Building withe Logs

Miscellaneous Publication No. 579
U. S. Department of Agriculture
Forest Service
The art of log construction is relatively simple, once a few
basic principles are understood. The pioneers who opened
the lands beyond the eastern seaboard did not have boards
with which to build such shelter as they needed. Logs were
so plentiful in the forested area of our country that, with
their resourceful ingenuity, the settlers built their homes
in conformity with those principles of log construction which
prevailed in the countries from which they migrated. Those
principles have remained the same down through the years. The pioneer had but an ax for a tool and consequently
made only those articles which could be hewed out of wood.
Today there are many tools available, and to do a first class job of log construction one must know how to handle the
double-bitted or single-bitted ax, the broadax, saw, adz,
chisel, slick, ship auger, and drawknife. In this bulletin
it is assumed that the reader is familiar with the ordinary
frame building methods used where wood is the principal
construction material.