®

Multi-Function
Shavehorse

©2021 Cruz Bay Publishing, Inc. an Active Interest Media Company

 { A shop-made wood clamp screw controls an
adjustable jaw that makes it easier to work with
different-sized workpieces. An article on page 8
shows you how to cut threads in wood.

Multi-Function
Shavehorse
{ The shavehorse doubles as a sawbench for other
hand tool operations like using a hand saw. A V-notch
supports workpieces for ripping. Bench dog holes
work with hold-downs for securing project parts.

No, this isn’t a woodworking rowing machine. This traditional device helps
you get the most from hand tools.
There’s a branch of the woodwork- may not be familiar with. One of those is and a spokeshave. The pulling stroke of
ing family tree that begins, well, with a a shavehorse. It’s equal parts workbench, the tool works in concert with the push-
tree. Log sections are split and shaped vise, and shop chair all rolled into one. ing effort from your feet. The harder you
into rough blanks while the wood still And it’s used to hold odd-shaped work- press, the stronger the vise action. It’s very
contains a good amount of moisture. pieces while you work them. efficient and fun to use.
Working “green wood” with hand tools is To secure a workpiece, press against the The main difference between this and
easier than hard, dried wood. Green wood- foot pedal. The upper jaw clamps down on other shavehorse designs is the addition
workers shape the parts into chairs, stools, the piece locking it in place. Repositioning of the adjustable vise screw on top. This
spoons, bowls, and more. the part only requires you to release the accommodates different sizes of work-
Working with parts that aren’t flat, pressure from your feet. This arrangement pieces with a few turns of the handle.
straight, and square requires a different works well with the two tools most often The seat also serves as a sawhorse and
mindset and employs some tools you associated with shavehorses: a drawknife worksurface.

1 WoodsmithPlans.com WS24726 ©2021 Cruz Bay Publishing, Inc. an Active Interest Media Company. All Rights Reserved.
 a.
FIRST: Cut strips from 1 3
an extra-wide blank
A B A

SECOND: Form mortises

in side strips END VIEW Mortise

THIRD: Glue up
strips into deck

b.
4
A

A
SIDE STRIP Deck
B
(3"x 52") CENTER STRIP
(1!%/16"x 52")
SIDE VIEW

c. d. #/4

#/8"-dia.
2&/16
#/8" roundover
FOURTH: Drill holes
after gluing up deck
FIFTH: Cut notches
and deck to final shape 1!/2

2
NOTE: All parts are !/2"-rad. TOP
1#/4"-thick hardwood VIEW
1!/2 1!/2

!/8" roundover TOP VIEW

Multipurpose deck
A shavehorse leans more heavy of the center strip creates one of the deck that are better drilled
toward hard-working prac- angled side of the mortise. The while the piece is still square.
ticality than appearance and other side is made using a dado These are used to attach the foot
presentation. So I made this one blade with an angled miter pedal and clamp mechanism
out of poplar. It’s easy to work, gauge, as illustrated in Figure 2. and the front edge of the table
strong enough, and low cost. The I want to pause and point out (detail ‘d’ above).
starting point is the long deck that since the mortises are raked The pivot hole has a shallow
that serves as the seat, work- and splayed, you’ll be creating counterbore on each side (once
surface, and pivot point for the mirror image pairs of mortises in the deck is cut to final shape) to
built-in clamp. the side strips. For the opposite house a flanged bearing. I chose
While it ends up as a single pair, you need to rotate the miter to drill these at the drill press, as
piece, the deck starts as three gauge in the opposite direction. shown in Figure 4.
narrow strips (drawing above). Completing the mortises Since the deck is so wide,
The pieces are beveled on the allows you to glue the deck into you’ll need to drill from each
mating edges, as you can see in a single unit. Figure 3 shows edge. Clamping a fence on the
Figure 1 on the next page. how to keep it flat. drill press table helps align the
Making Mortises. The reason for Drilling Holes. Don’t get carried holes. To drill the second part
this is to simplify forming the away with cutting the profile of of the hole, all you need to do
splayed and raked mortises the deck just yet. There are two is flip the piece around, keeping
for the legs. The beveled edges holes drilled through the edge the same face against the fence.

2 WoodsmithPlans.com WS24726 ©2021 Cruz Bay Publishing, Inc. an Active Interest Media Company. All Rights Reserved.
 9 4 1"-dia. 14
TOP VIEW counterbore
#/4"-dia.

