William Lasko

Log Home Construction Training Expert

We have created a way to use the latest in Communications Technology to deliver complete on-line, interactive Log Builder Training Program that will allow folks to stay and learn at home, at their own pace the traditional skills of this 1500 year old craft of building with logs!! Save $$$, don't miss any time away from work, business and family - and now the whole family can learn together too! Find out how!

http://www.laskoschooloflogbuilding.com/eLog-Building-School.html  

ALAN GREENSPAN: "In the absence of the gold standard, there is no way to protect savings from confiscation through inflation. ... This is the shabby secret of the welfare statists' tirades against gold. Deficit spending is simply a scheme for the confiscation of wealth. Gold stands in the way of this insidious process. It stands as a protector of property rights. If one grasps this, one has no difficulty in understanding the statists' antagonism toward the gold standard."

PRESIDENT THOMAS JEFFERSON: "The system of banking [is] a blot left in all our Constitutions, which, if not covered, will end in their destruction... I sincerely believe that banking institutions are more dangerous than standing armies; and that the principle of spending money to be paid by posterity... is but swindling futurity on a large scale."

PRESIDENT JAMES A. GARFIELD: "Whoever controls the volume of money in any country is absolute master of all industry and commerce".

CONGRESSMAN LOUIS McFADDEN: "The Federal Reserve(Banks) are one of the most corrupt institutions the world has ever seen. There is not a man within the sound of my voice who does not know that this Nation is run by the International Bankers".

HORACE GREELEY: "While boasting of our noble deeds were careful to conceal the ugly fact that by an iniquitous money system we have nationalized a system of oppression which, though more refined, is not less cruel than the old system of chattel slavery.

THOMAS A. EDISON: "People who will not turn a shovel full of dirt on the project (Muscle Shoals Dam) nor contribute a pound of material, will collect more money from the United States than will the People who supply all the material and do all the work. This is the terrible thing about interest ...But here is the point: If the Nation can issue a dollar bond it can issue a dollar bill. The element that makes the bond good makes the bill good also. The difference between the bond and the bill is that the bond lets the money broker collect twice the amount of the bond and an additional 20%. Whereas the currency, the honest sort provided by the Constitution pays nobody but those who contribute in some useful way. It is absurd to say our Country can issue bonds and cannot issue currency. Both are promises to pay, but one fattens the usurer and the other helps the People."

PRESIDENT WOODROW WILSON: "A great industrial Nation is controlled by its system of credit. Our system of credit is concentrated. The growth of the Nation and all our activities are in the hands of a few men. We have come to be one of the worst ruled, one of the most completely controlled and dominated Governments in the world - no longer a Government of free opinion no longer a Government by conviction and vote of the majority, but a Government by the opinion and duress of small groups of dominant men". (Just before he died, Wilson is reported to have stated to friends that he had been "deceived" and that "I have betrayed my Country". He referred to the Federal Reserve Act passed during his Presidency.)

SIR JOSIAH STAMP,(President of the Bank of England in the 1920's, the second richest man in Britain): "Banking was conceived in iniquity and was born in sin. The Bankers own the earth. Take it away from them, but leave them the power to create deposits, and with the flick of the pen they will create enough deposits to buy it back again. However, take it away from them, and all the great fortunes like mine will disappear and they ought to disappear, for this would be a happier and better world to live in. But, if you wish to remain the slaves of Bankers and pay the cost of your own slavery, let them continue to create deposits".

MAJOR L .L. B. ANGUS: "The modern Banking system manufactures money out of nothing. The process is perhaps the most astounding piece of sleight of hand that was ever invented. Banks can in fact inflate, mint and unmint the modern ledger-entry currency".

RALPH M. HAWTREY (Former Secretary of the British Treasury): "Banks lend by creating credit. They create the means of payment out of nothing".

ROBERT HEMPHILL (Credit Manager of Federal Reserve Bank, Atlanta, Ga.): "This is a staggering thought. We are completely dependent on the commercial Banks. Someone has to borrow every dollar we have in circulation, cash or credit. If the Banks create ample synthetic money we are prosperous; if not, we starve. We are absolutely without a permanent money system. When one gets a complete grasp of the picture, the tragic absurdity of our hopeless position is almost incredible, but there it is. It is the most important subject intelligent persons can investigate and reflect upon. It is so important that our present civilization may collapse unless it becomes widely understood and the defects remedied very soon".

