Homestead mailing list

[Gene GeRue <genegerue AT ruralize.com>]

On Oct 3, 2007, at 2:06 PM, Clansgian AT wmconnect.com wrote:

> Eh ... I'm always the anachronism, but I've got six 10'-12' cedar  
> (Virginia
> juniper) logs about 16" in diameter that I am going to square down  
> on two sides
> with the adze for asthetic as well as structural beams for the  
> lower side of
> the house.  True that there are only six of them and they aren't  
> very large,
> but when faced with the expense of loading them and having them  
> squared at the
> sawmill, I decided I'd rather spend the money on a new adze head from
> WoodCrafters.

Good for you, James. Eastern Red Cedar, Juniperus virginiana, is one  
of the prettier woods to look at, from my view. It is pretty in its  
grain--the "bathroom" here at Heartwood is entirely paneled in it-- 
and I like it's natural form. If logs are peeled very carefully, the  
smooth form is sublime. Alas, large ones are scarce here, maybe so  
because my Ozark County has a cedar mill that makes the tongue-and- 
groove small boards used for closet lining sold widely (which is what  
our bathroom is finished with, including the shower surround over the  
tub, which wood has now lasted over twenty years).

I lust for big ones. Thick walls require wide door jams and window  
framing. Hard to get the wide stuff here. I keep my eye on the big  
ones I have. Each has a future.