain sharper, longer seems to make sense to me, but I really don't know. On RPM's I do notice (just today, in fact) when I get down to the narrower, last cuts the RPM does run higher as the saw has less work to do. So it might have some effect running around a larger bar, but I can't HEAR the difference, as compared to when milling smaller slabs and I don't have a tach on my saw, so can't say for sure.

When I'm looking for a candidate for milling, I've been really happy with a straight tree (of course) but a green tree is my preference. We too, have a lot of beetle kill and lots of dead standing timber. This seems to make a tree a good choice due to less drying time. But more often than not, I'm finding a big CHECK, spiraling all the way up the trunk from the drying process. Sometimes it runs pretty deep. I've taken a few of those trees down, only to be dissatisfied with how much waste I lose to that check, running through otherwise nice boards. Also, the mill just cuts smoothly and quickly, through a green tree. Also, there is lots less dust in the air, due to the moisture in the wood.

Concerning beetle kill, I've seen thousands of acres of trees (from the highway and the air) from Utah to Idaho and Wyoming and it just angers me, that common folks with legitimate uses for that timber, aren't allowed access to it, due to some idiot environmentalists in Washington DC. The western US is primed and ready for a Forest Fire season, unlike any other on record. Apparently those people are ok with it burning up, but giving us access to it is out of the question ! ….. but I digress !

I'm sure guys on here have better perspective on these subjects, but that's what I'm thinking so far. Hope you dust off the old Alaskan, and get to mill some.

Thanks for the reply.
Hope you share with us the building project you create out of the lumber. Couple three month of drying will create a stable enough board? Looking forward to watching the progress. And nothing like experience to learn new skills!!

A pile of logs awaiting my attention.

Got back to the mountains today, in search of a large log for beams which will become skids for my shed. 6"x12"x15' is what I needed so only a sizable log would do. Found a green one with easy road access which was important because I'm a one man operation and those green beams are HEAVY.





I don't have a mini mill, so I can't mill vertically to take off the sides to make a cant. With the smaller 1x boards, I just take them home, screw a straight edge to them, and use a skill saw to take off the edges, but the cant is too thick for that and too heavy to move. Basically, this means I have to string the log, set nails, run my mill down the slabbing board, roll the log and repeat, three times.



It was tough getting that log to balance on a natural edge, while I nailed some stabilizers to a neighboring log. Rolling the log by myself would of been impossible without a cant hook. Its a lot of work and did I mention, this log is HEAVY?

It was pretty cool watching that cant take shape.



After slabbing off the top piece, I set the mill for 6" depth and began the cut for the first beam.



I made a few passes on the cutoff slabs with the mill set at 2" and was able to get a few usable pieces. After that, loaded up and headed out … I am beat!

Nice job! Lots of hard work there, thanks for posting.

I notice that dog doesn't contribute much !

Ha ha, Ken, man did you hit the nail on the head ! She's more concerned with the chipmunks and squirrels than helping me load those green beams !

I'll bet !!!

I have used a high lift jack and a chain to move logs around. Sometimes I would cut the log a bit long and made a pocket for the nose of the jack to fit into. I would drop the tree on pre-placed skids if I could.
You have to be careful, a high lift jack is an unsteady thing and it has its own hazards. When I was young and poor, a high lift jack and a chain in my truck was my Finlander 4 wheel drive.

Agreed Dale, I too have a high lift but didn't think about cutting a pocket in the ends of a log/beam. High lifts and come-alongs are amazing "mechanical advantage" tools … Thanks for the tip !

I have a trailer that has an axle at the rear. I can back it over a log and work a chain under that far end, Pull down on the "hitch" and it picks the log up off the ground so you can move it anywhere, I've used it on 40+ foot logs. Wish I had pix or could describe it better. Really saves a lot of work.

I wish you had a pic too. Sounds pretty slick.

Milled a little more today. This bad boy was pretty wide and wedged between two trees. After limbing it, I was able to pull it out with the truck. (Nice Fall colors starting to show in the high country)





Once I got it out, it showed me some rot at the trunk which I couldn't see before. Hoping to find where the rot stopped I took off another 2 feet, but it was still showing rot.


I decided to go ahead with the setup and take off the top slab.



So the rot extended up another foot or so and then some more showed on the right side 10 feet up the trunk. By this time, I was too time committed to abandon the log altogether. I thought it such a shame to pass it up … after all that is a BIG log. So I took several more slabs off and I think I can find some usable but shorter boards in there. I left the rest for another day. Just goes to show, you never know what you're gonna get once you get that first slab off.

