[KDogHall]

Hello All!

After hurricane sandy I have a lot of tree trunks in my back yard. I will be taking a chain saw to them soon and hope to use all of the big logs as seating around my fire pit. They will be rather large though so I'd love to add handles to them to make them easier for guests to move. Does anyone have any ideas on what kind of handles could be secured to the sides of thick logs like this? I guess issue one is what kind of handles can be secured to logs, and issue two is whether they will be strong enough and whether they would require me to strip the bark from the logs. I'd love to keep the bark on the logs as it looks really nice.

Thanks to any and everyone for your input!

 

[jagans]

If they are big logs you don't want handles on them. If you are sane, you would move them by tipping them over and rolling them, then tipping them back up. Handles would be like square wheels.

 

[KDogHall]

They are going to be about 12"-24" in height. I would really love to have handles so people can simply pick up the log and move it rather than flipping and rolling it and getting themselves dirty. I know I'm being a brat but it's a courtesy I'd like to have for my guests.

 

[jagans]

Have you considered the weight? To be stable a 2 foot high log will have to be about 2 feet wide. I guess you could hand out those stick-on thermo-packs for back pain, to be nice to your guests. :laughing: Don't you have grass? I mean to roll on, not roll up. :laughing: If you have roll up, am I invited? :laughing: Ill even help build the fire and move the logs.

 

[KDogHall]

Yes. They are plenty stable for seating. My grass is pretty patchy so the logs are likely to collect a lot of dirt if being rolled around, especially in the Northeastern Spring & Fall.

I'm just wondering if there are any kind of handles that can attach to a long bolt that I drill into the log or if anyone has other ideas for ways to secure handles to the rounded sides of a log.

 

[user1007]

Remember the logs will dry out, swell, be eaten and decompose over time. I think if you do this, you should use some sort of banding or rope with handles that wraps around the entire logs like on a barrel.

If you want any life out of these, you should think about treating at least the bases in contact with the soil with something.

I would be tempted to cut and split them up for wood in a nice firepit and get some seating off the ground to enjoy the fire?

 

[KDogHall]

You are correct. My plan was if the seating was working out well that I'd seal up the tops and bottoms to keep them looking nice.

 

[KDogHall]

You guys think something like this could work?
http://www.hansenwheel.com/store/pa...-crates/oak-cedar-barrels/barrel-handles.html

 

[jagans]

You could use 1/2 or 3/4 inch pipe Tees with a 6 inch nipple between and lag bolts with washers into the logs. You could also use 1/2 inch Eye Lags with rope handles. Pilot drill for lag screws.

 

[KDogHall]

Nice! I was just thinking something with eye loop bolts and rope could work. Or even just big eye loops that extend out.

The pipe option is interesting also if I can find a good way to attach it to the log. Maybe even just drilling deep into the log and sticking the pipes in.

Thanks!

 

[jagans]

No, that is not what I meant re the pipes. The pipes are the best approach as the ropes will pinch the hands. Ill do a rough sketch and post back re the pipes.

 

[joed]

Remove the bark. The logs will rot faster if you don't. Actually after a year it will probably fall off anyway. Then screw one of these on each side. They flod down relatively flat when not in use.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/t/202034098?productId=202034098&storeId=10051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053

 

[user1007]

Modified your drawing just a bit. Remember the OP wants to keep the bark on the stumps. It may not match all the way around of the cut cut sections and it is going to be fragile so any anchor has to start beneath it? The pieces are newly cut wood, soaked by a storm of the Century (one hopes) and will dry out. The bark at a different rate than the ring growth?

I just worry that if you do not band around or rod and bolt all the way through? There is no way to secure the handles but for one season as these things dry out and then with one really long lag bolt screw. I would feel a bit better with a lag bolt and washer situation you could tighten.

I like your concept though. It is simple and inexpensive for sure. I was wondering if a large bole hole with rope and handles that could be twisted to be tight would work?

 

[user1007]

OP, what kind of trees were they? Should be able to calculate the board feet if all are about 2-3' in diameter and are going to be cut to bench height.

Then get a weight of each?

 

[KDogHall]

I love the fold down handles, but fear they may not attach well to a curved surface. Based on the feedback here it also seems that people believe that the bark will naturally fall off. Perhaps I'll leave the logs as is for a year and see how they age, and if they work out well then I'll invest the time and money into making em fancy.

Thanks so much to everyone for their ingenuity and suggestions!

 

[user1007]

Don't just give up! Marine environments have been drilling through piers and things for ages. I just don't think putting a handle on one side can work well.

 

[KDogHall]

No give up here! But it's looking like these proposed solutions could be $10-$20 per log and I may have up to 10 logs so I just want to make sure this is something I see as a long term solution before I shell out all the money on materials. Or I may just go with the simplest solution and find a very long lag bolt or eye lag and just use those as handles drilled into the log itself.

 

[Canarywood1]

In order for the bark to stay on the tree,it must be cut down in the fall or better yet winter,when this occurs the bark becomes a permanent part of the tree

 

[joed]

I love the fold down handles, but fear they may not attach well to a curved surface.

Carve/shave a small flat spot on the side of the logs.