Camping and woodcraft - Scoutmastercg.com

CABIN BUILDING 243should be fully eight inchcb thick, or they will betoo spi^ingy. They may be spaced about two feetapart from center to center. Different thicknessescan be allowed for in shaping them to the gains, sothat all may be level.^&^Fig.74.—Fitting joistsNow go ahead with the walls. Lay the logswith butts and small ends alternating, so the wallsmay go up of even height. To raise the logs, asthe work advances,lean two poles against the wallas skids. Near each end of the top log fasten arope, pass the free ends of the ropes under andover the log to be lifted, and up to the corner men,who pull on these while other men push from below.At the height of windows, door and fireplace^make saw cuts almost through the upper log, in eachcase, at proper distance apart, so that afterwardthe crosscut blade can be pushed through and thespaces sawed out.Roof.—For a clapboard roof the stringers orrafters run lengthwise of the cabin instead offrom eaves to ridge (Fig. 75). The gables arebuilt of logs notched for the stringers, spiked together,and cut to the proper pitch.Select straight,slender poles for stringers. The ridge pole shouldbe heavier: say 8 or 10 inches thick.The pitch of the roof will depend upon climaticconditions; rather flat for a dry region, and steeperfor a wet one (not less than one foot rise to two ofwidth tor main building, and one to four for porchand kitchen). If there are heavy snowfalls, a steep