Sometimes it is feasible to take advantage of a portable mill to face the logs on three sides rather than to hew them by hand. The level beds seat the logs so well that calking is minimized, the smooth interior surfaces permit of easy finishing, particularly where wood wainscoting or plaster is used, while the round-log exterior effect is undisturbed, except where the logs project at the corners. [Figure 28] illustrates a structure built in this way.
The facing or hewing of round timbers to obtain one or two sides surfaced flat for framing purposes, as shown in [figure 29], requires considerable skill in the use of the ax and broadax. There are, however, a number of mechanical aids ([fig. 30]) which should be used by anyone undertaking log construction in order to simplify the work as much as possible. The carpenter’s spirit level, the steel square, and chalk line and chalk are necessary for laying off the lines to be followed in hewing timbers. In framing logs they should be laid up on skids, or sawhorses, dogged fast in place with iron dogs, and the dimensions laid off on each end of the log with the level and square to insure that the lines are parallel to each other. Then, with the chalk line, carefully snap lines on the side of the log connecting corresponding points at each end. For squaring the ends of a log and cutting pole rafters, use the miter box to guide the saw. To measure lengths accurately the steel tape, or a board pattern cut to the exact length, may be used.
The living-room fireplace, invariably the most prominent interior feature, harmonizes best with a log interior if built of stone and provided with a crude log shelf. The fireplace itself may be either the traditional masonry type or the more modern metal-lined one equipped with a heatilator.
The masonry of the fireplace and its chimney should always start on solid earth, below the frost line, like the foundations of the building itself. Masonry does not settle, unlike the surrounding log construction. Consequently, it is recommended that a self-supporting log framing be built around and entirely free of the masonry of the fireplace and chimney, as illustrated in [figure 31]. The opening should be framed in the same way as window and door openings. The fireplace and chimney masonry should not be erected until the opening has been framed for it. Upon completion, the intersection between the stone and wood should be thoroughly calked to make an airtight, weatherproof job. This method allows the wall logs to settle, because of the unavoidable shrinkage, without structural failure.