To start, let me explain the differences between a Milled Log Home and a Hand Crafted Log Home. While both will appear to be similar in style and construction, there are many differences that will set them apart as far as looks, how they are designed, and how they are produced. Both start with the same wood species, in our case, dead standing Lodge Pole Pine and Engelman Spruce. We use these western whitewoods because they are selectively harvested for their uniform straightness, low moisture content at harvest, and their durability, able to withstand all that Mother Nature can throw at them. But this is where the differences end. Raw timber used in Hand Crafted homes is just that, as the logs come into our facility they will be hand peeled, and these peeled logs will be used as is, retaining their natural taper from butt end to tip. Milled Log Homes use cants, logs that have been sawn into four sided blanks that can be fed into the mill lathe system that removes all excess material, producing a consistent diameter log from tip to butt, every log being uniform in size and shape.

The art of removing the taper starts with a process called canting. This is where we “square up” the logs and cut 4 flat sides. There are some small rounded parts left as a rounded corner but the logs become more like beams. We do this to eliminate the excess material from what would have been the base of the tree to make it more equal to the tip, or top, of the tree. Why is this important for us? Our patented lathe technology turns around the log, the log does not turn on spindles as a traditional lathe would require. The elimination of the excess wood allows us to manufacture the consistent diameter logs quickly and with less stress on the equipment. Because we are now producing our own cants in Montana we employ several workers here in the United States. We also don’t have to import pre-canted wood from Canada thus creating a savings that allows us to keep our prices reasonable.