Yeah, Ken if you turn up a picture, I'd like to see it too. I have a flat bed, double axle trailer but no winch to pull logs onto it.

For this particular project, I wanted to cut all the lumber on my chainsaw mill, just to see if I could make it happen. But in the future, I have a buddy with a woodmizer and he's offered to let me cut some logs on it … I just have to get the logs loaded and to him. So yeah, what you're describing is of interest to me.

When you hit a nail several teeth will be effected, take these out and replace with new,but grind down to the other sizes.
The saw picks up speed as it runs out of gas and vaporizes the last of the fuel, you can blow a piston fast here.
Try to make a extension to your trailer hitch with rollers and it will support those longer planks, 2 by2 tubular and a old washing machine ringer roller makes life easier.
Thanks for sharing

I'll take some pix

Here's my Belsaw. It's powered by a 45hp Isusu diesel. It sits on a massive amout of concrete and steel that was leftover from the Tazinma Dam project and given to me. very handy item to have in the backyard!

Once I get the boards home, I establish a straight edge using a piece of channel aluminum and a circular saw. I screw the channel down using it as a guide, then run the saw along the side it to get a clean, straight edge. Then measure over 5.5" or 2.5" (depending on what lumber sizes I need) and repeat the process.




I don't have all the lumber that I need yet, but I'm running outta storage space and need to start using it to free up some room.






Wanted to take off the corners so the skids under the cabin would slide easily. This cabin will be small enough (10' x14') to take with me when I move and I want to make it as easy as possible to winch onto a flat bed trailer. They're not perfect but pretty darn close; dimensions are 6" x 12" x 14'.




I got really lucky on the ground being level on the length of the skids. I laid a level on top and the bubble said "GOOD" for both of them. But the right side skid is about 3" higher than the left so this is gonna require some digging. This isn't the exact spacing I'm gonna use but this gave me an idea of what I'm up against.


Obviously, these are gonna be in constant contact with the ground so I'm wondering what to do (if anything) about treating them for rot resistance. Don't wanna get into some expensive treatment but considered several coats of diesel or used motor oil? Not too crazy about the smell either of those will cause, but would love to hear suggestions if anybody has any. Thanks for looking Trappers !

I would get some uhmw. And line the bottom. Would help get them off the ground, and help them slide

uhmw would be nice but expensive. heavier gauge metal roof flashing screwed to the bottom is cheap and slides pretty good as well. Or just buy the sealant used for the cut ends of pressure treated lumber decking

That is what came to my mind. Anytime you can cap and seal open grain ends your money ahead.

Osky

Today, I dug down 2-3 inches to level the right skid.




I appreciate the suggestions on skid treatment, guys. Time and money were the main concerns and convinced me to treat the skids with used motor oil. I would have rather put on several coats but I'm up against it and have to get going while I had the time. I rolled on one coat, seemed to soak in well enough but additional coats in the future will be difficult.






My main concern with the used motor oil was the smell but I worked around the skids all day and it really wasn't that bad. Glad I didn't use diesel. Skids in place and squared up. Inside spacing is 6' apart and plan on an 18" overhang on both sides. I'm happy to finally get started on framing.




Floor framing is coming together.




Floor framing done !

Great thread guys ! What are you using for rip chain , is it chisel, semi chisel with shallow angled cutters or something completely different?

I use full chisel skip tooth

A little floor progress today.




Unless I'm counting gas and oil for my chainsaw, the tar paper is the first money I've spent on this project. $22 for 30# felt..

I put down a layer of tar paper over the framing then began nailing the floor boards in place. You would think this would be an easy process, but it didn't work out that way.




Started at 10 am, worked straight through and got done at 5:30. So here are some of the problems I ran into. Many of the boards didn't dry straight. I had them stickered and banded with ratchet straps. Some warping and twisting still occurred. In the future, I think smaller bundles will minimize that. Twisted and warped boards slowed the install process considerably. Some solutions included making relief cuts into the back of the boards so they would lay flat.



Also, the width of the boards varied, so I had to rip boards to width, to match each course. This was due to poor planning on my part. Once the boards were down, I noticed variances in the thickness. Apparently, they either dried differently, or I didn't set my depths correctly on the Alaskan mill. I've noticed clamping the chainsaw bar tightly will cause the bar to bend and therefore change the depth of the cut across each board. So I believe there was some of that going on too and I've gotta remember to check that after making adjustments to the Alaskan Mill. I had as much as 1/4" difference from course to course. This is supposed to be a rustic cabin and mismatches are a part of that; but the thought of walking around inside and tripping on a tall floorboard bugged me too much. So, out came the planer.



