My shaving horse is never going to win any awards, but I love it and now can’t imagine my woodshop without it. I documented its construction in Issue Nine, but haven’t yet taken the opportunity to film its features. To remedy that, yesterday we published this brief introduction to my shaving horse. In just a few minutes, I go over the features that I think are most important in a shaving horse design:
- Continental “dumbhead” style
- Offset pin in the arm so that it automatically opens when the pedal is released
- V-notch in the head
- Some kind on stop at the back of the seat (protruding leg tenons work well).
There are a lot of bells and whistles a person could add, but I am a simple man. If a thing starts to get too complicated, my brain turns mushy and the room starts spinning. So, here’s my simple, rugged, work horse of a tool. I absolutely love how it works and wouldn’t change a thing.
Let me know if you have any questions – I’ll see what I can do to answer them.
– Joshua