Construction
The typical clamp is a vertical bar or bars, hinged on a pivot attached to or passing through the bench/seat top. The top of this bar is enlarged into the "horse" -, "dog" - or "dumb" head, the part that holds the wood. Some clamps are worked via string or rope, rather than mechanical leverage.
For extra precision and better clamping force, the clamp pivot point may be raised above the bench level on a sub-bench, giving more leverage. These so-called "Black Forest" or German and Swiss shave horses (as pictured) give a longer lever-ratio, creating greater mechanical advantage and thus greater force to trap the wood very securely.
Shave-horses are commonly workshop-made by their user and entirely wooden, though modern screws, washers, metal sleeves and threaded bolts, with locking nuts are a very welcome and practical innovation, allowing re-tightening or capability to be knocked-down as necessary.
For the itinerant bodgers, simplicity and lightness of their tools was important- thus the bodger often created their shave horse from found logs in their woodland plot.
The provides a rapid clamp and sturdy clamp, which allows the operator to use their legs and upper body weight as additional "power" for work. It is considered by some to result in less fatigue, than generated by constantly standing.
Read more about this topic: Shaving Horse
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