I only took off what I needed to keep the boards right around 1" thick. I left most of the chain marks and rough sawn look intact planing only the underside, where I could.

I used, ring-shanked 8d nails. To fix the warping problem, I used bar clamps to tighten the gaps till it got about 4' deep, then switched to ratchet straps when the span was too deep for the clamps.




So, it wasn't a matter of just laying a floorboard down and nailing it in place. Each course offered these problems … glad to be done with this phase but will run into the same problems with the board and batten walls.

Hence, plywood. I admire your will, but frankly, I have used rough-cut before, and unless you are willing to accept primitive, be prepared for issues.

Hang in there Wyo. Love watching.

Your floor will be great once you use it for awhile.
I modified my mill per Maloffs book, and made sure the bar was not bowed when I tightened the clamps to the uprights. I don't get much variation in thickness. Drilling holes in the bar for the mods can be a challenge, its air hardening steel, and if the bit heats up the bar, the bar gets glass hard in that spot. You have to have a heat sink and someone pouring cool water on the hole when you drill.

2X

Nice work. A job well done is never easy!

Is the tar paper replacing the insulation on the bottom floor? I haven't seen that before.

That would certainly make no sense.

I would think the tar paper was installed on the warm side as a vapour barriour.

Lemme address my reasoning on the tar paper: There won't be anything on top of the floor boards … thats the finished floor. I've seen cabin builders put down the first floor layer, THEN the tar paper, and sandwich cardboard between another layer of plywood. Obviously, no plywood is going into this cabin. So any cracks in the floor would expose the inside to air flow, temperatures, humidity, bugs, etc. I haven't done it yet, but plan on scooting underneath with a staple gun, to staple the tar paper to the floor. Sure, there are many other ways to go about it but time and money were concerns and I think the tar paper will accomplish my purpose.

Back at working on the cabin.

Had to make more 2x4's from a stack of rough sawn boards I milled from dead and blown-down fir. I hope the shrinkage from moisture loss will be minimal, as these were not stickered and allowed to air dry but there may be some.




Notches for horizontal run 1x's (Exterior is gonna be board and batten)




Got a little off with the saw on this one.



Usually, building headers with "home depot lumber" requires sandwiching a piece of OSB in-between the 2x10's but it wasn't necessary using this custom cut lumber.



First wall ready to stand

Getting that first wall up really put the wind in my sails. I always get extra motivation at this point.







Back wall used up all my 2x4's. I've had a break from milling so I could get started on the building and clear out some of my lumber storage area but lots more milling is in my future. We're having an indian summer of sorts so the mountains are not yet snowed in. Time to sharpen some chains and head back up.

Nice work there. I can smell that fresh cut sawdust from here!

Today, I thought I'd be headed up to mill more lumber but after surveying my stack, I decided to sacrifice some of my 2x6's and cut them down to 2x4's, to finish the last wall. I also had enough 2" rough cut lumber to make the big 80" header on the front wall. This header will carry the load for the front door and 2 front windows. None of the framed in windows will remain that size, but for now they're roughed in and I'll decide sizes later.



Finally got that wall raised, and the double-top plate nailed down. The walls are done. If I had to guess, I'd say going this route with milling my own lumber equals about 3 times the work as just buying 2x4's and plywood from the lumber yard.

Lots of work yet to do, but I am pleased with the results so far.

Today, I put down the hammer, picked up the chainsaw, loaded the truck and drove to the mountains. Quickly found a candidate for a ridge beam. Only problem, it was 100 yards from the truck and I wasn't sure I could drag it out of the woods after I got it cut to size. My cabin is 14' long. With a 1' overhang on each end, it had to be 16' long. Worst case scenario, leave it and bring a couple friends back to help load. So, here goes ...












Notice the curvature in this log. I plan to use this to a structural advantage and will set the beam with this crown up. It should add some strength to the roof.



Feeding the monster …





So after a lot of milling, here is the ridge beam. Looks small in the photo but is actually 6x10x16.5' long.



It was a struggle but was able to drag it to the truck without recruiting any help.

Along with the beam, I was able to get some 2x lumber from the slabs and cutoff pieces.

Today, I plumbed, lined and braced the walls in preparation for setting the ridge beam and rafters.




