Someone I know asked if I could build them a firewood shelter using a big stack of old wood that was piled up beside their workshop. This was wood left behind by a previous owner, most of it milled on site from cedar and douglas fir trees. Old Douglas fir trees.
The other request was to make it visually similar to another one they already had to avoid having the “shiny new” upstaging the “weathered old”.
I am not quite finished but I have managed to find enough wood to build everything except the rafters. I had to buy new 2×6’s for those. I even found a few lengths of fir 6×6 so I could mirror the beam in the old shelter. Did I mention how heavy 6×6 douglas fir beams are? No? Ok, how does 220 pounds sound. And no helpers 😦
I also got to try my hand at a scarf joint. Now before you start I know it should by at least eight times longer than the width of the wood, and preferably 12 times. Problem is I didn’t have enough 6×6 to sacrifice eight feet for scarf joints. Most of the beam parts were supported by two posts, and only a small piece in the centre would be suspended. Since this small piece is only 5ish feet long and will at most have to carry two rafters I decided to go with a very small scarf with dowel pins. I made sure the angle of the joint would aid in supporting the piece.
Lifting the beam 
Sure makes a guy wish for a 10″ saw and some better chisels. One last note: did I mention how hard old douglas fir can get? No? Check this out ->
My Elysium 