Since the first time I saw a “shaving
horse” I have wanted one. Although it is
somewhat specialized in its use, there is nothing better for the work that it
allows you to do to wood. I could even
see this device a very helpful tool if you are into macramé. You could use it to hold tight the woven area
and allow you to work about 12 to 20 inches at a time before you shift and
continue.
Here is my finished horse. I have always called it a “draw horse” since
the common tool is a “draw knife”.
Every year, I find that spring will sprout
anywhere from 20 to 50 sapling trees in my back yard. Most of them are either oak or pecan. So I let some grow in the event I lose a
large tree and want to replace it. Once
the young tree is about 12 feet high I will decide to let it grow or make a
nice walking stick. Here is one use for
my horse…the ability to remove the outer bark in about one tenth the time it
takes with a hand knife, and I can also shave the places where the branches were
attached at the same time.
Also I like to save some of the winter
storm branches that break off, and cut the good ones for legs when I make
stools for sitting. For this I leave the
bark on the wood, but I need to form a nice round end on the wood about 2
inches long and 1 inch diameter to insert into the seat. In the past I have stood at my bench belt
sander for hours shaping the ends, and getting covered in the saw dust. The horse is perfect for me to accomplish
this task also.
I don't know anyone with a horse that I
could go measure, so I got on the internet and Googled “shaving horse”. I got many many photos and could pay to get
plans, but I just do not like to pay for plans that I am likely to change a
little anyway. The photos that I liked
were downloaded. After I had a dozen or
so, I started looking at each to find common features. One was of a diagram that someone had drawn
and added most measurements, with a short narrative.
This is the diagram I used as a reference
while working on this project for basic measures. I needed to realize that I was not
going to have one that used a wide slab of wood 3 or 4 inches thick, so I
focused on designs using boards 2 inches thick (actually 1 ½“). Throughout all of this posting, if you see an
angle used it will be 10 degrees or its compliment of 80 degrees. All glue is Gorilla glue since this horse may
be outside from time to time, and possibly get wet.
I started my project by finding two
pieces of 2 x 6 at least 5 feet long. From
the two boards I found, I made sure one end of each was square, then measured
54” and drew a line on a 10 degree angle off my square to the other side (which
made the other side about 1“ longer).
Now I have the two long pieces for the “bench” of my horse. If the pieces cut off are at least 20” on the
short side, then you can use one for the front leg. It is also cut on an angle of 10 degrees on
both ends such that the cuts are parallel.
Next I cut a short piece of the 2 x 6 to be 5 ½“ long for a spacer in
the square end of the bench.
I put one of the long pieces on my work
bench with the long side against me. To
this I put the front leg at the end with the slant and aligned the leg to be
extended outward.
The short piece, as a spacer, goes at the square end.
I put glue between the pieces,
pre-drilled 4 holes with counter sink, and used 2 ½“ deck screws to bind
them. Then I put glue on the two pieces
and added the other long board with 4 screws at each end. I have learned to pre-drill holes for screws
and counter sink for a clean non-split holding.
From a 2 x 4, I cut two pieces 20“ long
with the same 10 degree slant on one end and the other end square. From the square end, measure 5 “ down the leg
and 1” from the shorter side, and place a dot.
Now at 10 degrees off the shorter edge,
draw a line through the dot to the square end.
Measure 5 ½“ from the square end on the slanted line and mark. Draw a perpendicular to this line from that
mark to the closest edge.
This area I cut away on my band saw. Next hold the leg against the rear of the
horse in its position and with your pencil make an arc that will show where to
cut the other corner away.
I rounded over the corner since it might
tear my pants. Use this leg as a
template to mark the other leg.
On all three legs I chamfered the bottom
to avoid any tear out when scooted across the floor.
I attached these two back legs using
three 3“ screws in each with a deep counter sink where needed.
I took this assembly off the work bench
and set it on the floor.
When I sat down on it, I knew some type
of seat was needed. From a 2 x 4, I cut a 6 ½“ piece and cut both corners
out leaving a 1 ½” x 1 ½” tenon centered.
Using a 2 x 6 about 18” long I rounded the corners and routed the edges
with a 3/8” round over bit. A mortise 1
½” x 1 ½” is needed to be centered with respects to the longest measure and
located so the 2 x 4, when joined, will make the edge of the 2 x 4 flush with
the edge of the 2 x 6.
After I had drawn the mortise, I drilled a
3/8” hole in each corner and used a jig saw to cut the mortise.