I'm happy I've done all the work on the project thus far. All the milling, cutting, trimming and framing was done solo. But dragging that beam out of the woods was fresh on my mind, when I decided to recruit some help in getting it on the walls and then setting it in place. Even then, it was a tough job. (sorry no pictures of that process)




Quite a bit of bracing up there now, but with the exception of the blocking directly under the beam, everything is temporary and coming off once the roof framing is done.



BTW, that little "H" brace was NOT the only bracing holding up that beam. There is a 4x6 block under each end of the beam.




Rafters coming next

It's really coming along, looks great!

In enjoying your build.
I'm putting in a septic tank and drain field myself, not near as fun as building a cabin.

Cut and set the rafters today.





These 2x6's have been stickered, stacked, ratchet strap banded and drying since June. I was really happy with the results. No twisting, or bowing, all of them were really straight. That DID NOT happen with the 1x's used on the floor.









I like the look of a steeper roof, and an 8/12 pitch gives me the option of a small loft area. Nowhere near big enough to stand up in, but plenty of room for storage.

I left the tails long for now. Once I decide final window sizes and sill heights, I'll cut them off.

DYI Septic ! Wow, my hats off to you. Hey thanks for adding to the post. I enjoy your pictures and insight.

Keep as much overhang as you dare, its handy for firewood, tools storage etc. and keeps your walls and foundation dry.

Hello all!

I've been on the project a little while and recently finished the roof framing. It won't look like much but all the little details had to be attended to. Got the rafter tails cut with a 2 foot overhang.



Would have like to go with more overhang but the building is gonna have to be moved (someday) and I'm already over the limit for moving over the highway. Hopefully it'll be a short move, whenever that day comes.

I did bird blocking (that's what we used to call it) with an angle to match the 8/12 roof pitch, a double fascia with the same angle and barge rafter, took plenty of time. Being a one man show, all those trips up and down ladder, made for slow going. Additionally, my lumber didn't cooperate and I had to do lots of sizing, trimming, cutting etc. One of the drawbacks of rough cut materials.




Despite all that, the roof lines are pretty straight and I'm happy with the progress (as slow as it is.)

So, I'm ready for decking the roof with 1x. I don't have it cut yet but have the trees scoped out. Lots of work ahead of me. Thanks for checking in on the progress.

We've had a serious delay of snowfall in the mountains this fall and this is about 9000' in elevation. This area should be inaccessible right now. Its definately been to my benefit, as I didn't think I'd still be cutting this late into the fall. I figured finishing the cabin would have to wait till next spring/summer. So I'm really trying to hustle to get the material down and milled up for my roof and board and batten walls while mother nature is cooperating.

Back to the mountains to mill roof decking today:





Rather than take a 12 volt battery to the milling site, I use my truck's battery to run my grinder for blade touchup.



Got about all I could outta that log … look at all that sawdust.




I can't say enough about this saw. It just goes and goes and goes. So much power. I bought it new 10 years ago and have had zero problems with it.

Thanks for taking us along!

Got half the roof decking up today.












Had my hand under this board, trying to find the end of the rafter, and found my finger with the nail gun. Felt like I had plenty of clearance, but that bottom nail got me. Bled like a stuck pig … So I've given blood and plenty of sweat to this project … haven't cried yet but I'll be sure and get pictures of the tears if I do !

Hello all, I've accomplished just a few tasks on the Alaskan Sawmill Cabin. The big storm that just swept through the country, hit here on Wednesday night. I was able to get tar paper on the roof just before it came in. The north side of the roof is holding snow.







I've decided on the window heights and started on the board and batten walls.

Nice work.

Looks great

Thanks for the replies and encouragement guys. A few more from today …




…. and just like that … I'm outta lumber again. I've got more trees in my sights, problem is there's lots of snow at 10,000 feet since this first storm blew through. I can still get to them if I hurry … its gonna be a race against the next storm … whenever that is. Thanks for looking guys.

Wow awesome work. Really makes me wanna go out and buy one of those mills! Could build a really nice cabin out on the line with it.

How often do you have to touch up your chain when milling like that?

Might be worthwhile getting a carbide tooth chain for milling?

requires some expensive gear to sharpen carbide

Well, if you do, please start a Tman thread on your work with it. I only wish I was doing this in the wilderness … of course a truck is kinda nice to have around when hauling all that lumber !



I either touch up or change chains about every 10 passes and I'm usually milling 10-12' lengths, 15 - 18" wide (sometimes wider)

Looking good!

