I am going to build a log cabin next year. I need a summerbeam.
I decided that this black walnut would make a good summerbeam:





The ends of the log are marked with the level:





Lines are marked with the chalk box. This beam will be 8 inches wide:






The big Stihl roars:





The summerbeam is finished:







The summerbeam is fastened to the log cart. With this cart, a heavy beam can be rolled along level ground by one man. The big timber is moved under the carport, to season for a year. Will build the log cabin next April:

That's pretty cool. I know nothing of this stuff, what keeps it straight while drying out? Always wondered that

I cut the summerbeam with the technique called "boxing in the heart." This means that the center of the log remains as the center of the beam. When you box in the heart, the beam will not warp much, if at all, while drying.

If, for example, you had a 24 inch diameter log, and you cut it right down the middle, and made two beams from it, these beams would warp.

Your pics make it look easy.

...some of us here know better.

beautiful work, Man.

GTC

Any chance of you pulling that stump up?
There is a valuable market for stump cut black walnut stock blanks. Just food for thought I guess.

Thank you. Learn something new everyday

That stump is still setting right there. I cut that tree down in March and I'm sure the stump is pristine. I know there is some good wood in the stump, but, that is a lot of work to dig up a stump.

If you live near Marshall NC and you want the stump, come on up! I have 4 other big black walnut stumps that you can also get.

I have hundreds of black walnut trees on my property and, they are, more or less a pest. Had to whack 2 of them because they were killing my garden. Cut the other 3 to make timbers. The scraps are in my wood pile. I have a fire place and a wood stove; I burn lots of black walnut. Not as good as oak but pretty good.

This is a English grafted to black walnut stump I dug out, I'm sitting on one of the main roots.
The tree blew over in a wind storm that followed 5 straight days of rain. Tree fell across the railroad tracks so had to get the upper part of that puppy cleared out pronto.

him come get that stump? Pfffftt

With bus fare and a pork chop nailed to it, I doubt he'd even budge a millimeter.

And I thought I could push a Stihl. Very nice work.

Gorgeous piece of walnut. Thanks for the photographs of your process. Looking forward to seeing this thread move along over the next few years.

I agree. I would like to see this thread grow into a start to finish pictorial of the log cabin build.

We need more like this. The political bitching threads are getting old...

Very interesting, I had no idea that you could do that w/ a chainsaw. I agree that we could use more topics like this. I enjoy the vast array of skills demonstrated on this site as well as the variety of life styles and occupations. It is hard to beat a thread containing dogs,axes, trucks and rifles. The hunting and fishing stuff isn't too bad either.

mike r

I made another summerbeam. See, the cabin will be 24 feet long. There will be 2 summerbeams, one will be 16 feet long, the other 8 feet long, and they will be spliced together on top of a big stout post.
The loft will set on top of the summerbeam. This is timber framing, the loft joists will be 8x8s, all will be exposed.

So, this tree is for the 16 foot summerbeam. But, it fell over the wrong way and got snagged on another tree. I had a rope tied to it, and as I was making the cutting notches, I was pulling the rope with the 4WD pickup, and the rope broke. Manila rope.






I came back with a new rope, with a working strength of 2,100 lbs, and 4 snatch blocks. These are beautiful antique American made snatch blocks, I bought 'em off of ebay for 80 bucks apiece.






I rigged the tow strap to the black walnut tree






I rigged the rope to the pulleys, on a second tree:






And up the mountain to a pulley on another tree, and down to the little 4WD Nissan.






I pulled the tree loose from the snag, cut it 18 feet long, and pulled it 120 feet up the steep mountain. The Stihl got a workout on this big beast:





This beast is 18 inches high, 8 inches thick, and 18 feet long. So heavy, my log cart would barely lift it. I believe it is about 500 pounds.

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v644/simonkenton/IMG_0480_zps9890588f.jpg[/img]


I hauled it over to the carport where it is drying, along with the 8 foot summerbeam, and the 8x8 black walnut post.
These beams will lose quite a bit of water weight in the next year, Thank God.

Since y'all are interested, I will post pics of the log cabin construction next year. You will see the summerbeam in place! I will sand it down with my disc grinder and belt sander, and put a coat of satin poly on it, it will be beautiful.

I build cabins in the Appalachian style, the logs are 6 inches thick and left round on the top and bottom, about 14 inches high. I cut dovetail notches at the corners with the chain saw and big chisels and a slick.

