Restoring the exterior of a cedar cabin using three Festool Sanders

Frank Pellow

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2,332
Location
Toronto, Ontario, CANADA
I am part way through a four summer project to sand and then re-stain the exterior of my cedar “log” cabin at Pellow’s Island near Hearst in Northern Ontario. When I started the project in 2005, I described the project in a thread on Saw Mill Creek. Then, in 2006, I reported progress in that thread. I am no longer a member of Saw Mill Creek, so I thought I would start a new thread here, describe the project, and report what was done in 2005, 2006, and 2007.

Background:

Pellow’s Camp (also known as Pellow’s Island) has been in our family since the 1920s. The main building at Pellow’s Camp is a Pan Abode western red cedar “log cabin” that I built in 1976. It is partly constructed on the rock foundation of the original log cabin that my dad and his friends built in the early 1930s. That cabin burned down in 1961.

I used Solignum Woodland Natural stain on the walls and that looked quite good for about 5 years on the walls exposed to lots of sun and about 10 on the walls with little exposure to sun. So, periodically I have sanded down, then re-stained different sides of the cabin.

In the past I used a combination of a Makita belt sander and a Makita palm sander. They were much harder to use than my Festool sanders, the sanding job took about twice as long, and the results were not nearly as good.

This time around, I used Solignum semi-gloss Woodland Natural stain. Previously I used their gloss version but this time I used their semi-gloss version. The first reason for doing this is that I think that the cabin looks more natural with the reduced gloss. The second is that I hope the semi gloss stain will last longer. No one has told me that it will last longer, but I have a feeling that it will.

I will split this into posts for each of the three years that I have (so far) worked on the project.
 
2005

2005:

This year it was the north wall’s turn. I last stained this wall 16 years ago so the turn was long overdue as you can see from these photos:

Sanding the north wall of the cabin -1 -small.JPG Sanding the north wall of the cabin -3 -small.JPG

I used all three of my Festool sanders to do the job:

• First, the Rotex RO 150 E random orbital sander in aggressive mode to remove the majority of old stain and decayed wood (with Saphire P50 paper). I also used this sander with Saphire P24 paper on the log ends.

Frank using Festool Rotex RO 150 E to remove the majority of old stain -small.JPG

• Next the Deltex DX 93 E extended triangular pad sander (with Saphire P60 paper) to remove gunk from corners and groves. Note that, when the extended pad is used, it is not possible to connect the sander to the vacuum but I was willing to the sacrifice the benefits of the vacuum for the extra reach provided by the extended pad.

Frank using Festool Deltex DX 93 E to remove gumk from corners and groves -small.JPG

• Finally the Duplex LS 130 EQ linear sander (with Rubin P80 paper) to smooth wood before re-staining.

Frank using Festool Duplex LS 130 EQ linear sander to smooth wood before re-staining -small.JPG

Although my Festool sanders make the whole job faster, easier, and better, it still takes quite a bit of time (19 hours to be precise).

Here are photos of the two segments of the north wall after the sanding was completed:

Newly sanded north wall -3 -small.JPG Newly sanded north wall -4 -small.JPG

And here are photos of the finished north wall:

Newly stained north wall -2 -small.JPG Newly stained north wall -3 -small.JPG

The finish on the very top logs had not deteriorated, so I left it. Those logs (see the top at the far right of the first photo) are glossier and do not look as good as the others.
 
2006

2006:

This year, I sanded the west wall (last sanded and stained in 1998). Again it took 19 hours to do the sanding. Here, the sanding task is underway:

Frank sanding the west wall of the cabin -small.JPG

Here, the sanding job is finished:

The west wall of the cabin has been sanded -small.JPG

Here, the staining job is finished:

The cabin after staining the west wall -1 -small.JPG The cabin after staining the west wall -3 -small.JPG
 
2007

2007:

It was the turn of the east wall this year. It was last sanded and stained in 1997.

This time I did not have my Festool vacuum with me. That makes the sanders less efficient, results in the use of more sandpaper, and makes a big mess with dust all over the place. :(

Just starting to sand: Sanding then re-staining east side of cabin -1 -small.JPG

All sanded, starting to satin: Sanding then re-staining east side of cabin -4 -small.JPG

Finished: Sanding then re-staining east side of cabin -6 - very small.JPG

This wall has the smallest amount of material but some of it is difficult to get at, so sanding took almost as long as the other walls -17 hours instead of the 19 that I spent sanding the other two. And the reduction in sanding time was more than made up for by the time it took me to clean up all the dust on the porch and on the walls.

:)The walls that I stained in 2005 and 2006 still look great and I am optimistic that I will never have to sand the place down to bare wood again. :)
 
It is absolutely beautiful up there Frank. Fresh fish every night? What kink of fish do you have up there? How about electricity? How do you heat it? How far is it to the nearest place to get supplies. Can anyone survive up there during the winter? I know that these are not woodworking questions but these are the questions that pop into my mind as I look at your photos.
 
This time I did not have my Festool vacuum with me. That makes the sanders less efficient, results in the use of more sandpaper, and makes a big mess with dust all over the place. :(

Wow, I bet you regret that. Still, the job is lovely.

We've taken our kids camping, and we've taken them to a cottage. But never to a place so remote. I should try that sometime.

