LRP | The Long House

I woke way too early for a Sunday and rolled out for the Log Reserve at a crisp hour. I was packing a brand new 2 ton come along, a freshly sharpened sawr and a slightly wacky idea for a jib.

A few weeks ago, a good friend was telling me how they cut the logs for the Stash at Killington. I had assumed that they were cut with a portable sawmill. He surprised me by saying that they were simply cut with a chainsaw and a guide. The idea continued to gnaw at me, that I could probably get a decent cut with my sawr without a guide, if I could get her sharp enough.

Last week while pulling the Ostrich Neck down the hill, I scoped a few logs that had potential for filleting. Not only were they at the base of the one hitter hill, but there was also a rather large fallen tree within striking distance. The photos from the first post had a real Last of the Mohegans feel to them and in my head I saw a A Frame with the apex at the top of the long trees, a sort of Long House.

The Long House as found. The down tree extends into the light, the log to be split is in the foreground, and the alternative down log is on the left.

I wasn't too sure how I was going to move all the pieces, let alone get them lifted and set. With only one person, and a relatively weak and lame person at that, it was going to be interesting. Part of what I like about the Log Reserve Project is the improvisation and problem solving. Before the heavy hauls, there was a log to be sliced.

Filleting the Log

To fillet the log, I cut straight into the center at the midpoint and pushed the chain all the way through. I roll a 20" bar on the Husky, so there was a good 4" sticking out on the far end. I chewed from the center to the end and then flipped positions and repeated. A few times I started to drift up or down but was able to correct.

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I was so stoked when the final cut sliced through and the log slid into two halves, that I yelled out. The only time to date that I have cheered following a sawring. Unfortunately the log was in worse shape than I had hoped. I suspect this jib will be like a sand drawing and will probably disappear after a year.

Stacking Wood

On the first pull of the alternative down log (the one with the gloves resting on it), the winch on the Ranger broke again. Adding insult to injury, I managed to lose the screw I had fabricated to fix the winch earlier that week. Luckily I had the come along and was able to set all the pieces with some creative rigging. Against all odds, all my fingers emerged without getting pinched. Not to worry, karma rewarded me later in the day as a series of eggs broke in my lap as I was exiting my car. I would have taken the pinched digits over cleaning egg off my seats for 2 hours.

Originally, I had envisioned a classic A-Frame using the two halves of the filleted log. It looked like the exit was going to be a bit abrupt so I ended up fabricating a post to raise it up. It is still a bit wobbly and will require some reinforcement.

Here's the entry log as left. You can see the rot at that ground end. I am still contemplating how to best deal with this to ensure the log makes it through the winter. There is still a lot of cleaning up to do on the approach and near the entry point.

The final piece, more work to do to solidify it, but definitely a decent jib for one man, a sawr, come along, and 3.5 hours on a Sunday morning.

I promise there won't be a post for every LRP feature, but I figured this one was interesting enough to warrant one.