Would the pioneers have used chainsaws?

I bet they would have, had they had one! The oak timbers are extremely dry and hard.

Making this first 4"x4"x6" notch for the porch sill in this 8"x8" piece was a real workout even with drilling 2" diameter holes first with the Milwaukee Hole Hawg! As I chiseled away what a difference from the green pine I was used to.

I did the first one by hand but used the carving chainsaw to rough out the second one and then cleaned it up with the 2" framing chisel. Cutting the time for a single notch in half to 15 minutes.  I think I will bore the 2" holes for one by hand (out of respect to the barn builder) and to get a real feel for the amount of work (and time) that was involved in building the original barn.

Just imagine cutting and fitting all the pieces for this barn - by hand! Think about getting one of the top pieces up in place and having it not fit!

I will be working on calculating the weight of the Oak beams that I am using.  Anyone want to take a guess at the weight of the 12' - 8"x8"  piece sitting on the floor sill in the middle picture above?