So, I’ve been designing a timber frame sawhorse system to be used in the field at the jobsites, and in the workshop. I call it a “Mare and Colt”.

The Mare and Colt system has four parts:

~A timber trestle sawhorse (Mare).
~An additional timber and hoof (Colt) that is joined to the Mare.
~A re-moveable and portable tool shelf that slides into a pair of dados under the deck of the Mare.
~A series of holes drilled through the top of the deck on the Mare, used in combination with friction/ wedge type hold-down clamps.


http://www.forestryforum.com/gallery/displayimage.php?album=2237&pos=0

http://www.forestryforum.com/gallery/displayimage.php?album=2237&pos=1


The Mare stands 6 hands at the withers, (24 in. to the top of the deck) All of the pieces are made out of 6x8 pine. (I do have a team of Mares w/ Colts that are made out of reclaimed treated pine guard-rail posts, for use outside in the elements at the jobsite.)

I like to use 6x8s because:
~Of the added joinery needed to attach the colt and the dado for the tool tray.
~I can safely rest my boring machine on the deck (8 in. wide).
~A large framing square can hang off the edge without tipping.
~The large tenons and shoulders of the legs give more rigidity without having to use diagonal bracing.
~And I like Mares with big butts!

I chose the height of the Mare to be 24 in. because I work on a lot of 8x8s. So, an 8x8 on top of a 24 in. Mare gives me a working (layout/ saw) height of 32 in. I’m about 5’10 with my steel-toed loggers, and this seems to be a good height for me. Now take someone like Jim_Rogers who is 6’1”, or someone who is even taller, and this might not work for them. I came up with an equation that might help determine the correct height for someone of a different height.

Take a tape measure and hold it along your side with the tip/end on the ground, stand perfectly straight and see where your figure tips touch the tape. For me it is at 27in. I subtract 3 in. and that is the top of my Mare. So feel free to add or subtract from the length of the legs to match your work height.

The Colt is also built out of 6x8s and only has one hoof. Since there is no leg, that means that the deck is joined directly to the hoof, using a 4x4 that is mortised into the underside of the deck and the topside of the hoof. The other end of the deck has a tenon that then mates up with a mortise on the lower section of the Mare’s leg. The mortise has a full housing of 1 in. so that the Mare’s back hoof will carry half of the load of the Colt’s deck. This joint is not pegged so that the Mare and Colt can be easily separated, in case they need to be moved to a different pasture, or if you need to clean their stall. (Pine shavings.) The Colt stands 3 hands at the withers (12 in. to the top of the deck.) This step down from the Mare’s deck, is used for storing beams to be worked on and also is a nice height to rest an 8x8 during the boring process, especially if you are using a boring machine. The seat height for an 8x8 plus machine is between 20 & 22 in. Most people will be able to rest their feet flat on the ground without the feeling that they are riding bareback on a real horse.

The tool tray is sized to allow a framing square to lay flat within the sides of the tray, as well as any number of chisels, layout tools, mallets, etc. The dados are cut ¼ in. deeper and ¼ in. taller than the outside tray frame so that it can slide in and out. This way you can take the whole tray, with the tools that you need at any given time, and move them to any other Mare. Or, if you are like me, and you want to take your tools inside without picking them up individually, just take the whole tray out. The tray is also designed to slide under the Mare from one side to the other. I also incorporated a couple of blocks to the underside of the tray so that it can straddle a beam at any point, and with the aide of a wedge, the tray can be temporarily secured to a beam that sits parallel to the one you need to work on. This way, the tools are never in your way, or sitting on the ground, or in a pail, or falling off the beam as you are using your chisels.

The final part of my system is the hold down clamps. I will be posting photos of the clamps in action. I have a friend who is a blacksmith, and I asked him to make me a couple of hold down clamps which are similar to these.
http://www.amazon.com/REACH-BENCH-HOLD-DOWN-CLAMP-JORGENSEN/dp/B000KUZM0S

I did opt to have him use ¾ in. rod instead of 5/8 in… it just seemed to hold better. These clamps are inserted into any of the pre-drilled holes that pass through the top of the Mare’s deck. The hold down clamp secures smaller pieces of material like a 4x4 diagonal to the top of the deck with a simple tap of a mallet, driving the clamp into the hole further and wedging the rod against the inside surface of the hole. A simple tap on the back side releases the clamp, and the work piece can be repositioned or removed completely. This system is like having a couple more hands to hold the work instead of trying to saw with one hand and hold the work-piece steady with the other. No more getting your leg up on top of a short piece of 4x4 so that you can pin it down with your knee while cutting the end with a circular saw. Whew!

Well hopefully it’s clear as mud.

(I am not sure how to post a Sketchup model.)


