Public television and Alaskan cabin build

K

Kevin the grey

Joined
Aug 26, 2005
Messages
4,106
Has anyone caught the P;B:S: special on a gentleman building a cabin from scratch with all hand tools ? He used chisels a wicked hANDSAW and various axes , hatchets and what must have been a fair amount of know how . Of course there is a great deal of a skilled man making it look easy . There was also a fair amount of just general knowledge of his craft . He was good but not so good that it didn,t look like your average man could do this if he applied himself . He lived in this cabin for thirty odd years until the age of eighty two when he decided Another Alaskan winter would be just too tough .What say you guys ? Was he just making it look easy ?
 
The program made it look awful easy. Time consuming, I'm sure, but the narrative appeared to give specific times for stages on some things. A lot of know how by the man, sure made it look easy.

I've watched it about 3 times. I am particularly fascinated on how he made the door hinges. I thought that was neat.
 
Astrodada said:
Wouldn't it be just a little........too lonely ??
Click to expand...

Astro, there's a lot of difference in being alone and being lonely. My Barbie and I are together pretty much 24/7, 365 days a year but we both need our space like everyone else.
Barbie will sometimes head over to the Cherokee Casino to gamble for a little while so I get my alone time then.;)
A lot of people would think we were angry at one another much of the time as we can and often do go for several hours without talking to one another.:D
 
Yes Yvsa, I know exactly what you mean. Me and my wife cannot be together all the time and when we are we try to make the most out of it. Better that way so that we each have our own space.

But the guy Mr.Proenneke here seems to have lived there in the lil cabin for a long time............all alone..........
 
There are several other topics about this on here (search for "alone in the wilderness").

My dad is getting a copy of the book and the DVD for Christmas this year. ;)
 
That was a great special. I'm sure it wasn't THAT easy but looked like he had good sharp tools. What impressed me was he was in his 50's when he started that. Think about that.

I thought the same as y'all, about the lonelyness. I enjoy being at home alone but if I am there for 3 or 4 days I end up calling someone. Of course the net is kind of like that too. On the other hand anybody I have ever known that homesteaded was almost always too busy to be lonely. There's always something to do.
 
cliff355 said:
They built their cabin in about 14 days, but used upright log construction. According to him, this means you never have to handle a big log more that 8' long, and two guys (or even one guy) can handle the job with no problem.

In addition, rain runs right off an "upright log" cabin and the logs never rot out. Also, as upright logs shrink they do not cause nearly the structural problems that occur with parallel logs. As a result, you can build with green timber just fine and don't have to let the logs dry for a year like Proenneke had to.

.
Click to expand...

I have an upright log cabin on my place. I didn't build it. My only complaint is the chinking isn't as easy to keep in as on a horizontal.
My friends with horizontal log cabins either had block and tackle, horses, or lots of hippies to put the logs in place.

I helped with my friend Helens. It's pretty amazing when about 10 people just reach down and flip up a 20' 12" diameter log and lay it up on there. Strength in numbers.:thumbup:
 
Cliff,

My wife and I both caught that statement in the movie too, and wondered if he had had some sort of a bad marriage or something that precipitated his move:thumbup:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top