A Festool sander+vac just keeps climbing up my "I want" list... :doh:
 
Quite an accomplishment. Beautiful job, cabin and location. Well done. I've been meaning to sand an re-finish my front door for 2 years. How sad.
 
Frank, that is awesome!! I have an old Hoosier cabinet that needs refinished and I didn't think I have had the time then you go and show how you sand your whole dang cabin!!! Be proud, it looks amazing!
 
Another "I hurt my back by"...falling with the ladder.

but Frank has already noted his very dangerous use of the wood for leg support. :eek:

View attachment 12516

The front does look really great, Frank... Hard work on your part, with help from the Festools, has really paid off.:thumb:
 
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Very nice job, Frank. :thumb: I'd love to have a remote place like that to call my own. Unfortunately, LOML is not the adventurous type, and something that remote would likely be to much of an adventure for her. :rolleyes:

Of course when she wins the lottery, she can buy me one, just to get me out of the house. :D
 
Pellow’s Camp Overview (post 1 of 2)

It is absolutely beautiful up there Frank. Fresh fish every night? What kink of fish do you have up there? How about electricity? How do you heat it? How far is it to the nearest place to get supplies. Can anyone survive up there during the winter? I know that these are not woodworking questions but these are the questions that pop into my mind as I look at your photos.

OK Allen, here some info about the place to answer your questions as well as some questions that you did not ask. Because of the picture limit, I have divided the answer into two posts.

Location: Pellow’s Camp is on Pellow’s Island which is located on Lake Pivabiska about a 20 minute drive north of Hearst Ontario (population about 7,000). Hearst is a full day’s drive north-west of Toronto (about 1,000 kilometres). Pellow’s Island is marked as such on the official topographic maps issue by the province of Ontario. There is a marina on the lake where we have a parking spot and boat slip. The island is about a 10 minute trip from the marina with my 16 foot aluminum boat equipped with a 25 hp outboard motor. Lake Pivabiska empties into the P{ivabiska River which following a chain of additional rivers dumps into James bay and the Arctic Ocean.

That’s the marina in the background of this picture and the boat with me and my grandson Ethan in the foreground:

Frank and Ethan in boat taking everyone to Pellow's Island - really small.JPG

Size: The island is about 1 hectare (about 2 acres). Lake Pivabiska is one of a chain of five navigable lakes stretching for about 40 kilometres with many bays and islands. Most of the land on the lakes is public –with about 100 private lots on all five lakes.

Buildings: (1) Main Cabin. This has two small bedrooms, a very small kitchen, a living/dining room, and a screened-in porch.

(2) The Shed. This is a combination store room, work shop, and bunk house.

The Shed -2.JPG

It was designed to provide lots of light but with lots of wall space at the same time.

(3) The Saunamökki. This building houses both a bedroom and a sauna (wood burning, of course).

Sauna building taken from north east - really small.JPG Saunamokki sign now mounted -close up -small.JPG

(4) The home of Billy Bass. This is a latrine with a bank of storage cabinets on the side and book shelves within.

077 The outhouse at Pellow's Camp.JPG Billy Bass on the outhouse wall.JPG

(5) A second latrine under construction:

New latrine 06 -Frank crouches in completed hole - really small.JPG

I designed and built all the buildings.
 
Pellow’s Camp Overview (post 2 of 2)

Fish and Animals: We like fish but not enough to eat it every night –more like twice a week. I don’t fish often (maybe three or four times a summer) but other visiting family members and friends often fish a lot.

Ethan fishing -small.JPG

Most of the fishing they do is catch and release.

The main fish in the lake are pike: Ethan holds a pike -small.JPG

And pickerel: Lorna with Pickerel -2 -small.JPG

There are lots of birds and animals in the region –loons, whiskey jacks, hawks, ducks, grouse, heron, kingfishers, eagles, moose, bear, beavers, wolves, etc. We often see many of these but none of us are hunters (we don’t even own any guns).

Electricity and Other Power: We don’t use electricity except for power tools. Those are powered with a 3500 watt Honda gasoline generator. We recently bought a large propane powered fridge and we have a three burner propane stove. Also, a lot of our cooking is done over a campfire:

Frank cooking chicken on outdoor wood fire -1 -small.JPG

Lighting (when we use it) is provided by coal oil lamps, naphtha lanterns, and candles. Mostly we go to bed when it gates dark (about 10 pm in July) and get up when it gets light (about 6 pm in July). The three main buildings can all be heated with woodstoves. Wood is free, of course.

Water: We have running water in two buildings gravity fed from the 275 Imperial gallon water tank on a tower.

The water tower.JPG

The tank is filled every week or so using a gasoline powered pump of the type used to fight fires.

Water pump filling our water tank.JPG

Only cold water is circulated. Water is heated on the stove in the kitchen and in the reservoir attached to the stove in the sauna.

I am toying with the idea of putting in a small solar system next summer for lights and hot water.

Winter Survival: The lake, of course, freezes over every winter and, except for the periods when the lake is freezing and unfreezing, access to the island is easy. There are lots of snowmobiles in use on the lake. I have never used one to get to Pellow’s Camp, but I did ski there pulling a toboggan when I was about 12. The main cabin in not insulated but both the Shed and the Saunamökki are. It would not be difficult for someone used to roughing it to live on the island all winter.
 
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