Then I spent about an hour with a rasp to
fine fit the two pieces together. The
glue used even helped the tight fit to slide into position finally. I love using mortise and tenon, but I’m not
proficient enough to do it without a great deal of sanding and rasping till I
am tired.
Seat the 2 x 4 piece down into the void
of the bench and you have a movable seat to adjust as you feel.
If you get tired of the wood, consider one of those square cushions for
boats that seconds as a flotation devise
when you put your arm into the straps. I
know this is a ‘seat’, but this is a horse so I’ll call it the saddle. My horse deserves respect. So I’m in the saddle, straddled the 2 boards
on their edge used for the bench… and I try to foresee the placement of the
slot to cut in the “bridge“ to accept the vertical mid section, the “arm”, to
be located.
I found a 2 x 8, 34” board to use as the bridge and
used it to determine some measures and placement. This made me see I need to have the arm also,
so I started on that part. A piece of 2
x 6 cut to 30” is very strong. As shown
below, the ends become tenons, and shaped with a 10 degree angle. This will add an angle for the “head” to meet
the bridge with better alignment and afford a more comfortable position for the
feet to apply pressure.
Another variable in this equation is the
measure of the head and the placement of its mortise so it will fit to the top
of the arm. Then you got to consider the
placement of the ½” hole in the arm and the bridge for the rod that is like an axle
in the design and allows the arm to move as I work. At the bottom of the arm is the
“treadle”. Since it does have a 10
degree slant, all this wants to clear the floor and give the proper pressure
for gripping the work. Did I mention
that the bridge is elevated on the working end and therefore we also have the
height of the “riser” to consider. So I
needed all these parts in order to try to not make a mistake.
I decided to make the treadle first because it is thinner than the piece for the head and they both need a mortise to accept the tenons located at each end of the arm. A piece of 4 quarter cypress, 9” wide and cut to 10 inches worked here. I made sure to run the grain parallel to the length of the horse for strength, but when I was rasping and fitting, I heard a crack. To reinforce this I glued some strips to the bottom and across the grain.
The main time spent with this was after
the mortise fitting was accomplished, it had to be modified to allow for the 10
degree slant. To help me focus on the
right areas, I placed a piece of masking tape about 3/16” from the short side
of the mortise. Then on the opposite side
and the opposite end, place another piece of tape same distance. This diagram should give you the idea:
Now the long task with my rasp to remove
the wood that will allow the mortise to let the treadle rest in the 10 degree position.
With that accomplished I moved on to work
on the head which will butt against the bridge to hold the piece that I will be
attacking with the draw knife. For this
piece I used a 2 x 8 cut to 10 inches. I
drew the mortise to allow the head to fit on the tenon and cut it out on my jig
saw. Next the rasp to fit correctly, and
then the final adjustment for the 10 degree slant. After this was fitted, I cut a spruce 2 x 4
to attach to the underside of the head to increase the surface area for the
pressure that the head will apply to the bridge. No glue, just two screws through the back area
of the 2 x 4 into the bottom of the head and placed cross grain to the
head. Then I cut off the sharp edges and
shaped a 'bull nose' using my hand plane.
Spruce is a soft wood and will form
somewhat to what it is holding. Also if
it should become gnarled, I can replace it easily. Some examples show a leather facing added for
friction.
Next I placed the treadle and the head on
the arm snuggly, and drew a line on each
side of the tenons to reference the area for the dowel wedges that will lock
the assemble together. Mark the center
of these lines on one side and with a 1/2" drill bit in my drill press,
and the table tilted to 10 degrees,
I drilled through the tenon such that the
outer diameter of the drill bit crosses the line about 1/8" on the top
side and will exit the other side about 1/4" across the line.
With a 1/2" dowel, my 'home made' angle
fence, and my table saw, I cut a 10 degree slice to the dowel.
After I checked the fit into the hole for
the treadle, I marked the dowel for length and cut that part off.
The same process works for the dowel used
to lock the head onto the arm.
Now I have the parts of the puzzle that
will allow me to approximate the mortise in the bridge and the place to drill
the hole in the bridge which is the pivot point for the arm. Once I figured that out, I placed the bridge
on my table saw. I set the fence to
be 2 13/16" from the blade. I had
marked the beginning and ending of the mortise on the bridge. By raising the saw blade to the highest
possible position, I could place two short pieces of tape on the fence at the
points where the blade of the saw meets the table.