The greatest source of wealth in America was in natural resources - all else produced by man is created with these natural resources. Timber and Mining. The American Economy is measured by Consumer spending on products produced with these natural resources. Owner Builders able to aquire a small tract of land and use the raw timber there or purchased locally can do so at a conciderable savings in cost and your own sweat expended in doing for yourself is not taxed. Not yet. Processed natural resources add value with each item a consumer would purchase - increasing it's cost. Self sufficiency and independance drive those inclined not to join with the hoards who blindly follow one another in their cars on roads built leading into the city to work - to pay taxes. We've heard this termed the 'Rat Race". Who cares if you make $80,000 / yr if it costs you most of that to live there?

Our own students over the last 20 years would be asked over a camp fire, how differantly would their lives be or have been for the older ones - had they not been in debt all these years? Most say they were kept from pursuing other things and worked at jobs - or a job, they didn't even like because of the burden of making monthly payments, despite seeming to never get any where. READ MORE -Voluntary Slavery is what Debt is! 

       William M. Lasko School of Log Building

Descriptions of all Hands-on Log & Timber Building Programs Offered

This full-time 12-week program is ideal for the person interested in working in the log & timber building industry and/or wanting to build their own handcrafted log structure. Students are provided with practical hands-on experience in a large, outdoor building yard, well-equipped work shop supplemented with computer and classroom instruction. Students gain knowledge of techniques, history, and systems employed in traditional Log & Timber building industry. Graduates of this course will be well positioned to seek full time employment or start their own business. 12 wk students are in it to find work or start a business, or even in some instances, lack construction experience all around and want a thorough experience to change careers, build for themselves and others, or even start a business. No other school has students building heavy log timber trusses for roof support systems or teach multiple traditional log building techniques. From design and building code issues, estimating and managing log construction projects to understanding finishing, care & maintenance of log buildings, graduates are ready and confident. A twelve- week Professional Log Builder Training Program Certificate of Completion is awarded. 

Learning Outcomes:

Instruction and practical experience is provided in the 12 week Professional Log Builder Training Program –

Historical & practical design principles unique to Log & Timber Homes and Cabins
Reading & Interpreting specifications and sketch drawings and scale drawings
Solve issues where conventional frame & construction materials are incorporated
Log & Timber Building styles, techniques and Tradition
        Scandinavian Full-scribe-to-fit (Chinked & Chink-less Construction)
        Hewn Log Appalachian Half Dovetail (Chinked & Chink-less Construction)
        Round Log Timber Frame Joinery & Construction    
Log & Timber Selection and organizing of a log building yard
Design and build log trusses, design for loads sizing and choosing logs and timbers
Extensive layout applicable to working with round, tapered irregular shaped logs and timbers
Heavy Log & Timber Framing and geometry
Joinery choices and selection
Skill development with a variety of hand held and powered and non-powered tools
Log & Timber Home Care, Maintenance and restoration services
       PermaChink Systems product knowledge and understanding and equipment use/familiarization
                 Stains
                 Preservatives
                 Sealants
                 Cleaning methods and equipment used     
Finishing log shell, moving and re-assembly onto customers waiting foundation
Log Stair styles pre-assembly and application
Log Railing systems
Log Building Code
Estimating and Quoting Projects
  Learning Outcomes:

Instruction and practical experience is provided in 2 Week Log & Timber Building Program –

Description of a 2-week Log & Timber Building Program
This full-time 2-week program is ideal for the person interested in working in the log & timber building industry
and/or wanting to build their own handcrafted log structure. Students are provided with practical hands-on
experience in a large, outdoor building yard, well-equipped work shop supplemented with computer and classroom
instruction. Students gain knowledge of techniques, history, and systems employed in traditional Log & Timber building industry. Graduates of this course will be well positioned to work with skilled trades' people in the shop and
on the job-site.  2 wk students typically already feel very comfortable around construction/carpentry and related trades and will catch on fast. Intending to build for themselves only. A two week Basic Skills Log Builder Training Program Certificate of Completion is awarded.


