From Strangers to Cabin Builders

Eleven students and two observers showed up for our first Cabin Academy, October 22–24. Some drove in from a few states over. One came from Alaska. Another flew all the way from Taiwan. Most of them had never met, and plenty of them had never cut a notch.

Three days later, they were standing around a nearly finished dry stack they built together.

Coffee by the fire

Every morning started the same way: coffee by the fire. That first morning was a little quiet. Everybody was sizing up the logs, the tools, and each other.

We ate a big homemade lunch together every day. On Friday night we had a bonfire and hot dogs. Somewhere between the first notch and the last hot dog, a group of strangers turned into friends. Watching that happen was one of our favorite parts of the whole weekend.

Everybody came with a dream

The build was great, but the stories were even better. Over those three days we got to hear why people came and what they’re hoping to build when they get home.

Riley and his wife drove up from North Alabama. Their family has owned their land since 1840, and they inherited it in 2003. Riley has wanted to build a cabin on it ever since. He’s never built a log cabin before, so he came to learn the whole process, from the basics all the way to putting the roof on. He told us the jig is “idiot proof.” It keeps mistakes to a minimum, and he felt comfortable using it right away.

Joep came from Taiwan with one clear goal: learn how to build his own Dovetail cabin in Montana. He wanted to get the basics down and leave knowing how to get off to a good start.

Dennis came from Kansas City. He’d already taken a few log cabin classes, but when he saw our jig online, he knew he had to come. He’s been planning and preparing to build his own dovetail cabin for a while now. More than anything, he wanted to put his hands on the wood, watch the notches come together, and learn more about putting in doors and windows.

Why we do this

A lot of people dream about building a cabin. Not as many get to stand next to a structure they stacked themselves and think, “I can actually do this.” Helping people get to that moment is why we started the Dovetail Cabin Academy.

To everyone who came out: thank you for trusting us with your time and your dreams. We can’t wait to see what you build.

Want to join us next time? Our spring Cabin Academy is coming up. Get on the waitlist here.