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Marilyn Salzl Brinkman, Light from the Hearth: Central Minnesota Pioneers and Early
<br />Architecture (St. Cloud: North Star Press, 1982, 43-46.)
<br />One of the keys to the stability of log structures and an important diagnostic tool for
<br />identifying the builder's ethnic background is how logs were notched on the corners to bind
<br />the walls together as a framework. There were four notching techniques used in central
<br />Minnesota. The most common notch in central Minnesota was the half -dovetail. The half -
<br />dovetail originated in Czechoslovakia and used throughout North America. It was an
<br />extremely stable, effective, and attractive method for joining logs. It was used to join large
<br />logs that were hewn square, often oak cut from the oak savannas in the county. The saddle
<br />notch was one of the most ancient forms of notching, introduced by German and Swedes. It
<br />was used to join round logs that had not been squared. This is the most common notch style
<br />for structures made from the tamarack logs cut in the swamps of Sherburne County. The
<br />square notch was a Bohemian tradition that was a variant of the half -dovetail. The square
<br />notch was not as effective in holding logs together, so it was often combined with a nailing
<br />system, partly defeating the purpose of log construction. The double -notch is a variant of the
<br />saddle that uses a saddle -notch with a square -notch. The double -notch probably came with
<br />the Finnish settlers. (For the notching history in central Minnesota and the primary
<br />documentation for this section, see Bill Morgan and Marilyn Salzl Brinkman, Light from the
<br />Hearth: Central Minnesota Pioneers and Early Architecture (St. Cloud: North Star Press,
<br />1982), 47-48; John Rempel, Building with Wood, and Other Aspects of Nineteenth -Century
<br />Building in Central Canada, (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, first edition, 1967,
<br />revised edition 1980), 25-57)
<br />Chinking and daubing were important keys to making log structures durable.and
<br />weatherproof. Since wood expands and contracts with changing temperatures, all log homes
<br />were prone to draftiness and sometimes leaked. Good chinking and daubing was essential to
<br />eliminate drafts and leaks. Builders "chinked," or filled, the spaces between logs with small
<br />pieces of wood, mud, clay, moss, oakum, saplings, stones, or anything else that came to
<br />hand. Then to seal and finish the spaces, they "daubed" over the chinking with a wet lime
<br />plaster or mud mix. Daubing could consist of several different materials and proportions. A
<br />common mixture was 6 parts sand and 4 parts lime, mixed in water to create a mortar paste.
<br />Many builders added hair or straw to bind the mortar together and prevent cracking. By the
<br />late 19tb century, builders were mixing in Portland Cement to make a hard, fast -drying
<br />surface. But since Portland Cement shrinks as it dries and is rigid, not moving with the
<br />shrinking and swelling of the logs like lime mortar does, it is not a good daubing material,
<br />unless used at a ratio of about one part Portland Cement to four parts lime. (Bruce B.
<br />Bomberger, The Preservation and Repair of Historic Log Buildings," Preservation Briefs 26,
<br />http://www.cr.nps.gov/hps/tps/briefs/brief26.htm, accessed April 20, 2005; plus years of
<br />personal experience as director of Old World Wisconsin by the author.)
<br />(For documentation of tools, see Bill Morgan and Marilyn Salz1 Brinkman, Light from the
<br />Hearth: Central Minnesota Pioneers and Early Architecture (St. Cloud: North Star Press,
<br />1982), 40; Chapter 10 "Woodworking Tools," in John Rempel, Building with Wood, and
<br />Other Aspects of Nineteenth -Century Building in Central Canada, (Toronto: University of
<br />Toronto Press, first edition, 1967, revised edition 1980, 359-388; Charles McRaven, "Tools
<br />Sherburne County Historical Society Heritage Center Interpretive Plan, April 21, 2005, page 100
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