Wasn't long till the next storm was to hit the high country ... I had the time so I headed up to give it my best shot.



There are several nice logs in that pile of blow-downs. But slow and steady is as fast as I can go. This location is every bit of 10,000' in elevation and the storm was moving in just as I arrived.




I stopped to touch up the chain, and went back to milling but I couldn't get a good cut. The saw and I were working too hard. I couldn't figure out what was wrong but the constant wind and snow wore me down.






With the help of my high-lift jack, I was able to get the two halves in the back of my truck. I'll get them home where I can figure out what's wrong with my chain and get them milled to 1x thickness. There's a good amount of lumber in those two halves but its not enough lumber to finish.

It was sure nice to get in the truck and let that heater work on me. If the snow continues, I won't be able to get to the other logs in the pile, and I will be done till next spring. Would like to get back out there, but the holiday's are taking me out of town to family gatherings. I'm so close to getting the lumber I need to dry things in but think I'm gonna fall short. Who knows what the weather will do in the high country, but it won't take much to shut me down ... we'll see what next week brings. Thanks for looking at the project.

It's not a shed it's a work of art. you'll get a lot of satisfaction when you're done. Nice job

Wow, that's a lot of work, looks good!

Man that is one heavy duty shed you have going on there. Nice. I bought an Alaskan Mill this summer also. After I built my own to try first. That one wasn't working right, so figured it was because I built my homemade mill. Well when I bought the Alaskan mill, and it still wasn't working right, I knew it had to be the chainsaw. Well after fooling around and finally breaking down and buying a new chain I figured what my problem was. My brother had bought me a new chain for Christmas one year, it was the wrong pitch. When I bought my rip chain, I looked at the box that he bought me and bought the same pitch. Fought with the saw and chain for a while too. I finally looked at my bar, saw that it was a 58 gauge bar. They make two for that saw, did not know that, never had that problem before. I started cutting my firewood for the summer so never had time to try the new correct chain yet. Hoping to see a major difference next year so I can build my shed I had planned on building this summer. It has been a nice read following your story along as you build your shed. ThANKS for sharing.

Thanks for looking and thanks for all the comments. Been a fun project, and enjoy sharing the photos and progress here on Tman.

I've gotten only a little further but finally got the front wall boarded up. Still need to hang the windows and start the trim which I think I'll do before boarding the side and back walls. Big storm moving in here tonight !

You are doing very nice carpenter work and its great you are building with blowdowns and dead wood.
You are in a very tiny minority of builders, starting from whole logs to finished product!
I bet you have leaned a bunch ong the way, and have built some muscle too.

I found that a couple days of chainsaw milling makes for a very sore body in need of a sauna or hot tub. Ibuprofen is good sometimes!

very nice! love it

Great thread! Love the build along!

I am just about finished with a 16 x 32 shop building that I have logged and sawn all of the lumber for. I did not work nearly as hard as you are though. I have a log truck that I used to salvage a load of blow down logs with from a summer storm. My mill is a Wood-Mizer LT40HD. Its a good feeling knowing you have done the work all yourself!

Keep up the good work.

Dale, one-eyed trapper and Trapper20, (and anyone I haven't replied to) thanks for the compliments and comments.

So I was finally able to get to milling that log, which I had loaded in the back of the truck. In order to mill that log at home, I had to make some space. I removed all the scraps thus far and set up to mill in front of the cabin. So I finished up the log and went scouting for future candidates (logs). Recent storms have buried the high country limiting most of my log access. But, I DID find several logs near a plowed road and If I can get them loaded, I will have enough to dry-in the cabin. This is great news for me as mentioned several times before, I thought I was done for the year due to deep snow. Fingers crossed that I can make that happen.

I've temporarily stapled up tar-paper over the door and windows to keep out the snow and most of the storms come from that direction. TIme permitting, I will get the windows hung on that wall but building a door is gonna have to wait while I concentrate on getting more logs down.

I'd love to build my own cabin someday. Wife is actually contemplating letting me get a bandsaw mill, so hopefully I can start in a couple years. Then finding the right trees will be the issue.
Very envious of anyone that builds their own

Hello all,

I've made "some" progress on the cabin build. Stopped by a window and paint store and noticed a fenced in area in the back parking lot, holding a lot of used windows. I went in to inquire if they were for sale and the salesman said "take em"! Couldn't believe it! I figured I was gonna have to pay at least $10 a window for used glass but that just blew me away. Money spent on this project is sitting right about $100. Thought I was gonna have to open my wallet at this point, but what a nice surprise. Thanked the guy profusely and I will be sure to take my future business there, for that kind gesture.

