Gentle Galoots,

I had been wanting to make a shaving horse for a long time, but did
not really have room for one. However my nephew wanted to make an axe
handle so I started looking for plans. After some interweb searching I
settled on a folding design that Drew Langsner has been using for his
country woodcraft classes.
I picked up the plans from the Japanese green woodworking site and
started building.
After some struggles (I figured out that it is almost impossible for
me to drill a hole even close to perpendicular to a surface without a
drill press) I got it to a pretty usable state so I gave it a tryout
and almost split my kneecap trying to use it.
 https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zQxr0r-PqXj6sgVn_6if72OrcXef4mf4/view?usp=driv
e_link
Then I realized when watching the accompanying video that the
demonstrator was a petite 5 foot tall Japanese lady. I probably have
14 inches on her and probably weigh twice what she does.
So now I am planning on reworking the shaving horse so it is taller
and longer. Does anyone know what a good length to the foot rest would
be for a horse for someone 6 foot 2? I think I have a good idea of the
height since I have been putting spacers under the legs, but I would
like to only have to build this one more time.

 Thank you everyone for any help or suggestions,

Gary Maze

waiting for the second round of thunderstorms coming through tonight

Gary,

The driver's seat adjustment of your automobile could provide insights.
Everyone adjusts the seat to their preferred distance from the pedals.

Measure off from the seat back to the brake pedal.  That, and some experiments
with an armless dining chair, will give you a starting point.

YMMV
John Ruth
Metuchen, NJ
Wearing shorts for the first time this year
> On Mar 14, 2024, at 3:23 PM, Gary Maze  wrote:
> 
> Gentle Galoots,
> 
> I had been wanting to make a shaving horse for a long time, but did
> not really have room for one. However my nephew wanted to make an axe
> handle so I started looking for plans. After some interweb searching I
> settled on a folding design that Drew Langsner has been using for his
> country woodcraft classes.
> I picked up the plans from the Japanese green woodworking site and
> started building.
> After some struggles (I figured out that it is almost impossible for
> me to drill a hole even close to perpendicular to a surface without a
> drill press) I got it to a pretty usable state so I gave it a tryout
> and almost split my kneecap trying to use it.
> https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zQxr0r-PqXj6sgVn_6if72OrcXef4mf4/view?usp=dri
ve_link
> Then I realized when watching the accompanying video that the
> demonstrator was a petite 5 foot tall Japanese lady. I probably have
> 14 inches on her and probably weigh twice what she does.
> So now I am planning on reworking the shaving horse so it is taller
> and longer. Does anyone know what a good length to the foot rest would
> be for a horse for someone 6 foot 2? I think I have a good idea of the
> height since I have been putting spacers under the legs, but I would
> like to only have to build this one more time.
> 
> Thank you everyone for any help or suggestions,
> 
> Gary Maze
> 
> waiting for the second round of thunderstorms coming through tonight
> 
> 
> 
> 
>

Gary,
Don’t know if this will help you any as I built mine about 20 years ago so the
decisions making on the build is rather vague. However I took many dimensions
off of one I saw in an antique shop. The main frame is six feet long. The
clamping arm is four feet long.  It really does not need to be that long but way
too much work to shorten it now. That leaves 24 inches for the seat. The pivot
for the foot bar is about ten inches forward of the front end of the seat area.
I estimate that this set up can accomodate a range of 25 to 40 inch legs.

Bill

Hi, Gary -

I’ve been making chairs the past few years and the shavehorse has been a
great help.  I began with a simple British (bodger’s) style that worked
well for most tasks, but was challenging when working pieces where the part
clamped in the arm tapered away from me.  Easy to see how it might slip.  I
wanted an improvement on that, so repurposed the base of my spoon mule (4’
long, two beams, two legs at the rear, one in front, Dawson Moore design)
to hold a Swiss dumbhead style head.  It works quite well.  Look at the
sites of Tim Manney, Curtis Buchanan, and Peter Galbert for ideas.  What
might apply best here, considering your height, is that the head and my
seat are moveable.  The head is held in place (wedged from beneath) at any
reasonable point along the beam and my seat can be moved into position as
needed.

I hope this provides some useful info.  If you’d like to see photos, let me
know.  The base also fits a bowl-holding attachment, as designed by David
Fisher and whacked together to fit my base.


Regards to all

Dwight

Easy peasey
  Build a platform table and lengthen your clamp frame.
Looks like 3 or 4 inches would do

But I bet 6" higher would put the work up at a comfortable height for you

This table is 7" off the deck and a little higher would have been even 
better

http://users.snowcrest.net/kitty/sgrandstaff/images/hometools/shavehorsez.jpg

   yours scott--
*******************************
    Scott Grandstaff
    Box 409 Happy Camp, Ca  96039
    scottg@s...
    http://www.snowcrest.net/kitty/sgrandstaff/
    http://www.snowcrest.net/kitty/hpages/index.html

Scott!

An inadvertent drive-by?  That horse belongs in a museum of true folk art and
craftsmanship!

Don't think we didn't notice the laminations of contrasting woods and the
perfectly-executed butterfly key.

Of course, the Cardiff Giant-Sized hand...or were you inspired by the legend of
the Sasquatch?

Bravo!

John Ruth
Metuchen, NJ

That clamp is really a hoot, Scott!

I bought a Tom Donahey shaving horse a long time ago.  He also sold plans.
There are images on the web.

Not sure either is available any longer.  The Maine Coast Craft School may be
the best place to check with.

I”m 5’ 10” , 165 lbs and really like the shaving horse.

Two of the best features are the adjustable/sliding seat and the adjustable jaw.


      Mark Balmer

     Manzanita, OR

It's on Popwood, with cutting list, drawing and photos.

https://www.popularwoodworking.com/projects/modern-shaving-horse/

Don

On 2024-03-15 12:08 p.m., Mark Balmer wrote:
> I bought a Tom Donahey shaving horse a long time ago.  He also sold plans.
There are images on the web.
>
> Not sure either is available any longer.  The Maine Coast Craft School may be
the best place to check with.
>
> I\u201dm 5\u2019 10\u201d , 165 lbs and really like the shaving horse.
>
> Two of the best features are the adjustable/sliding seat and the adjustable
jaw.
>
>
>        Mark Balmer
>
>       Manzanita, OR
>
>
>
>
> 
>
>

-- 

\u201cWe should feel offended or unsettled when we hear the word homeless not 
because we stigmatize those experiencing it but because we are ashamed 
at our own moral culpability in its existence and the continued harm it 
inflicts on the most vulnerable.\u201d Josh Kruger

\u201cTo argue with a man who has renounced the use and authority of reason, 
and whose philosophy consists in holding humanity in contempt, is like 
administering medicine to the dead, or endeavoring to convert an atheist 
by scripture.\u201d \u2015 Thomas Paine, The American Crisis

John Ruth wrote: "An inadvertent drive-by? That horse belongs in a museum of
true folk art and craftsmanship!"
Inadvertent?!? Scott is about as inadvertent as Britny Spears (specifically
"oops! I did it again"). Well done, Scott!
Tom Conroy