Historical & practical design principles unique to Log & Timber Homes and Cabins
Reading & Interpreting specifications and sketch drawings and scale drawings
Solve issues where conventional frame & construction materials are incorporated
Log & Timber Building styles, techniques and Tradition
        Scandinavian Full-scribe-to-fit (Chinked & Chink-less Construction)
                                                     or
        Hewn Log Appalachian Half Dovetail (Chinked & Chink-less Construction)
       
Log & Timber Selection and organizing of a log building yard
Design log trusses, design for loads sizing and choosing logs and timbers
Extensive layout applicable to working with round, tapered irregular shaped logs and timbers
Joinery choices and selection
Skill development with a variety of hand held and powered and non-powered tools
Log & Timber Home Care, Maintenance and restoration services
Finishing log shell, moving and re-assembly onto customers waiting foundation
Log Stair styles design & theory
Log Railing systems design & theory
Estimating Materials for Projects



Learning Outcomes:

Instruction and practical experience is provided in 4 week Log & Timber Building Programs -

Description of a 4-week Log & Timber Building Program
This full-time 4-week program is ideal for the person interested in working in the log & timber building industry
and/or wanting to build their own handcrafted log structure. Students are provided with practical hands-on
experience in a large, outdoor building yard, well-equipped work shop supplemented with computer and classroom
instruction. Students gain knowledge of techniques, history, and systems employed in traditional Log & Timber building industry. Graduates of this course will be well positioned to work at the entry-level with skilled trades' people in the shop and on the job-site. 4 wk students are the most common students wanting to make the most of the time they can get away to attend the school. A little less construction experience but confident they will catch on quickly and will master many of the skills while here - should be able to build for themselves and /or seek employment. A four week Intermediate Log Builder Training Program Certificate of Completion is awarded.


Historical & practical design principles unique to Log & Timber Homes and Cabins
Reading & Interpreting specifications and sketch drawings and scale drawings
Solve issues where conventional frame & construction materials are incorporated
Log & Timber Building styles, techniques and Tradition
        Scandinavian Full-scribe-to-fit (Chinked & Chink-less Construction)
                                                        or     
        Hewn Log Appalachian Half Dovetail (Chinked & Chink-less Construction)            
Log & Timber Selection and organizing of a log building yard
Design and build log trusses, design for loads sizing and choosing logs and timbers
Extensive layout applicable to working with round, tapered irregular shaped logs and timbers
Joinery choices and selection
Skill development with a variety of hand held and powered and non-powered tools
Log & Timber Home Care, Maintenance and restoration services
       PermaChink Systems product knowledge and understanding and equipment use/familiarization
Finishing log shell, moving and re-assembly onto customers waiting foundation
Log Stair styles pre-assembly and application
Log Railing systems
Estimating and Quoting Projects

Transferable Skills and Directions
Your New Skills and Business Opportunities :

Some skilled handcrafted log builders use their skills to be able to do what we refer to as a Log Accent work. The industry, particularly the commercial construction industry, refers to it as Architectural Components (specialty log accents for commercial applications). You'll see Gander Mountain, Cabela's, Smokey Bones Restaurants, Bass Pro Shops all combine modern steel, concrete and log accents - see http://www.tjswood.com/products_commercial/commercial.html. for an example.  Bars, stores, parks, commercial retailers want a need a resource who can provide these skills locally!In my own contracting work, I have done several projects large and small providing log accents to the residential construction industry as a specialty contractor.

Some skilled handcrafted log builders use their skills to focus on one product such as log stairs systems or railing systems, heavy log truss and purlin roof systems or produce ornate and custom made fireplace mantles, which we do too. The milled/manufactured log home building industry traditionally is comprised of self-taught carpenters lacking these skills and so some of these builders come to learn the skills to be able to enhance what they are already doing and be able to offer a more unique application of log accents only us handcrafters understand how to produce. We preserve the true character of knots, cat faces and limbs and natural uniqueness of each log carved to fit into one place while maintaining a “it must have grown together!”fit. One guy took his skills and understanding of log building and market needs began planting and "training" trees to grow so that windows can be made with the trees and limbs as the wood in a multi-glass pane windows or doors. Perfect and unique for custom handcrafted or milled log homes!

Our 12 week graduates will understand how to start up their own business and with as high of a demand
as exists for contracting log home maintenance, care and restoration jobs throughout the country – in fact, by the time you graduate and get home, you could have customers waiting for you. 

William M. Lasko
LogSmithy@AOL.com
www.LaskoSchoolofLogBuilding.com  
www.HoosierHeavyLogandTimberWorks.com  
8125 Whiteland Road
Martinsville, IN 46151
1 317 690-2325
"Making Traditional Log Building Craftsmanship The Focus of Your Future"
We Have State Approved Programs to Participate in GI Bill (or VA) Education Benefits, [Facility Code assigned is 2-5-5262-14]Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) for Displaced Workers and programs funded by Work Force Investment Act (WIA), Approved Training Provider ID: 1218 / Approved Program ID: 8196