Now I lowered the table saw blade beneath
the table and placed the bridge on the table saw against the fence. With the saw running, I raised the blade
slowly to allow it to cut through the bridge to the highest position for the
blade. Next the bridge was very slowly
moved forward and backward until the marks on the bridge were aligned with the
marks on the fence. With this achieved,
I turned the saw off, removed the bridge, and turned the bridge around but NOT to flip it over. I want the same face up for both of these
cuts. Lower the blade, put the bridge
against the fence, turn the saw on again, and make the second cut just as the
first. With a chisel I removed wood at
each end of the mortise to complete the removal of that material not needed.
Once more I returned to the horse with
the bridge, the arm, and some random pieces as risers. With the arm inserted through the new mortise in the bridge and some pieces of different thickness I was able to determine
the place of attachment for the bridge to the far end of the horse, and the
location of the 1/2" hole for the iron rod through the bridge which
supports the arm.
To drill the hole through the bridge, I
used a 1/2" bit that is about 12" long on my drill press in the
horizontal position. I think it would be
almost impossible to use a regular length bit and drill each edge of the bridge
hoping to have a path for the iron rod that will allow it to slide
through. I attached the bridge to the
far end of the horse at the place I marked by using an old door hinge.
This will allow me to remove the pin
should I ever wish to disassemble the unit in the future. With the arm once again inserted in the
bridge with the head and treadle attached, I used a large 1/4" nail, like a spike, and slid it into the
1/2" hole in the bridge. This
allows me to position the arm with the bridge risen into a comfortable height
and tap the nail so I make a final mark for the hole in the arm. I removed the treadle, pulled the arm out of
the bridge, and drilled the 1/2" hole in the arm on the drill press which
insures perpendicular.
The 1/2" rod I got at Lowe's was 3
feet long. I used the width of the 2 x 8
bridge plus about 1/4" extra on each end to allow it to have a washer and
a pin, then cut it to length. I inserted
it into the bridge, put the washers on each end, and marked where to drill the
3/32" hold for the small cotter pins to be inserted. Finally at my grinder, I beveled the ends so
they would be slightly rounded.
The final part for my horse is the riser
to the bridge. The diagram I was
referencing suggested a 7 1/2" riser, so I cut a 2 x 8 for a 7"
length and a 2 x 4 to a 7" length.
On the 2 x 4 I removed a corner area 1 1/2" by 1 1/2". Next the two pieces are attached with a
couple of 3" screws by placing the notched end of the 2 x 4 to the edge of
the 2 x 8 and centered.
This will allow the riser to be moved
forward or back to make very minor adjustments to the height of the end of the
bridge where I am working. It also
allows me to shorten the riser since it is not permanently attached. This was good because I have already removed
about 2 inches from the riser so that the bridge is not quite so high.
Another nice part of this design is that
the rod that allows the arm to swing back and forth is located in the bridge
rather than the bench. This gives the
operator the ease of adjusting the bridge up or down such that the work is
adjusted to the person using the horse, without changing the position of the
head to the bridge. Also it will
generate greater pressure by the head onto the material being worked, and
minimizes the length of the mortise cut into the bridge. The hole in the arm is located more toward the front edge and this results in the arm returning to the upright position when released, allowing the work piece to be moved without the operator having to pull the treadle with a foot movement. The bench of the horse automatically provides
a mortise for the arm, the movable riser, and the movable seat.
Already I think I might need another hole
in the arm in order to adjust the distance between the head and the bridge, but
I will wait until I have the need for that based on the thickness of the
material I might be working with.
I sincerely hope this will help others
make a horse of their own.
Thanks for viewing my blog......Bob
Materials (these are before cutting to
exact measure) :
2
x 4 pine: 1 - 7" Riser support
1 - 6 1/2" Seat Support
2 - 22" Back Legs
spruce:
1 - 8" Head (Bull Nose)
2
x 6 pine: 2 - 56" Bench
1 - 22" Front Leg
1 - 6" Back Spacer
1 - 30" Arm
1 - 18" Seat
2
x 8 pine: 1 - 34" Bridge
1 - 10" Head
1 - 7" Riser
4
quarter Cypress 9" wide & 10" long (Treadle)
1/2"
Iron rod (or Dowel) 8 1/2"
1/2"
Washers 2
Cotter
Pins 2 - 1 1/4"
1/2"
wooden dowel 24" (to lock head and
treadle on arm)
1
door hinge 4"
Glue
2
1/2" & 3" deck screws