Let me know what you think.

Rooster

I like this design a lot, including the hold downs. I use a pair of Gramercy holdfasts, which are made from steel instead of cast iron, which I've read frequently breaks in this application. If you are having them custom made, you could specify a longer stem, handy for securing short lengths of larger timbers, but then I suppose they would interfere with the tool trays. I have done some reading on them, and it appears that you are correct in choosing a thicker stem. Some people have done research, and found that the deeper the bench surface, the thicker the stem should be to grab effectively.

Anyways, I like that design a lot, and look forward to hearing how they hold up in the long run.

Thanks for the positive feedback!

I held off on posting this thread until I has used my new sawhorses to cut a medium size frame. The largest beams were 3- 8x8x32ft (Doug Fir) and the smallest were 4x4 braces. I'm sure that I might find something that I will want to change about the design, but for now I am pleased with how convienent they make the framing process.

I also found that they make a nice place to take my lunch break.

Rooster

Idea: Maybe drill a hole in the Mare's deck (near the end) for a removeable patio umbrella? TFing "rain or shine"!

Hello,

I've been using a similar set of sawhorses only my two colts have been weened from their mothers and can stand on their own now. I wonder if double pinning the bed to post mortice n' tenons might not eliminate a possible pivoting action there, given no bracing?

Greetings,

Don Wagstaff

I've been adding to the Mare and Colt system...
Let me know what you think...check out the link to the thread on the Forestry Forum.

Thanks,

Rooster

http://www.forestryforum.com/board/index.php/topic,52517.0.html

Hello everyone tonight

Hi craig

Your saw horse design is very unusual, but having said that it appears that you must have put a fair amount of thought into the final version I am sure.

My father instilled in me a fondness for good quality and well built saw horses, he always said that a tradesman's sawhorse along with the appearance and quality of his tools, reflected his capabilities and would reflect what his hands could produce

His sawhorses now nearing 80 years of age are still resting quite comfortably in the workshop

Comparing them to your design would be like comparing a shettland pony to a clydesdale

I guess my first impression of your horses is that they are sure heavy and well built for sure, I suppose to be used in a fairly permanent location, and for really heavy use.

The two levels could be quite usefull in some instances in timberwork, especially in a large shop, but might not be quite as handy for smaller undertakings

Moving a large timber from one level to the other might be challenging without machine help, but there is always a hitch with any design

My first impression on your design is that I believe the 6 by 8 timber size is overkill, and makes the whole unit quite unecessarily heavy, in my opinion i would like to see the size scaled back a bit to 4 by 6, but then again this is my idea

The historic sawhorses we used at UCV were copied from an early engraving of carpenters at work in england about the 1600's, and were of 3" by 3" materials. The engraving showed workmen working on heavy timbers doing mortise and tenant work.

they had a shelf built into them for the tools

Were your horses constructed using other design elements? it would be interesting to know

Well I have to go--good horses--thanks for posting

NH

NH,

Thank you for taking a look at my Mare and Colt system. I appreciate the feed back.

These sawhorses are primarily designed to be used in cutting timber-frames and possibly hewing. All of the pieces are made out of 6x8 pine. (I do have a team of Mares w/ Colts that are made out of reclaimed treated pine guard-rail posts, for use outside in the elements at the jobsite.)

I like to use 6x8s because:
~Of the added joinery needed to attach the colt and the dado for the tool tray.
~I can safely rest my boring machine on the deck (8 in. wide).
~A large framing square can hang off the side of the deck without tipping off and falling to the ground.
~The large tenons and shoulders of the legs give more rigidity without having to use diagonal bracing.
~The 6 in. thickness of the decks allow the hold-down clamps to fully engage.
~They are a good beginner's project to learn how to cut joinery...and then can be used as the work platform for future timber-framing projects.
~And I like Mares with big butts! (I own Percheron draft horses...no Shetlands in My barn!)

Each Mare that is made out of EWP is not very heavy. I can easily pick one up, let it hang over my right shoulder and climb a ladder to an upper level. (And I'm only 5'8" & 160 lbs.)

I hope this has shed some light on the thought process and the advantages to using the heavier timber type sawhorses.

Thanks,

Rooster

pretty cool craig.
i used a 6x8 system with angled legs that was set low for mortising, with some sliding blocks that locked on high for layout and tenons / finishing.

having multiple levels is easier on the back, for sure.

i had tools on a garden cart to follow me around, so i did not need the built in shelf.

hold downs are good.

One of my students just built a set of Rooster's colt-and-mare horses. He modified the connection where the colt back ties into the mare leg. He made it a thru-wedged tenon for easy disassembly.

Clark,

Do you or your student have photos that you guys could share?

Thanks,

Rooster