So You Want to Make a Shave Horse_printable

7/29/2019 So You Want to Make a Shave Horse_printable

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HOW TO

MAKE A

SHAVE

HORSE


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I have this shave horse in my woodland outdoor

workshop. It's wedged between two Alder trees but it

does of course stand up totally on it's own.

SO YOU WANT TO MAKE A SHAVE HORSE ?

Heres an Innovative style of rustic

shave horse that is quick & simple

to construct with basic hand toolsand using round greenwood timber

that you can obtain from your local

coppice worker, woodland manager,

woodland volunteer group, farmeror if you are very lucky, your own

woodland.


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Tools you will need:

tape measure & pencil/marker

bow saw or pruning saw

hand drill brace or electric drill

auger drill bits (recommend 12

mm dia & 20mm dia)

Small chisel

Hammer

Spanners (wrenches) or grips to

suit 12mm threaded nuts utility or outdoor knife

hacksaw

Materials you will need:

2 forked branches around 75mm

dia

2 lengths of branch around

75mm dia x approx 1600 mm

long 1 length of branch approx 75mm

dia x 750mm long (split

longways)

1 length of branch approx 75mm

dia x 500mm long for making

spindes

1 length of branch approx 20-

25mm dia x 1metre long for

making spindes 2 lengths of 12mm dia threaded

bar x approx 500mm long

8 x 12mm nuts & washers

A few small nails if required


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1 take the two forked branches and

cut them to size to suit your own

seat height. The total height of theupside down Y will be the finished

seat height.

Keep the forks as wide as possible

for maximum stability so cut

material off the single branch endfirst as far as possible

2 - Using the 12mm auger drill bit,

drill a hole approx 35/40mm from

the top and in line with the forks


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3 take the two long branches and

cut them to length to suit your own

horse body length

Better at this stage to keep them

longer if possible, you can adapt

later if required

4 Following the diagram above

a) mark the positions of the two curved

cut-outs and cut them out

NOTE they are shallower than semi-circles so that when bolted to the legs,

the two halves of the body dont touch but

leave a gap of approx 20mm along the

length of the body

b) Mark then drill the 4 holes using the12mm dia and the 20mm auger drill bits

A piece of Hazel approx

75mm dia x 3.5 mtrs

long cut in two would

be perfect


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5 Cut a piece of the 12mm threaded barso that it passes through both halves of

the body and the upright of the leg with

approx 40mm of bar spare on either side.

Assemble one end of the body and leg as

in the picture above and secure looslywith 1 nut & washer on either side.

6 Do exactly the same for the other endof the body

Place the body & leg assembly on a level

surface and ensure that all four feet

contact the floor firmly whilst ensuring

the body isnt twisted.Trim the feet as necessary to produce a

stable assembly.

7 Fit the 2nd nut onto each end of the threaded bars then fully tighten them whilst

applying pressure downwards on the body (sitting on it with caution will help)

You are looking to pull the two halves of the body tight together around the uprights ofthe legs except for a 20mm gap along the length of the body


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8 - Next is the swinging foot clamp. The two sides can be made from a piece of branchsplit lengthways or with two pieces of 50mm x 25mm (2 x1) lumber if its easier.

As a guide, drill the two end holes of each piece with 20mm auger drill bit approx

50mm from each end. Position & drill the middle 20mm hole so that its approx 40%

down from the top, remember, the foot clamp has to swing freely and not snag on the

ground so be sure to measure the height from the ground to the hinge pivot in the bodybefore drilling!


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9 - The three spindles

Usually, the spindles are

turned on a lathe out of

solid branch-wood and you

can either do this if you

have access to a lathe ortake the easier route which

works well and is a strong

alternative:

Take some 60-75mm dia: branch-wood and cut two lengths to suit the inside width of the

swing arm (for 1 & 3 above).

Into each end of each of these pieces, drill a 20mm hole about 50mm deep.

Take some 22-25mm dia thin branch-wood and cut two pieces each to suit the clamp spindle

and the foot spindle.

Shave one end of the thin branch-wood to a slight taper to fit tightly into the 20mm hole ofthe larger pieces and hammer home firmly. You can tap a small nail into the spindle to

secure it if required.

Cut a final piece of branch-wood about 20mm dia: and long enough to act as the pivot

spindle and taper slightly by shaving so that it can be tapped into place without slipping out

Cutting a V slot into the clamp spindle (1 above) will help with gripping round wood you

may work on when using the shave horse.


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10 Assemble the swing

arm

Now you need to assemble the

components of the swing arm.

The clamp spindle and the foot spindle should be fitted into the

corresponding holes of the two arms.

The foot spindle can be secured with a small nail into the arms either side if

required. Do not use nails in the clamp spindle as you want it to be able to

rotate within the arm to alternate between the V slot or the round whenyou are using the shave horse.

Now for the tricky bit pass the assembly over the front leg and onto the

body, make sure you have the top of the swing arm at the top!

Knock the pivot pin (2) through one side of the swinging arm, through the

body and through the other side of the swinging arm.


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11 The Hinged Work Slope

This is the final stage ofmaking your shave horse.

You can either find a piece of

branch/trunk approx 200mm

dia and split it into a boardapprox 150mm wide like the

picture on the left or else find a

piece of seasoned lumber to

suit. The length will depend on

your own circumstances.

Drill a 20mm hole approx 50mm from one end all the way through.

Take a piece of 22-25mm dia branch-wood and make it into a pivot peg as in the

picture.

Shave the peg to fit tightly into the hole in the board, secure with a nail if required.

Position the work slope & peg into the slot of the body so that it sits approx 25mm

above the body and mark the position of the hole that you need to drill through the peg.

Drill hole then shave a piece of 12-15mm thin branch-wood to fit as a spindle.

Find a scrap piece of branch approx 100mm tall to use as a wedge under the work slope

to adjust its height and angle depending on what you are shaving at the time

Job Done!


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Hopefully, you should now

have a fully functional rustic

shave horse.

It might want tweaking a bit

here and there but take your

time and fine tune it to suityou.

If you want, you can fashion a

board as a seat with a flat peg

in the bottom to slot into thebody but most times, a

scrunched up sweater works

well!

Dont forget, mine is wedged

between two trees to prevent it

from being stolen, not because

it would fall over otherwise!

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So You Want to Make a Shave Horse_printable