"How-to" Build This Log Cabin for $3,000 [Paperback]

John McPherson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 1999

A step by step "how-to" on the construction of a log cabin profusely illustrated with over 300 photographs plus several line drawings. This book was written and designed for the "average" person who has the desire to build a log cabin but not much knowledge. Modern tools are used and everything but logs (including roof) were purchased and yet the cost of construction was kept right at $3,000. Common problems are shown being solved using not much more than common sense. From trees in the timber to the final chinking, this book is designed to get the reader out there and building.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

John McPherson has been writing and teaching outdoor skills (mostly primitive living & survival) since the early '80's. He is well known as an expert on primitive skills throughout not only the U.S. but also many countries of the world. His book (co-authored with wife Geri) PRIMITIVE WILDERNESS LIVING & SURVIVAL SKILLS is one of the worlds' best sellers in this field. Most of his life has been spent in the outdoors and he grew up dreaming of one day building a log cabin from scratch - at age 54 he did it!

Product Details

• Paperback: 140 pages
• Publisher: Prairie Wolf (April 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0897459806
• ISBN-13: 978-0897459808
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #808,557 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

53 of 54 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Helpful Guide for Those with Serious Ambition, May 31, 2000

By 

Dr. Michael Trend - See all my reviews

This review is from: "How-to" Build This Log Cabin for $3,000 (Paperback)

I get a kick out of John McPherson's books.

They're self-published guides that can teach you almost-forgotten crafts, such as how to tan deer skins with brains and ashes.

This book will show you how to build a log cabin SHELL (be forwarned) using simple hand tools and back-breaking effort.

To be fair, McPherson apparently considers a cabin complete when the log walls are up and chinked, and the roof is up and shingled. No doubt he doesn't need electricity or indoor plumbing. So, there's not anything here about how to FINISH a cabin--you know, silly things like wiring.

This book is an incredible guide on how to do about two-thirds of the work required to have a liveable cabin. I've lived in dwellings like the one he made, and it can get real thin, after a while.

What is really neat about this book is that it does show you how to erect a cabin in the old style. The most useful parts concern safety. Listen to the man so you won't get squashed like a bug, OK?

For those of you who are really determined, this book will be extremely valuable, since it is clear, practical, and very well-illustrated with about 300 photographs. For the rest, just read the book in your easy chair while drinking a cold bottle of beer, and then go back to watching a ballgame on the telly.

40 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars not so good, September 10, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: "How-to" Build This Log Cabin for $3,000 (Paperback)

This book, written in a so-called 'laid back style', is even hard to read for a foreigner like myself. Quoting from memory, a typical sentence might read like this: 'Put lotsa goop all over and a coupla nails here and there and you're alright'. In another place the author says he 'saw a list of the good woods for building log cabins once, but he lost it'. That's a little too laid back for my liking. The pictures on the cover are good, but on the inside they are ugly black-and-white photos with maybe two shades of gray. The author says he will 'cover notching in depth later', but that chapter must be missing in my copy. All I could find about notching could be summarized by 'scoop out the wood with the chainsaw'. He guides you through the mistakes he made in building the cabin (which weren't few). That may be helpful to avoid pitfalls, but a better idea would probably be to buy a book written by someone who really knows how to build a log cabin. "If I can build a log cabin, you can too" says the author, and I believe him.

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good, December 30, 2007

By 

Nette (Lexington, KY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: "How-to" Build This Log Cabin for $3,000 (Paperback)

I bought this book for my dad for Christmas. He's planning to build a primative cabin next year and found this book inspirational!