Coming from Austria, where I got inspired by some of the rustic, yet sturdy and beautifully built…read morelog cabins scattered across the Austrian alps, providing a warm and cozy shelter for hikers and mountaineers when venturing through high alpine ranges, I became interested in the skill and knowledge it takes to erect a log structure myself at an early age.
Already at our first date about 2 years ago, my American girlfriend and I had discovered that we share a common vision: We both had dreamt of building a log cabin in a remote forested and mountainous area one day. But how and where can one learn the skill to build with logs?
My first step was thus to search the web for information. I've found several books on log cabin building techniques online, which I subsequently ordered. Some were more superficial, others going deep into mathematical detail. Some were written around the turn of the century by chronics and carpenters, others written by contemporary industry professionals or simple men, who reported on their personal building experiences and approaches. Being somewhat overwhelmed by the bulwark of literature out there, I soon found myself longing for guidance by an experienced log builder. After searching the web again, this time for log building schools, I was surprised to discover that in the entirety of the United States only really two log schools seemed to exist (as of December 2018) - one based out of Las Vegas, the other in Montana. Both cost exactly the same - 799$ for a week long course and half price for partners. Although the makeup and information presented on the Las Vegas Log School's website seemed more professional, attracting and promising, my girlfriend and I, living already in Montana at the time, decided for the more down to earth, hands-on looking Al Anderson's Montana School of Log Building in Three Forks, Montana. Not only did Al advertise his course in person on his website, he was also the single one instructor in his log classes as it turned out. The family atmosphere and the direct contact with the instructor from the first moment on when calling him up a couple months ahead of the course, convinced us that Al would be our guy. We ordered his 12-hour Log Building DVD set as recommended to properly prepare for the course, which took place during easter break in late April 2019. Although the videos for the DVD class had been shot in the early nineties and the quality was rather poor compared to modern standards, the information compiled in there was straightforward and to the point. It delivered the guidance I've been seeking in demonstrating Al's major approach to log building. Furthermore, it also inspired us to think of and draw structural plans of the house we wanted to build, which we would take to the Log School in April.
The DVD course was informative, but to our surprise, the practical part of the week long hands on workshop in April was refreshing and entertaining on top of that, owed to our teacher Al Anderson's welcoming, friendly and joking character. Al, having been a high school teacher in his early career, actively enjoyed what he was doing and was able to convey his positive mentality towards the work and the knowledge he had gathered from decades of log building experience, vividly through memorable anecdotes, drawings and demonstrations. Being a passionate educator as well, he didn't seize to make sure that every step along the building process of a log house structure was understood by all participants in a way that they were able to recall and reproduce the transmitted knowledge in their own words and with their own hands afterwards.
That luxury was also owed to the relatively small size of our class. Besides us, only three other participants had joined the class, a couple from Northern Montana and an ex Navy Seal from Virginia, who intended to build a hunting cabin on his own 150 acre forest property.
From day one we got to work with and understand wood as a material for log building in the outdoors of Al's Logyard, located between highway 287 and the Jefferson River, right outside of Three Forks. Monday til Friday, we progressed through the building stages of a log house, from the base to the roof, also going on several field trips to nearby log homes, that Al had helped or been building throughout his career. Equipped with the essential toolkit for each step by Al, we each got to practice the geometry, measuring, chainsaw cutting and chiseling techniques required to build a standard house of value. Thus, we really got the hands on experience and muscle memory needed to be successful in our own projects. Along the way, Al told us of his and others' mistakes and shortcomings in the past, so we could learn and avoid common errors.
Twice a year Al offers a week long workshop to willing and able bodied students. I can highly recommend Al's Montana School of Log Building to everyone, who wants to have the same genuine learning experiences as we did.