So the windows I got were aluminum-clad, double-paned sliders. I really only wanted the glass and didn't want the white painted aluminum showing. So I removed all the aluminum and got down to just the glass with the rubber gasket wrap.


















As mentioned in a previous post … my timber supply is severely limited with deep snow in the high country. What I do have access to, is gonna require some serious winching to get out and onto my trailer. I only have a small ATV winch, and its not nearly big enough. So, I'm really counting on Santa Clause to deliver the goods ….


... maybe it'll happen.

Sorry for the slow progress … might remain that way for the foreseeable future … but thanks for looking.

Great score on the windows. They look good on the front of the building there.

Nice work with the milling and carpentry. My only 2 cents is I'd add some diagonal wind braces to at least 3 of the 4 walls since you're using boards not plywood. I did that with the cabin I built of rough cut lumber this summer. Makes me feel better when the wind starts blowing.

Hello everyone … Hope you had a great Christmas and New Year. I know I did. Thanks for the comments trapper ron and arctichomestead.

This thread moved its way to the 3rd page , meaning I haven't had much to add lately. I spent most of a week building a log arch for my trailer and then beefing up its front end …. cause Santa came through for me !



I also built this mount for the winch, with a receiver hitch which will allow me to move it from the trailer, to front of truck or back of truck as needed.




This will enable me to get those logs out of the deep snow and get them home where they can be milled.









With timber now in my sights, I hope to get back on track and get working on the cabin soon … so please stay tuned.

Nice job on the winch mount!

Good work H.L.

In the future, for anyone wanting the same package, Costco/Sams often stocks an all inclusive Champion 10,000 lb winch for 400.00. Has the carry handle mount, receiver hitch, roller fairlead, doubler sheave, remote 12 volt controls, etc. Frequently out of stock, but when they have them, it's a good deal.

So, at the risk of wading off into the weeds (and taking this thread away from cabin building and sawmilling), I wanted to share a few more of what I've been working on over the holidays. As mentioned above, I've built a log arch to be used in conjunction with my new winch. As the winch pulls the log arch forward, the log arch lifts and loads the logs onto the trailer. You guys have probably seen one of these before.



I use this trailer for everything. Its gate/ramp lays down allowing the loading of snowmobiles, ATV's, vehicles, firewood, etc. I can remove the gate but would rather leave it. I built and installed the log arch just in front of the gate. The log arch lays flat inside the trailer, whereas the gate is secured in the upright position.





Will have to wait for warmer temps to paint the arch and I'll add some pictures of the operation, as soon as I put it to work.

Geez....the last timber arch I saw was made of wood and had wheels. It was sitting off it the woods somewhere south of Trapper's Creek ! Not a lot of folks are familiar with them these days I would bet !

Nice work HL !!

My neighbor has an arch similar to that one that he uses to load moose into his bike trailer.Uses the winch on the bike and a couple rollers\pulleys to work it.
Looking forward to seeing the pics of yours in operation.

Nice work. Is it possible to secure the arch in an upright position while you are loading/yarding your logs? I think it will lift better in a static upright position.

cabin looks great. I really like what you did with the windows. Id agree that white trim wouldnt have looked near as good!!!

Austin O, the point of the log arch is to lift the end of the log, swing forward and lower it onto the trailer. It it were fixed in place you could only winch logs to the end of the trailer, and then what?

Outstanding thread and thanks for sharing.

Nice build buddy. Lots of work. I'm so lazy I got tired just reading the thread. Be proud.

I love it when a plan comes together!

It took a month and a half. All the while waiting on a winch, then building a winch mount, then building a log arch. Then the weather wouldn't cooperate keeping me from my timber supply.

But finally all the stars aligned and it all came together.

You may recognized this log. Several pages back I worked on it, took off a few slabs, then left it be. It had some rot on the bottom. But the sides of the cabin are short enough that I can cut off that decaying part, and still get good solid usable wood. Additionally, this is a big log and there's still a lot of usable lumber in it.



This thing had been pushed out of the way with a snow plow and buried. I had been keeping track of it in the deep snow so when the day finally came, I could find it again. There was no way I could have tied onto this log, and simply pulled it out with the truck. Notice this single line pull ... the winch is a 10,000 lb winch and it bottomed out and WOULD NOT budge.





