Building a children’s life size “log” construction set from old fence boards

Windows and Doors

Early this week, my Delta 15 inch 240 volt planer started to trip it’s 20 amp circuit breaker. I am not sure what the problem is and, thanks to Rick Thom, I can put off solving it until later. Rick knew that I wanted to get sufficient parts made this week so that some interesting structures can be built. I am leaving Toronto in a couple of days to go to our camp in Northern Ontario and I want to take the log kit with me. Tuesday morning about 8:30 Rick arrived unannounced with his DeWalt 13 inch portable planer. I made good use of it during the rest of the week:



I made a lot more of the same parts shown earlier. In addition, Isla and I designed windows and doors. I made two windows and one door frame. Both the window and door frames are the same width and are used in the middle of a wall with the short wall pieces stacked on each side and embedded in the envelope formed by the frame. Below are a couple of pictures showing a window under construction.

First acrylic is installed in slots cut into the frame:



Then, molding is glued and screwed on all four edges of both side of the frame, forming and envelope that will surround a portion of the adjacent logs:



The space between the molding is slightly (about 5mm) wider than the logs so that the window can easily be put in place and subsequently removed by children.

The following series of three pictures shows a (very low) wall with a window being built:
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Observe the log above the widow. It does not appear very well in this photo but the log has been decorated by one of my grandchildren –Ethan. I plan to have each of my grandchildren decorate one or two logs. The decorated log has also had one coat of Spar Urethane applied over the drawing. All the logs will eventually have Spar Urethane applied.

A similar approach was used to build a door frame:



The door frame has a built-in sill that fits over the half log below and rests on the ground. We have yet to design a door. It must be something that a child can easily install into the frame and remove from the frame.

Frank, you're having far too much fun.

But... you're taking this up to Pellow's Camp!?!?!? But, Frank, you drive a car! Where are you going to fit all this stuff in? Doesn't Margaret want to take a few things like, oh I dunno, clothes and food, with you?

Well, I'm sure that Isla and Ethan will have fun when they come up there to visit you, building their own cottage at the cottage...

Art Mulder said:

Frank, you're having far too much fun....

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Well, I certainly am having fun. It's a reward to me after the months of garden construction work.

Art Mulder said:

But... you're taking this up to Pellow's Camp!?!?!? But, Frank, you drive a car! Where are you going to fit all this stuff in? Doesn't Margaret want to take a few things like, oh I dunno, clothes and food, with you?

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I will be towing a utility trailer and it's pretty well up to me what goes in the trailer. Margaret gets to fill the car, I get to fill the trailer.

Art Mulder said:

Well, I'm sure that Isla and Ethan will have fun when they come up there to visit you, building their own cottage at the cottage...

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Yep! Also, some other children usually visit.

Frank! Don't forget to take your GrandDaughter!


DT

You are always full of supprises Frank. That is a great idea and I know that when your grandkids get older, if they do not know already, that they will realize that they have one great Granddad.

I realize that Toronto is on the outskirts of civilization and as you go north that you will not have any electicity or internet so have a great trip and I look forward to your reports when you return. I wonder if a satellite phone will work up there. In any case, be careful.

Allen

The log set is looking great, Frank. Have a good trip to the camp, and we'll expect pictures and a trip report when you get back to civilization.

Hey Frank!

Do you realise that your are building a heirloom construction set?

Your granddaugther and your future gran-grand daugthers/sons will be very happy and remember what a great grandfather they have.

So your are having great fun building it and you'll have more watching them play with it and even play with them as well.

Keep up with the good work, enjoy your holydays and keep on posting

Allen Bookout said:

You are always full of supprises Frank. That is a great idea and I know that when your grandkids get older, if they do not know already, that they will realize that they have one great Granddad.

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Thanks Allen!

Allen Bookout said:

I realize that Toronto is on the outskirts of civilization and as you go north that you will not have any electicity or internet so have a great trip and I look forward to your reports when you return. I wonder if a satellite phone will work up there. In any case, be careful.

Allen

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My view of civilization quite different and I look on the lack of a phone that can interrupt conversations as being really civilized. Margaret does have a cell phone that sort of works on the island, but it is just for emergencies and we never turn it on for incomming calls.

Frank Pellow said:

...
I will be towing a utility trailer and it's pretty well up to me what goes in the trailer. Margaret gets to fill the car, I get to fill the trailer.
...

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I just packed all the parts made so far into the trailer:



and they leave a lot of room for my tools and other stuff. There are sufficient parts to construct a small building with two windows, a door and a roof. Sometime in the future, I will make at least as many parts again and then we will be able to make some really interesting structures.

