Work stopped for a while because the temps were well below zero, with some nights being -40°, but we are back at it again with the warm weather. We did get the posts and beams in before the super cold weather hit, and now we have rim joists, joist hangers, and a bunch of joists. We have to mill more joists tomorrow if the weather isn’t rainy. This is all going up “green”, or at least only half dried. The logs have been sitting for a while before milling. Not sopping wet, but not bone dry either, but still drier than the warped and crooked stuff from the store. The following are actual dimensions The posts are 7x7 The beams are 4x12 The joists are 1.5x10 Overall size is 16x40. All lumber is doug fir. My brother hauls it and brings me some in exchange for work I do for him. It’s pretty wood. We mill what we can and turn the rest into firewood. No waste. The sawdust goes into the chicken coop or compost pile unless someone wants some. Doug fir is hard on blades. We have to swap bands frequently. Most people would say it’s not worth it, but I don’t mind. I have an 18 year old to sit and grind bands for me. Enjoy the pics.
How is the mezzanine coming along? I love this kind of build and it is especially intriguing that you are using self sawn lumber. I would give my eye teeth to have some land and out buildings to work on! Sure like what I see so far!
We are making progress. It’s hard to work when the temp gets cold, so we work in bursts. We have all of the joists in up to where the stars will go. We started putting the blocking in last night. Going back out to put more in today. We are expecting 5-7 inches of heavy wet snow tonight and tomorrow, and the speed control on the bobcat is on the coffee table waiting for orings and a seal that should be stocked in every hardware store and parts house. I ordered enough to do the job twice, just in case.
How did you cut those curves...lol... I know it's the fisheye effect... Looks really good. Nice job. That is some pretty lumber. Why is the Doug Fir so hard on blades?
I am not entirely sure why it is so hard on blades. It’s not what you’d call stringy, but it has very long fibers and it splinters like crazy if you cut it with a chainsaw or a dull saw blade. It feels somewhat abrasive. We have to wear gloves when working with it. We were getting 100-200 bd ft sawn and the new blades were dull. I sharpened them with a full profile cbn and they did better, but not by much. My logs are partly dry and have been sitting a while. I found out we have some yellow pine mixed in as well. That stuff is HEAVY and hard to cut. I suspect some of these logs are from higher altitude because they have dense rings and are VERY hard to cut. My brother brings them to me, since he hauls them all over the country. He brings me the logs they don’t want or any extra or damaged ones. He has to pay for them, but I work on his truck, so it works out. Some are very cracked from drying and only good for firewood.