So I had to use a snatch block, then run the line back to an anchor point in the trailer, essentially doubling the line and doubling the pulling power. Somewhere between 10 and 20,000 pounds of force was too much and the log finally broke loose. While winching, I was sure the truck and trailer would just start sliding on the snow. But with the gate ramp down, it served as a brake digging into the snow and holding things in place, while the winch pulled.

Using the double line pull with a snatch block, also doubles the time it takes to pull the load. But man, what a force that generated. I used all 12' of the winch control to stay clear.



At this point it was time to put the log arch to use. My chain wasn't quite long enough to reach the log here, so I used a strap and it worked fine. This drug the log right up close to the back of the trailer.





Then lowered the arch, and tied the log off shorter.




After a few adjustments, the log was half way on the trailer.




I was happy with the way the whole process worked. There was a bit of a learning curve but not much to it.

Its been a brief pause but I should once again be milling logs for the cabin soon, Thanks for looking everyone !

Sweet, thanks for sharing!

Wow. That cabin is going to be a monument to your desire and work ethic. You must have a little Norwegian blood in you!

Thanks for the comments guys ...sorry its been awhile but I do have a few updates on a little progress.

Finally got down that south wall with the siding. There will be two windows on this wall but only one is showing; that one will be fixed in place like the ones on the front of the cabin. Above that one, I'll put a window that will swing outward. So if that is gonna happen, I have to put wood trim around the double glass panes, then a frame around those and hinge them at the top. Here's what I'm talking about.







I thought they turned out pretty good

Changing gears ....

Today I was milling up that big log which I'd started on last fall. A couple of the neighborhood old timers came over to see what all the noise was about. I gotta say, they were pretty entertained with the chainsaw mill. Comments and questions started flowing: "what's that contraption bolted on your bar ... that thing just goes sideways down the log? .... how do you start the first cut? ... "

I gotta say I really enjoyed the show and tell. Before it was all done, one of them was walking behind me wedging the cut for me. They were both impressed when I lifted that 1x slab up and knocked the sawdust off. " Now that's pretty slick ! " they said. They had seen the cabin going up but didn't know I was milling the lumber myself till they wandered over. You cut ALL the lumber for that cabin with that chainsaw ? It was pretty cool telling 'em all about the process. Old timers seem to have an appreciation for rough cut lumber ... the way it used to be.

So while we were talking, one thing led to another and one of them asked how I was gonna heat the inside. So I dug out this stove out from under my work bench.







When I was 7 or 8, my grandparents used to let me play with candles and a steam engine on the foot of this wood stove. Always under the watchful eye of my grandma. When my Grandad died, I got the stove and I've had it for 15 or 20 years now. Its been collecting dust all this time but will finally find a home again, in the cabin.

One of the old timers said it reminded him of the stoves he'd seen 40 years ago in sheep camps.

Not sure if I wanna sandblast and repaint it, or just wire wheel it to knock the rust off. Think I would like to restore it to the way I remember it in their home. I remember Grandad would open that top loader to put in wood and the whole room would fill with smoke. Fond memories, for sure.

Great job! Too many cool things to try and comment on them all. Love the timber arch/trailer/winch combo. I think I may like the resurrected stove story more, can't decide. The old timers stopping by is great, I'm gonna guess you'll have plenty of "help" from here on out.

Updates on the build !

I have to apologize for this thread being left alone, and forgotten since February. I haven't really left the project alone but worked on it here and there. I made progress but haven't posted photos. Allow me to update a few things:

I wanted to leave the tar paper on over winter and get to the roof in spring or summer but no matter how many button caps and nailers I put down, the windstorms found a way to tear it off here and there. Then the next snowstorm would leave 2 or 3 inches of snow on the roof, and as soon as the sun came out, I would find the leaks. I got tired of patching the tar paper and I had to move the roofing to top priority on my list.

I also had big dreams of splitting my own shakes for the roof ... and that dream died pretty quick when I looked at the amount of time it was gonna take, not just to split them, but install them. So the rustic cabin just got a little modern when I decided to go with 30 year asphalt shingles. An old nearby farmer had a stack of leftovers from a roofing project and I picked them up cheap. It looks fine, just takes away from the finished sawmill cabin I had pictured in my mind. I guess someday I can still split and install shakes later down the road.






After the next snow storm came, and the sun melted the snow off, I ran out to see if my work was waterproof ... and to my delight, it passed the test.

Started getting the batten's put on as well:







You can see the yellowing/weathering which has occurred over the last several months, compared to the new battens which are lighter in color. I'm hoping this will even out with a stain or oil treatment ... also on my list.

