 This is going to be a
real project, I think, huh?
 Yeah, it's going
to be a tough one.
NARRATOR: Tom Oar is a master
craftsman who's made his living
in Montana's remote
Yaak Valley by selling
pelts and authentic
primitive products
for more than 40 years.
 Now's the time to
be cutting that tree.
The tree should be
drier in the winter.
NARRATOR: But of
all the projects
he's completed over the
decades, there's one
he's never attempted until now.
TOM OAR: Dugout canoes
and hide covered boats
were probably the first boats
ever used by primitive man.
In the old days,
the canoes were made
right there along the river,
then pushed into the river.
NARRATOR: Tom's enlisted the
help of his good friend Will
Stringfellow to harvest
a tree suitable to carve
into a 12 foot dugout
canoe, his latest commission
from a Montana museum.
 It's kind of a dream project.
I've never done it before.
 Well, buddy, cottonwood
tree is what we're after.
 Look, there's lots of them.
Cottonwood.
They grow up really nice
and tall without having
limbs on them.
This is one right there.
And you could drop it
right in the trailer.
 Yeah, good luck with that.
NARRATOR: The tree
they're looking for needs
to be at least 30 inches in
diameter for a solid 12 feet
to ensure that the
finished product is
consistent from end
to end and wide enough
to sit in comfortably.
TOM OAR: That's a big one.
But look at that spruce growing
right next to it, there.
That's stuck right
together at the top.
That don't look good.
If you cut this one, that
other big one might fall too,
you know?
 Well, yeah.
 That'd be dangerous.
Let's see what else we can find.
NARRATOR: Finding the right
tree is just the first step
of a project Tom
expects will take him
the entire winter to complete.
 Well, there's a
big cottonwood there.
WILL STRINGFELLOW:
Yeah, no kidding.
 I think we found it, Will.
It's right at 30 inches.
And it's straight.
WILL STRINGFELLOW: Yup.
 I think I can get my
butt in it I think you
can get your butt in it too.
 Well, that'd work out.
NARRATOR: Tom's felled
hundreds of trees in his time,
but this 4,000 pound cottonwood
is no ordinary timber.
And at 76, he's not as
nimble as he once was.
 All right, well, let's
get to cutting this.
WILL STRINGFELLOW: All right.
TOM OAR: You cut down a tree
like this very carefully,
because you don't know
which way it might go
or if it's going to
hang up in another tree
or going to fall on you.
So it's very dangerous work.
Once the tree starts going,
you just turn and run.
 Whoa, get back.
Hold it.
Whoa.
Whoa.
TOM OAR: We did it.
 Hey, good job.
Woo.
Man, tuck it in, rocked
the ground, didn't it?
[CHUCKLING]
 Right where I told you
it was going to fall.
WILL STRINGFELLOW: Oh, yeah.
 Didn't I tell you?
 Hey, you're the best.
You're the best.
 Well, it looks like we
have a nice canoe here,
though, doesn't it?
 Oh, it looks good.
 Looks like it's wide
enough for both of our butts.
 I hope so.
NARRATOR: Tom's hit the mark.
But getting the tree on the
ground is only half the battle.
 Now we have to select
12 foot of that tree trunk
to be suitable for
our dugout canoe.
NARRATOR: The goal
is to cut a log
that maintains a consistent
width for 12 continuous feet.
TOM OAR: There's 12 right there.
Once you know what
section that you're
going to use for the canoe,
then you cut both ends off.
And so now it's
just square ended.
NARRATOR: The selected piece
still weighs more than a ton.
 We got to hold
this real straight.
NARRATOR: So any
trims they can make
now will make it easier
to haul back to the truck.
 Be like 14 inches deep.
WILL STRINGFELLOW:
That should work good.
NARRATOR: A level string
insures an even cut
and leaves Tom a margin
of error around the edges.
TOM OAR: This is a real
important cut right here.
Want to make sure you hold
that chainsaw real level
and follow that line.
Now we're going to
have to roll this over
so we could do the same
thing with the bottom.
The bottom has to
be completely flat.
If it's cut crooked,
it's going to tilt.
WILL STRINGFELLOW: All right.
TOM OAR: Did we do it?
 I think you got 'er, buddy.
TOM OAR: Well, the
big thing is to get
it loaded in the trailer.
Let's get that come
along and see if we
can pull this sucker up, huh?
NARRATOR: They've managed
to shed about 300 pounds.
TOM OAR: I hope this works.
NARRATOR: Now they're relying
on a come along system
to get it back to the truck.
WILL STRINGFELLOW:
Hey, you moved it.
NARRATOR: But the winch
only has the power
to move it inch by inch, and
there's still 200 yards out.
WILL STRINGFELLOW:
Is that biting
into the ground over there?
TOM OAR: Yup.
It's getting stuck
right in this dirt here.
The front end of the
log, it's packing up,
so you can't pull it any more.
 Looks like we're in trouble.
TOM OAR: It's not
looking so good.
NARRATOR: Tom's big winter
project is off to a slow start.
TOM OAR: This is
sticking into the ground.
NARRATOR: Moving at 12 foot,
2,500 pound log by hand
is no easy task
with nothing more
than muscle power and a winch.
 It's a couple
hundred yards back
to where the pickup truck is.
Maybe we can lift the
end of it up enough
to get a log underneath it.
 Worth a try.
 Yeah.
My plan is to hook the
come along in a tree.
WILL STRINGFELLOW: OK.
TOM OAR: And raise the
front end of the log.
We're going to try to put
these logs underneath it
so it keeps it up
off the ground.
This dugout canoe-- this
whole project is going
to be very laborious,
but I'm game
for lots of things,
that experience
of creating something.
How do you do that?
You know?
 You got it?
 Yup.
TOM OAR: That's
what we live for.
 All right.
We about ready?
 You damn right we are.
TOM OAR: The logs are cutting
out lots of the friction.
So now when we put pressure on
it, we can pull this log out.
WILL STRINGFELLOW: Yeah,
that looks good, Tom.
TOM OAR: It's going
slow, but it's happening.
We can almost back
up to now, can't we?
 I think we can.
 Now all we got to do is
throw it in the trailer.
We got it.
NARRATOR: Once the cottonwood
is back on Tom's homestead,
he'll get to work carving
it out by hand, a process
that will take him weeks.
TOM OAR: It'll be a real good
payday to sell it afterwards,
I mean if it comes out like
I expect it to come out.
 See if we can push
'er in there, buddy.
Ooo.
- I think we--
- All right--
 --did it.
 --we're in there.
 I've got traps to run and
hides to tan and all that too,
so I mean this just has to be
worked in with the rest of it.
And maybe by the
time the spring comes
and the ice melts on the river,
we can take it for a float.
TOM OAR: Maybe we can get the
girls to unload it for us.
WILL STRINGFELLOW: Yeah.
