Shaving Horse/Bench

[Lloyd_E]

This has been on my bucket list for several years... built in 1/2 day it works great. It is made of hard wood and a piece of sacrificial pine for the vice part base.
Can anyone ID the hardwood. I get these free from my brother-in-law. They are used to sticker locomotive rails sent via ship. They are rough 2"x4"x7' - solid hardwood - no nails but a little dirty.
The stuff is hard as nails.

Thanks.

Anyone building any old time tools?

 

[stuckmotor]

Nice build. I want one.

 

[dave1949]

Nice. My guess is hard maple, although the cross piece at the top looks a bit like white oak.

 

[Wagtail]

I agree that it's a nice build. Indeed, I might want one myself...

...if I knew what it was & what it's used for! :laughing:

I'm not ashamed to admit my ignorance.

 

[stuckmotor]

Wagtail,
They are used to hold shingles, tool handles, etc. while shaving them with a drawknife. The photos with a man sitting on one should give you the idea.
http://www.dogpile.com/search/images?qsi=71&q=shaving horse&fcoid=4&fcop=results-bottom&fpid=2

 

[forgeblast]

If you are looking for plans search for "shaving horse plans drew langsner"
Shaving Horse Plans - Greenwoodworking
Shaving Horse Plans
I made one similar to the country work shop one, except for the seat I used an old weight bench seat so its got some cushion.
Congrats on a great shaving horse.
Drew langsner and mike abbot have some great green wood working books.

 

[Egon]

There may be some woodworkers that would love to get their hands on that wood. I don't know what it is. There may also be an interest from some boat building/repair shop.

Nice bench.:thumbsup::thumbsup:

 

[toddler]

the seat closeup made me think walnut. Agree on the oak look, but can't say what type. the upright pieces could be maple, but they seem too dark. any finish on there?

in any event, nice solid job there. I think stringed instruments when I see one of those. Good way to shape the necks

 

[hunterridgefarm]

I have plans to make one and was actually looking at them the other night trying to decide when I would have time to make it.

This is not the plans but they are very similar to what I have: http://www.craftsmanspace.com/Free projects/Shaving horse plan.pdf


The wood you used has a strong resemblance to Teak Wood.

 

[Lloyd_E]

forgeblast... I used the plans you posted. egon, if it is white oak - doubt it - boat builders would love it. The close up pic that shows the grain - on some of the wood stock, that grain is opening more as it dries. The material comes from the same stock piece of wood. I used tung oil on it for a finish. I build mostly with pine, it is our standard stock tree here, with the odd bit of red oak. White oak was wiped out here years ago and or used up for ship building. hunter... could be teak - never thought of that species. A shipment is expected next week. There will be hundreds of these available. One of the co-workers chunks up the hardwood for his wood stove... runs 4-5 cord a year and has not bought wood in 10 or 12 years... so I have been told. If the wood does not leave via interested people, it usually leaves via a dumpster. I believe the rails come from Poland. I am going to make some bench planning stops next. I am drying some wood now to build a 24"x24" butcher table... http://images03.olx.com/ui/2/19/02/16411702_3.jpg

 

[Egon]

Loyd, I doubt it is white oak. If it's heavy and hard think tropical wood??

Did you see some of the wood used in the new Bluenose?

 

[Lloyd_E]

I saw a bit of it - no pun intended! I am glad you are politically correct - NEW Bluenose!!! What a boondoogle!

 

[hunterridgefarm]

Lloyd,

Do you know where the locomotive rails are shipped from?

 

[Lloyd_E]

I was told Poland but not sure.

 

[Dr_Zinj]

You had me going there. I couldn't for the life of me figure out why you needed a bench to shave a horse; or even why you needed to shave a horse in the first place. ;-)

 

[2LaneCruzer]

You had me going there. I couldn't for the life of me figure out why you needed a bench to shave a horse; or even why you needed to shave a horse in the first place. ;-)

Hah. I could have used one of those when I built my BBQ table for my Big Green Egg. I needed a handle on the table in order to maneuver the thing; not having a lathe, I decided to make it by hand. It's about two and a half feet long (the handle) and about 2" in diameter. I had an antique draw knife that I has been hanging around doing nothing for about 20 years, so I went to work. It' a bit unhandy using a regular wood vice and shaping a piece that big, but it turned out fine, in fact, cosmetically you can't tell that it wasn't turned on a lathe. I would imagine a horse like that would have come in pretty handy.

 

[Wagtail]

Wagtail,
They are used to hold shingles, tool handles, etc. while shaving them with a drawknife. The photos with a man sitting on one should give you the idea.
shaving horse - Dogpile Images Search

Ta for that, Mate. Looks like I've dodged a "TBN inspired project"!

Wood shingles would be a rarity here in Aus. The standard roofing material (depending on where you live, heat wise) here is either tile [think 'hacienda'] or corrugated 'tin' called "Colourbond".

Some very old houses have slate shingles, too.

 

[stuckmotor]

Loyd, I doubt it is white oak. If it's heavy and hard think tropical wood??

Did you see some of the wood used in the new Bluenose?

Isn't white oak the one that when green, smells like dog poop?

 

[2LaneCruzer]

Isn't white oak the one that when green, smells like dog poop?

Not the White Oak I've dealt with, or if it does, I never noticed it. I'll say this about White Oak, it is very, very hard and difficult to work with, especially if you start with rough wood, but it makes pretty furniture.

 

[Lloyd_E]

Used the shaving horse the other day to make these spoons... another bucket list item. Some are made of spruce, 3062 & 3061 are made from fruitwood from used pallets. I have been recycling pallets for wood as a source for small wooden projects. Great supply of exotic woods for free. Pics of the trays show the wood - I make the wrought iron handles in my forge shop.