Anyone here make a shave horse? I’d like to build one. There are dozens of free plans out there. I’m going to pick one and go with it. My plan is to use it for bow-making and splint basketry.
Any tips/ideas would be much appreciated!
Ask Jason Hovatter about that…I think he might have made one?
I actually just made one a few days ago… Here it is! I didn’t use any plans, but modeled mine off functioning examples I watched and tried out before. I’ve since modified it slightly by moving the pivoting part forward (towards the seat… directionally right in the picture) about 8 inches to allow more range of motion. The horse works well. I used it to make its own legs for the shavehorse, haha, and I’ve also used it already to re-handle a couple axes. Definitely a must-have assembly for any aspiring woodworker.
That’s awesome. What are you using it for?
A shavehorse has all sorts of practical applications. Everything from rough-planing wood, to making legs, spoons, etc. And you can use the shavings for kindling! I’m going to try to use it to make a bow out of hickory. I’ve been dreaming of building a whole woodworking studio. Next on my list is a foot-powered lathe, and a workbench. The shavehorse was my step 1.
Nice, yeah I know what a shave-horse is good for, I was wondering what you were gonna do with it, if you had something specific in mind.
At Echoes a few years back we built a foot powered lathe. It’s pretty awesome. Now they do a bowl making class every year with it.
Nice! Lathes are so much fun. I corrected a typo I made in my previous post where I said “bough” instead of “bow.” I plan to use the shavehorse to make a bow out of hickory.