This is really neat stuff. Thanks for posting it.

Cool project

Displaying my total ignorance of log cabins -

What is a summerbeam?

MMMmmmm, Bulldogs and a Big Crosby, No ?

Simonkenton7,
I forgot to give you a hat tip for your Skill with a chainsaw, I am in awe!
Amazing work Sir!

When building my log horse barn I used a chainsaw and a rip chain to slab top and bottom of the logs. You can see I cheated though by using a saw guide.



Hope to see pictures of the log cabin process.

Wayne

I'm in the same boat. That was my question, too.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summer_beam

It's a main support beam in a building. It works like a bearing wall but without the wall under it. It can hold up the roof or maybe a 2d floor without center supports.

I read a book that talked about the different European immigrants that settled the Texas frontier and how the author could determine the nationality that settled different areas by the construction of their cabins in general and the corners in particular. IIRC the Scandanavians used the dove tail corners.
I learned that the dove tail's drain water instead of holding it like a notch so the corners don't rot.
Being a carpenter and interested in that kind of stuff it stuck with over the years to where the first thing I look at are the corners whenever I see an old cabin.

Great thread. Thanks

Excellent thread! Thanks for the pictures.

Let me guess, got a few new colts running around there you want to stump break?

The first snatch block I bought on ebay was made by Western, Lockport NY. It was such a well-made tool. I just had to pull the main axle, a 1/2 inch bolt, and grease it up, and it worked great.
I liked the way the letters WESTERN BLOCK CO LOCKPORT NY were formed into the sides of the pulley housing.

That got good to me so I bought 3 more Western snatch blocks.

Western is long gone from Lockport, I bet these beautiful old tools are 100 years old.

Beautiful wood.

Impressive work.

Gonna seal the ends to keep cracking/splitting to a minimum?

Can't imagine in my wildest dreams you leaving all those stumps just sitting in the ground...dang!

Speaking of beams, I cut and use walnut in my woodworking projects as well. Got a 12' x 10" x 6" slab from a farmer who had stored it in his chicken house for around 30 years. He said I could have it if I'd take it away. It had accumulated a nice thick layer of chicken crap on it over the years from the chickens roosting on it. The urea was absorbed into the wood naturally. Potential mantle piece???

Upon cleaning it off and planing it...holy mother of God...you should see the colors in that wood from the urea, etc! Unreal.

Good luck with your project....can't wait to see the finished product!

I did seal the ends of the 8x8 kingpost, and the 8 foot summerbeam, with wax, to minimize splitting.
That main summerbeam was so heavy that I decided I would put up with some cracks, in order to get as much water weight out as possible, so I didn't seal it. As of 2 weeks ago it was hardly splitting at all. Anyway, the cabin is supposed to be "rustic looking" so I don't mind a few cracks.

The main favor I did myself was I got a winter cut on these trees. I cut them in March when the sap was down.

How do you keep the cuts parallel on the vertical with a chain saw? Just go slow and eye-ball it?

Awesome thread!

I'm looking forward to more.

Thanks!

Well, I start off with vertical marks on the end of the log, made with the use of the level.
This gives me a starting point. Of course, the top cut line is marked with the chalk line.
After that I just eyeball it. If there is a little wobble it is macht nichts, this beam is way over-sized, anyway, it is supposed to be rustic looking.

I have a lot of experience with a chain saw, I would say that there is no more than 1/4 inch of wobble the length of the beam.
I did send off to Wisconsin for a ripping chain for my Stihl, works better than a conventional chain for this work.

Thanks! Really looking forward to seeing more as the project moves along.

I cheat like roundoak. The Haddon guide rocks....

I have a feeling this is going to turn into one of the most epic threads ever

Do you do a full scribe on the lateral grove?

Up in northern BC in hunting camp, I watched a guide turn logs into a bunk bed with a chain saw. After watching one, I grabbed the other saw and built one as he dd another. Watching him was a real education in what a chain saw can do and it's paid off many times.

Go slow and use a really sharp chain.

I too am interested in the progress here. Our logs weren't nearly that big or that long.

This beast is 18 inches high, 8 inches thick, and 18 feet long. So heavy, my log cart would barely lift it. I believe it is about 500 pounds.

http://www.wood-database.com/lumber-identification/hardwoods/black-walnut/


using the number of 38 lb/cubic foot for dried black walnut ,would result in a weight of 818 lbs.
your green log most likely exceeds that by a fair margin