Shave horse, scruffy but it works.

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Broch

Life Member
Jan 18, 2009
7,983
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Mid Wales
www.mont-hmg.co.uk
Tidy!

I find that using the frame without mechanical advantage (so with the pivot on the top holes) rarely holds the piece tightly enough but it looks like you have plenty of room to lower the frame and footrest.
 
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crosslandkelly

A somewhat settled
Jun 9, 2009
26,266
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North West London
Tidy!

I find that using the frame without mechanical advantage (so with the pivot on the top holes) rarely holds the piece tightly enough but it looks like you have plenty of room to lower the frame and footrest.

Thanks.
I'll need to have a proper play with it, then I can adjust to suit.
 

Tiley

Life Member
Oct 19, 2006
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Gloucestershire
Great stuff! A shave horse is something on my 'to do' list, so seeing yours is a further spur to my intention. However, mine will be genuinely scruffy, unlike yours! I've just got to figure out how best to create the long bit of wood from the trunk of a recently felled ash tree...
 
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Broch

Life Member
Jan 18, 2009
7,983
7,760
Mid Wales
www.mont-hmg.co.uk
I've just got to figure out how best to create the long bit of wood from the trunk of a recently felled ash tree...

Yep, that's the difficult bit. In the end I had to give up using a froe because all our ashes twist in growth for some reason; In a 2m length the grain can twist by as much as 90 degrees. So, I reverted to chain-sawing them in half and, because that was an effort, used the log in the half-round instead of making a plank. Even using wedges and trying to force the split in a straight line didn't work. Luckily, I have plenty of material to work with :)

However, if your ash is straight grained then an axe and some wedges is probably the easiest solution. I find a froe quite hard work for logs over 8" in diameter.

TG5P3300018 - 2 - 2056 - 25.jpg

TG5P3300017 - 2 - 2056 - 25.jpg
 
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crosslandkelly

A somewhat settled
Jun 9, 2009
26,266
2,212
67
North West London
Yep, that's the difficult bit. In the end I had to give up using a froe because all our ashes twist in growth for some reason; In a 2m length the grain can twist by as much as 90 degrees. So, I reverted to chain-sawing them in half and, because that was an effort, used the log in the half-round instead of making a plank. Even using wedges and trying to force the split in a straight line didn't work. Luckily, I have plenty of material to work with :)

However, if your ash is straight grained then an axe and some wedges is probably the easiest solution. I find a froe quite hard work for logs over 8" in diameter.

I had the same trouble with ash when I made a shave horse for my bushcraft group. Took a hell of a lot of work to flatten it with an axe.
 

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