Chuck Freeman

This is Chuck's widow, Jenny. He died suddenly last fall, and now I am responsible for getting in all the firewood. Is a rocket stove something I should consider, and if so, which one? We started building a log cabin -- one story 24 ft x 36 ft (864 sq. ft.), but it isn't finished yet. Working on that this summer. My sons and I live here on our remote Alaskan homestead year round, and have to charter a plane to get in materials. Would a rocket stove be something I could do without spending a fortune? If I used a regular wood stove such as a Blaze King, I'd have to purchase it and fly it out anyway, so just wondering if this would cost any more, and if a rocket stove will keep us warm in this climate using less wood. (Less Wood is the key for me) Winter temperatures are often 40 below zero for a few weeks at the time, but average lows are usually around zero. Long winters --- Oct. to April. I have lots of spruce and birch trees. I know I can't get as much wood as my late husband could, so I need to find a way to use as little wood as possible.

Thank you for any advice you can give,

Jenny

a lot of camp grounds in Alaska use electric fences. I have never heard of anyone get bothered camping behind one.

Anyone with a niche gets hit, we probably get 75 to a 100 of those a year about homesteading in Alaska. Mostly we take them with a grain of salt and refer them to our forum. I figure if they are serious they will do thier own foot work if they won't I figure they are to lazy to make it out here anyway.

Gary Russell wrote:In one of his videos, I remember him stating to find a place that just DOESN'T have a building code. any place like that in America? Im a prospective PSP builder also. The concept draws me

Bush Alaska

Thanks I'll have to do some looking when I have some time, looks like a cheap alternative to a bandsaw.

Monte what kind of chainsaw mill is the one on the carriage? Not the Alaskan mill but the second one?

Heritage Farm wrote:I'll remember this next time I'm extremely desperate for money.

Actually if you do them right there is very little smell. I trapped a lot of skunks in my younger years not bad money for a kid.

You have to watch new saws as they are all punched from flat stock. Old ones are ground so the back is thinner that the front(the side with the teeth). Filing and setting rip saw and crosscuts is an art and the tools to do it don't come cheap either. If it was me and I really wanted to use hand tools to work with I would do the research then bite the bullet and go with the old stuff. There also some very books put out by the Forest Service that tell how to use and maintain crosscuts and axes. One is The Crosscut Saw Manual the other one is Saws that Sing. There is also a good one on Axes called An Ax to Grind.

This is the only address I can find but I'm sure you could Google them up pretty easy:
USDA FS, Missoula Technology and Development Center
5785 Hwy. 10 West
Missoula, MT 59808–9361
Phone: 406–329–3978
Fax: 406–329–3719
E-mail: wo_mtdc_pubs@fs.fed.us

I've ripped planks with rip saws, split them with wedges and froes, and used band saws and chain saw mills. It is just my opinion but for all round milling you can't beat an Alaskan Chainsaw Mill.

Deb Suran wrote:This is what you want, Pax hand saws:
http://www.toolsforworkingwood.com//Merchant/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=toolshop&Product_Code=PZ-HS303.XX&Category_Code=CPX

Those are for ripping boards they will never work on logs

I've seen rip saws on ebay but they are pricey. You also need the tools to to sharpen and maintain them which is an art in itself. If I were to get a rip saw I would go for an old one that is taper ground. Anything you would get that is new, rip or crosscut, will be punched from a piece of flat stock. Taper ground saws the side opposite the teeth is narrow than the tooth side.