Timber Framers Guild Forums General General Forum Questions Shaving horse

Hi all. I have in the past made my own pegs from trees harvested from my bush. I cut the log into 1 foot blocks, split with an axe and froe to 2" square blanks and use a pushknife and block plane from there. My method is to prop the blank between my belly and a sturdy bench and shave down to size with the pushknife. With every peg I make I think of how a shaving horse would make this process a lot easier, I could even switch to a drawknife without fear of dissemboweling myself. My problem is locating one, or even a picture of one so I can build it myself. Anyone know of were I might find a photo or better yet, plans for a shaving horse. Thanks.

Hi Ray - a google search using "shaving horse plans" yields over 100 hits, e.g., http://www.greenwoodworking.com/shorse.htm
Good luck with your project. jekbear

Ray:
If your email program can receive embedded or attached photos I can send you a couple with drawings of how to make a shaving horse with a dumb-head, if you wish.
Or you can make one like the style in the link above, either will work.
When I was taught how to use a shaving horse for making pegs for timber framing, the owner of the shaving horse had drilled through holes of different sizes in the bench seat. Then as you cut your pegs on the horse you can just test them in the sample hole in the seat without getting up and see if they are the right size for your project. It made it very easy and fast to shape your pegs the right size.
Good luck with your project.
Jim

Thanks guys. You were right,a google search had me in wall to wall shaving horses. Can't figure out why I didn't think of doing that before..duh. Anyway I shall be crafting me a horse soon. Great idea about the test peg hole in the bench. Thanks again. Ray

"Fine (second) Home (I'll never be) Building" had some very nice plans for a shaving horse about five years ago.

Hello all:
just an additional comment on producing wooden pegs by hand and sizing them. We used a flat steel plate which was imbedded flush in a heavy topped saw horse, one that could withstand heavy sledging with a wooden mallet. this steel plate had 2 holes on its surface which were the size usually of 2 types or sizes of pins used in a frame. These holes where made so that they were slightly larger on the bottom side by drilling with a slightly larger drill from the opposite side but not quite through. We then sharpened the upper edge with a round file, and upset the edge upwards with a round punch. All you had to do then was to roughly round the pegs, and tap them down through the hole with a mallet one after the other. This would bring the pins to exactly the right size for the holes predrilled in the wooden frameworks. We would store them in a wooden keg of water to ensure that they would stay plyable and bendable when the time came to use them. The old timers had wrought iron plates that they used for this purpose, and where we got our idea for the plates above.
NH