Milling Trip 2: Day 10
I nearly died today, or at least mangled a limb, but I didn’t get a single scratch, which is pretty neat! So you recall that gravy train tree I was talking about in our last post? Well the bottom of Read more…
Milling Trip 2: Day 8
Today we got to mill the gravy train tree! A massive behemoth, too wide for us to cut normally, so we had to get creative. So this tree is way too big to just cut up into logs, plus it’s Read more…
Milling Trip 2: Day 6
Today was fun! I had no idea it would be fun, but the fun came anyway! Normally, the people like to rest on Sunday, fine by me. But today when I woke up I was surprised to see the place Read more…
Milling trip 2, day 4
We’ve managed to cut around 50 joists so far and have been turning the bits not deep enough to be a joist into wood for our staircases. We’ve settled into our rythem, we’re making progress and then morning rain.
Milling Trip 2: Day 1
Well, we’re off again into the wild blue yonder and looking forward to what this next trip has for us. Today has been a little quiet as the rain rolled in early in the afternoon and we’ve retreated to our Read more…
Milling trip 1
Two weeks of full time chainsaw work!
Looking back on the first milling trip
I was dreading the milling trips. I’ve got a set of skills and strengths, but house building and chainsaw skills aren’t anywhere near them! Every time I saw a video of a missionary team building a house I inwardly despaired of how hard it was going to be.
Milling Trip 1: Day 11
The pile of wood we have is modest, but it includes the most difficult pieces of wood to cut. The ridge beams, for example, are each over 10 meters (32 feet) long and it took nearly a full day just to prepare the log for those cuts. But, once things were ready, they came one after the next (though the cut was so long we would have to refuel midway).
Milling Trip 1: Day 6
Milling posts. That has been the focus for the past few days and today just might be our last day of it! The prospect of being finished with house posts is especially pleasing since the sort of tree the posts are made out of are a little bit nasty! What makes them annoying is the needle-like fibers in the bark of the tree which get stuck in our clothes and just cause constant itching. But, apparently they last so long they are passed from parent to child, so that’s neat.
Milling Trip 1: Day 4
We’re only a few days into this first milling trip and already a problem is beginning to emerge: They feed us. Way. Too. Much!