FELLING TREES WITH A TWO-MAN SAW An axe cut below the saw line directed the falling tree. Branches were trimmed from logs with an axe.

HEWING TO THE LINE Two chalk lines were marked along the logs. Perpendicular notches roughly twelve inches apart were cut to these lines. A broad axe (flat on one face) was used to split off the wood between the notches.

DEBARKING Bark was removed from the unhewn sides with a bark spud or bark chisel.

SETTING THE CORNERS Wall logs locked together through notched corners. The notch used here is called the half-dovetail or American pattern. It slants outward to drain water from the joint.

RAISING THE WALLS Hewn logs were skidded into place; log ramps were used as the walls grew taller.

CUTTING IN THE DOORS AND WINDOWS After the walls were raised, openings were cut for doors and windows. Today log builders prefer to allow a building to settle for a year before this operation to avoid later warps.

ADOBE FOR THE FIREPLACES The Mansion's two original fireplaces are adobe; the mud was probably dug from the banks of Granite Creek, then tempered with pine needles, formed into bricks, and dried in the sun.

SEALING THE CRACKS Cracks between log walls were chinked with wood and sealed with mud and pine needle daubing. Felling saw, about 1850. Broad axe, manufactured by S. E. Miller, about 1850. Hand-forged bark spud. Rip saw, manufactured by Beardshaw and Son. Company was founded before 1825. Early hand-forged felling axe.

FLAT BOARDS WERE CUT WITH A TWO-MAN PIT SAW Pit sawing could be done over a pit, on a trestle, or between log walls. A pit saw's teeth raked downward so the lower man, called the pit or box man, supplied the cutting power. The top man, or tiller man, guided the blade along a chalk-line mark. Pit saw, manufactured by Joseph Peace and Co., about 1855 "Box" or bottom handles for pit saw; could be used by two "pit men" at once.

SHINGLES FOR THE ROOF Shingles were split with a blade called a froe and a wooden mallet, then finished with a draw knife. Homemade shingle horses were sometimes used. The Mansion's 1864 shingles were probably pine, although cedar or juniper were preferred.

Shingle froe

Shingle-making mallet