Hi folks,

What do you all consider a good working hight for timbers? TF Norm came over the other nite and we built some saw horses to work the timbers on. His were 26", mine were 28" and I am thinking about making a pair that is 32" high. Specifically for handsawing.

What do y'all like?

Bruce,

I like the system in the book "timberframer's workshop"
Build "ponies" that are 16"-20" and use them to support long 8x material(giving a 24-28in working hieght).
If you haven't seen the book, the ponies are basically made from off cut 2x10's.
two peices make legs, these legs come together under the center of a third 12" long 2x10(like a pair of rafters with a plank balanced on top) then use some plywood off cuts to screw onto the sides of the 2x10's... these ponies are lighter than 8x blocks and, as Mr. Chappell says "make good stools"
one advantage of this system is that you can place timbers of any length(I use a pair of 20ft) on top of the ponies, making it possible to roll a dozen posts around on the same setup.

as far as height goes, it's hard to find a height that serves well for all tasks, I use the adze a lot and so I like a lower setup than average(24") I'd suggest trying different heights till you find the best.

Bruce,

We have a lot of horses we built around 31" and have since decided they are too high for anything except layout. We have started cutting about 4" off them and I like that better. I am about 6'-3". Specifically for handsawing, I would go even lower.

We also have built some ponies like Mark is talking about and have used them on every job for 4 or 5 years (they are tough). They are great for sticks that have no joinery in the middle, like joists, common rafters, etc. Otherwise you are constantly jumping the bearers to get to the middle.

Depends how much hand mortice work you are doing. Pounding a mallet to chisel out large mortices on a tall horse will kill your shoulder...

Being 6'5", I use two different sizes, a higher one for layout/sawing, a lower one for mortice work.

Greg

I agree that you don't want your saw horses to high when doing mortice work. Especially when using a classic boring machine it's far more comfortable and safer to have your feet reach the ground. I have the sore ASSets and broken hand to support this claim.
Another thing to look at is the height of your timber cart, if it's not well matched to your horses you'll end up with one end of the timber uncomfortably low (or heavy) for lifting when the far end is on the horse.
I'm thinking of creating a somewhat longer pair of horses with a stepped up top to allow easy raising and lowering of the timber to and from layout height.

I build my horses knee high and find that height an acceptable compromise between most functions except chain mortising large hardwood timber, either raise the carp or lower the horse 6 to 8 inches.

Most of ours are between 27" and 28". It's the right height for chisel work. A little low for layout. Roger's comment about that being too high for chain mortising is right on the money. We have a 6" platform (about 2'x3') that we stand on for chain mortising. It's got spring-loaded retractable wheels like a library stool, so once you step off it, you can easily kick it over to the where you want to go next. CB.

I had to comment here on this lively topic

well my findings are like alot of others on this site, saw horses have changed somewhat over the years height wise. From about 1900 on the saw horse height became higher to acomodate power tools ie; not as much hand sawing and more skill sawing happening, also not as much hand mortising and chiselling. The taller horse meant less wear and tear on the back.

Now of course with the return to a more historic role for the (work) horse the height has had to come back down, and it usually will end up at a height suitable for the person's own height. I am fairly short so my horses to do timber work are lower that the majority wight be,

I also like a fairly heavy built horse using 4 by 4 pine all around for the construction and no overhang at the ends
NH

Wow, I never would've thought his topic would grow like this. Interesting comments scattered throughout.

I am a Carpenter (mostly) who tinkers in the direction of Timber Framing, so my perspective is a little different, perhaps.

My Sawhorses are built with 30" pcs of material cut with a compound Mitre/Bevel angle so that when assembled, the legs splay out at 15 degrees in both directions. They are stable on flat surfaces and are forgiving on "lightly" un-even surfaces as well.

Unlike Northern Hewer, I prefer to overhang the top rails. The trick there is to not overhang past the position of the splayed foot of the Horse, otherwise, tipping conditions exist if the overhang extends past the "Pivot" point. (Yes, there was a steep learning curve)

The 15 degree angles involved in cutting and laying out the pieces are approximately a 3 in 12 pitch on a Framing square. (14 point something, close enough)

And yes, they are good for cutting material with a power hand saw, but too high for working Timbers. Layout is okay at this height.

My last comment would be to find a couple strips of used carpet to use for "horse covers". Put the carpet on top of the Top Rails before setting down finished material on the horses. Nothing worse than an unseen staple or nail/screw head to ruin a nearly complete piece.

Hi Jim,

good thread there on the workhorse, you are no doubt from the old school, with the legs splayed out alittle for stability, and the overhang (slightly)--that is the proper way to construct horses.
My comments were directed mainly from timber horses that we copied from old picture drawings of about early 1800's researched at UCV a few years back. They (the legs)were not splayed out at all and their construction was quite easy to take note of. We reproduced them at that time using 3 by 3 inch squared pine, and I must say they were beautiful to use, quite solid, and the height seemed to be right on--about 22 inches. The horses also had a shelf built into them between the legs, about half way from the ground up to their tops, and what a wonderful place to lay your chisels and other tools that you were using. The legs were set slightly into the top chord with a shouder, and pegged with wooden hard wood dowling, which stood up very well. the legs also had a spanner mortised into them that the shelf laid on, and after the whole thing was assembled the shelf was held in real tight without any nails. I highly recommend them as a project for class construction-it will make the students scratch their heads alittle, and will marvel in their usefulness and sturdiness after they are done
NH