Also built and hung a door ...






Still lots of work to do. Not shown is the back and left side walls which are not sided yet. Will have to build and hang two more windows as well.

My driving motivation on the project has been the picture in my mind, of the finished product. For the most part, my progress matches that vision with a few exceptions. Early on in the build, White17 said this project was gonna be a lot of work. That prophecy has been fulfilled ... and then some. But looking at it like a journey and not a destination has helped. I'm still enjoying doing this and its been over a year now.

I will carry on !

Great stuff Aaron ! I wish I had the time and energy to do that sort of thing again !! Thanks much for sharing !!

I started to really like this thread till I saw your bracelet. Now not as much LOL. Nice cabin and admire your hard work. I would have went to the lumber yard long ago...

Nothing wrong with the bracket. Just another testament to how hard work, persistence and perspiration lead to a championship trophy or a trophy cabin. LOL

Dave

Looking good! I still haven't picked up a saw for my mills..

Man, oh man, the Alaskan Sawmill Cabin Project lives on but has moved to a new and final location.

A lot has happened over the last 3 months. Much of it had to do with moving to our new home across town. We bought a home and the reality quickly set in, that I HAD to finish the exterior of the cabin quickly and get it moved over there; we had a deadline to be out of the home we were in.




From the beginning, I knew that cabin was coming with us when we moved. It turned out that moving it was gonna present some problems. I planned to pay a flat bed wrecker (tow truck) to winch it up on the bed and drive it across town, but it was too tall for powerlines across the roads.

I told a friend about my predicament and he concocted an idea to build a trailer (of sorts) underneath the cabin. So we went to work with channel and angle iron and a 3500 lb axle.











The hi-lift jack was invaluable in so many ways during the move. Here we used it to lift the cabin high enough to get blocks under the skids. We could then back a truck under the hitch. I have no idea what the total weight was but it moved easily with a half ton pickup.





The cabin was too big to be moved down the road without a permit, escort cars, blocking traffic etc. So we waited till 2 am and moved it across town without passing even one other car on the roadway.





A little trimming of these spruce trees and she will fit right in place.



Like I said at the beginning, a lot has happened over the last 3 months. I'm working out of state and unable to continue on the interior of the cabin. It will happen next year, I hope, but I won't consider the project complete till Grandad's stove is burning and smoke is billowing out of the stove pipe ... all in due time.

Thanks for following along everyone.

That is a Nice building, and good ingenuity to get it moved.

Thanks Elite-B, I've enjoyed your project as well ! Keep it up!

Thanx Hover, cut more siding today. Squared two sides today on the log so I will save a lot of time. I won't have to snap a line and put a straight edge on it. I couldn't believe how square I got the log today. I tried using a square and marking a line, then using my angle iron screwed to the log. My set up I use has to be leveled I can't use the squared line from my first cut. SO I cut the first cut, turned the log and leveled it, then leveled the next cut.

Awesome move H L!!

Awesome cabin, nicely done move, thanks for sharing!

Awesome cabin, nicely done move, thanks for sharing!

What did you use for stain? I like the natural color of it? People used to use bar oil and kerosene to protect the wood here. What size is it again. Wish I could have made mine bigger, but wasn't getting a building permit and getting taxed more for it. Mine has taken so long, if it was as big as your shed, take me a year. lol.

Thanks for the comments guys. This is what I used cause I had it left over from staining my house several years ago.



Dimensions are 10x14

Ok thank you. I wish I had that look on my log cabin, instead of brown.

I love these type of projects. Pioneering at its best.

Lots of hard work with a beautiful useful end result. Congratulations and thanks for sharing the build.

hello Hover-Lover. Went back looking for the page that showed the Stain you are using and read some more of what you wrote last year. You know I saw just now the stove you said you were going to heat your shed with, and smiled. I am heating my shed with my Grandfather's stove, and it is the same style of yours. I used it quite a bit this Winter. My shed really worked great for skinning Yotes and drying and unthawing them. It wasn't quite as hot as I needed for thawing, but for skinning and fleshing it works great. My grandfather used to use this stove in his cellar just to take the chill off. Thought I would share that with you , seeing you are using a similar stove. He has been gone for around 20 plus years, he would be glad I have it and using it. Had to have it welded first though. Take care.

You've got some really nice figure and curl in some of that wood. Looks like maple or birch. Might consider setting aside a few gunstock-size hunks for blanks. if it's all spruce, then golly, that is some cool wood. Maybe it's the effect of quartersawing it.