Frank Pellow said:

Thanks Allen!


My view of civilization quite different and I look on the lack of a phone that can interrupt conversations as being really civilized.

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You got me there Frank. I have to agree. Many years ago I spend a short time on an island in the South Pacific with the only communication device being a two way radio that operated a few hours a day. What a great peaceful experience that was. I expect that you find the same where you have your retreat. Have a great trip!

Allen

Frank Pellow said:

I just packed all the parts made so far into the trailer:

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Safe travels, Frank. Hope you have a good time.
Our own family vacation is less than 2 weeks off as well.

...art

Too few parts

I am back in Toronto from Pellow's Camp briefly in order to weed the garden and pay some bills but will be returning there at the end of the week. Now that I have internet access again, I will update this story.

I thought that I had manufatured sufficient peices back in Toronto to build something interesting but, when I assembled the part in the play-yard at camp, I found that I had not done so.



I wanted to have a fuller set for my grandchildren Isla and Ethan when they arrived in August so decided maybe I would build some after I completed last years dock project.

I can tell you that the adult visitors we had at camp for the first week or so were really enthusiastic about the project. Lorna, my sister-in-law, seriously thought that I should market it and was persistent in this assertion. I told Lorna (and others) that at the rate I build things I would quickly go broke and that she or anyone else was quite at liberty to copy my ideas. Also, I used free scrap wood and paying for the wood would, I believe, put the price out of most folks reach.

In the meantime, I made use of one of the windows for about four days. I had forgotten my keys so had to beaak a kitchen window to get into the main cabin.



The place in Hearst where I could get new glass was closed for three days, so I (mostly) pluged the gap with one of the windows from the log play set.



(more to come after I get a bit of work done here)

Gee Frank, that sucks that you had to bust you own window.

My uncle has cabins in the mountains, he always hid a key out there, I'm talking a fair ways away from the cabin, under a fairly big rock, that way if he forgot his keys, he had a key.

Good temp fix it up just the same.

Cheers!

Stuart Ablett said:

Gee Frank, that sucks that you had to bust you own window.

My uncle has cabins in the mountains, he always hid a key out there, I'm talking a fair ways away from the cabin, under a fairly big rock, that way if he forgot his keys, he had a key.

Good temp fix it up just the same.

Cheers!

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I have a hidden keys too Stu, but it would appear that when I left the place last October, I forgot to hide the hidden keys.

Hi Frank,

I enjoy following your adventures. Too bad about the window, but such are the elements of family stories to come...

Adding some parts

I decided to make 9 logs for the log construction kit out of three 16 foot 2x6s from the reserve lumber pile:



This is the large reserve store of pressure treated spruce wood that I keep on hand for projects that come up from time to time because I want to minimize the trips to town for supplies. Every few years, I get in a large stock of wood on spec. The wood is o good quality and seems to last well in spite of the ad-hoc way in which I store it. The wood that I picked is nice and straight with some small tight knots. It is quite a bit heavier than the cedar but I think that most children should still be able to manage the logs –particularly if they are placed near the bottom of structures and I will encourage that practice. Here are some photos showing some steps taken to prepare the logs:

01) Planing to desired thickness:

02) Trimming to desired width:

03) Cutting to desired length:

04) Cutting notches with jig saw:

05) Rounding the edges:

06) Sanding:

The notches had to be sanded by hand.

07) Painting:

The paint that I used is so old that it was still sold in 4 litre cans (from the good old days when we succumbed to soft conversion of US gallons for our paint). It has survived freezing and thawing for at least 15 winters but it still works well. I love Tremclad paint!

I also painted the door frame and a few of the cedar pieces green in order to be able to build a house with a green foundation and trim. I tried the logs out and I think that the green foundation looks very good!



That worked so well that I decided to make a number of different pieces from wood that I salvaged from our old dock. That wood, too, was pressure treated spruce. There was enough scrap to make 15 of the pieces shown in the picture below as well as a few miscellaneous smaller pieces.



These, too, were painted green.

That's a great looking project frank! I'll bet the kids love it almost as much as the adults (we're all kids at heart eh?)

Just curious ... is your power at the island by generator or are you on the grid?

cheers eh?

Thanks John.

The power is by generator and we only use it for power tools. We have a propane stove and fridge and a gravity feed water system. I am thinking of installing some solar/wind power next year.

Hey Frank, welcome back (albeit just for a few days). Looking forward to more
pics and news from the camp.

Frank

Can I come and stay at Camp Pellow and will you be my grandad?

They look fantastic - its nice to near from you again. I was wondering only the other day how summer at Camp Pellow was going. I (and I suspect several others) am very very jealous.