I now have 26 logs waiting to be milled. The weather has changed for the worse in recent days, and the access road that I've been using is essentially snowed in. In addition, my left shoulder is really bothering me lately. I must have tweaked it when I was harvesting logs by myself.

Needless to say, I'm going to take a hiatus from getting more logs until my shoulder and the weather/road conditions improve. I need to focus on finalizing the design details of the cabin frame and get the timbers milled. Jon told me that there is some kind of minor hydraulic problem with his mill, so I am waiting to hear back from him on when the mill will be repaired.

In the meantime, I constructed a 1/16th scale model of the cabin frame using dimensional balsa and bass wood found at a local downtown craft store. The design is based on a cabin frame designed originally by Scott Stevens at Grand Oaks Timber Framing, where I will be participating in a timber framing workshop this April.

The model is very basic and hastily assembled, but I wanted to get a tangible idea of perspective and scale.

After staring at the model for awhile, I've already changed several things with the cabin design. First and foremost, I've increased the dimensions of the main beams from 7x7s to 7x9's. While 7x7 is probably adequate, the 7x9 timbers just have a better aesthetic.

I've also added four additional braces to the design. I am debating whether to increase the top plate dimensions from 7x7 to 7x9 as well. I probably will.

The other added benefit of building this scale model is that I've finally received some input from Jenny. After seeing the model, she wonders if the door placement needs to be reconsidered...or perhaps a side door needs to be added. She also provided some input on where she thinks a porch should go.

Next, I will probably experiment on where to put the porch and what it will look like. I will also start covering portions of the frame and get a better idea of where I will place the piers that the sill plates will rest on. In addition to determining window placement, I will also start to get a better idea of what the roof will look like and how I will construct it.

Here is my daughter sitting next to the model. What a punk!