HOW TO

MAKE A SHAVE HORSE

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 tools and using round greenwood timber that you can obtain from your local coppice worker, woodland manager, woodland volunteer group, farmer or if you are very lucky, your own woodland.

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.

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 2025mm 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

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

1 take the two forked branches and cut them to size to suit your own seat height. The total height of the upside 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 end first 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

A piece of Hazel approx 75mm dia x 3.5 mtrs long cut in two would be perfect 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 semicircles 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 the 12mm dia and the 20mm auger drill bits

5 Cut a piece of the 12mm threaded bar so 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 loosly with 1 nut & washer on either side.

6 Do exactly the same for the other end of 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 of the legs except for a 20mm gap along the length of the body

8 - Next is the swinging foot clamp. The two sides can be made from a piece of branch split 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 body before drilling!

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 or take 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 of the 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.

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 when you 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.

11 The Hinged Work Slope This is the final stage of making your shave horse. You can either find a piece of branch/trunk approx 200mm dia and split it into a board approx 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!

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 suit you. If you want, you can fashion a board as a seat with a flat peg in the bottom to slot into the body 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!