#/4"-dia.
through hole !/2
1!/2

12 12
!/2"-rad.

Two Notches. Each end of the complete the whole job just as make it more comfortable to sit
deck is notched, but for different well (I won’t judge). on the shavehorse, as shown in
reasons. The front is notched to The notch on the opposite the drawing above. Once the
accept the front leg of the table end of the deck takes a different sides are cut out, you can round
you’ll add later, as in detail ‘d’ shape. It’s V-shaped (as in detail over the edges.
on the previous page. In keep- ‘c’ on the previous page) to sup- Bench Dog Holes. The remaining
ing with the hand tool nature of port a board during rip cuts with deck detail is to drill a series of
the project, you can cut the sides a hand saw. For this, I drilled bench dog holes. These allow
of the notch with a hand saw. out the root of the V then cut the you to use dogs and hold-
Cut along the baseline with a sides with a hand saw. downs to secure a workpiece
coping saw and cleanup with a Relieved Sides. The long edges for sawing, drilling, and other
chisel and file. A jig saw would of the deck are cut narrower to shaping tasks.

making the deck a. SIDE

SECTION
VIEW

1 2 Rotate miter
gauge 15°
1

a.
Extra-wide END VIEW
blank 3
Top face b. TOP VIEW
A
2#/4
A

Auxiliary
miter gauge Keep beveled edge 5!/4
Tilt saw blade 15° fence on saw table

Bevel Ripping. Starting with an extra-wide blank, Mortises at the Table Saw. Rotate the miter gauge to create the
bevel rip the deck into three narrow strips to help splay in the mortise. Be sure to keep the beveled edge of the strip flat
create the raked, splayed mortises. on the saw table (detail ‘a’). Make the mortise in several passes.

3 4 a.
Apply
wax to
edge 1"-dia.
Forstner !(/32
of cauls
Caul bit FRONT
SECTION
VIEW
Clamp cauls to
assembly before
tightening
side-to-side clamps NOTE: Attach fence
to drill press table
to locate holes

Glue It Up Flat. The beveled edges can cause the strip Drilling Holes. Start with a Forstner bit to create the counterbore
to slip during glueup. Clamping cauls above and below (detail ‘a’). Then switch to a brad point bit to drill as deep as you
the joint lines holds the parts in alignment. can. Flip the workpiece and repeat the steps on the other edge.

3 WoodsmithPlans.com WS24726 ©2021 Cruz Bay Publishing, Inc. an Active Interest Media Company. All Rights Reserved.
 NOTE: Legs are

Raked & splayed LEGS 1#/4"-thick hardwood

For maximum stability, the legs C

of the shavehorse angle in two

directions called rake and splay.
a. BOTTOM VIEW
Rake refers to the side to side
#/4
lean, while splay describes the
1#/4 end-to-end tilt (drawing at right). C
15° The mortises you’ve already NOTE: Legs are
completed in the deck give you !/4" tapered
made in
mirror-image
a good start. The task at hand roundover pairs
is to make the legs to fit into
those mortises. b. SIDE SECTION VIEW
FRONT Before jumping in though, C
VIEW
I want to remind you that the
legs are made in mirror-image C
C C
LEG Deck
pairs. So label your parts clearly. (3!/2"x 19!/8")
The first step is to cut the legs
C
to final length. This means mak-
ing a compound angle cut on
each end, as shown in the left so that the tenon is a bit longer The final step is to cut the
drawings. There’s more shaping than the thickness of the deck. tenon to width. You can use
to be done, but for now, it’s time This avoids having a sunken the same method as cutting the
to tackle the tenons on the top. joint. (You can trim the tenons wide face, but I found that mark-
15° Three-Step Tenons. When the flush after assembly.) ing the width and cutting with a
!/2 tenon angles in two directions, For the second step, swap out hand saw worked just as well.
forming them follows a differ- the single blade for a wide dado Tapered Legs. When the legs fit
ent route from a straight tenon. blade. In several passes, remove the mortises snugly, they’re
The first step is cutting the the rest of the waste, working out ready for some shaping. The left
#/4 wide shoulder. I used a single to the end of the tenon. This is drawings show a gradual taper
1#/4 blade for this step, as shown shown in Figure 2. along both the width and thick-
15°
below in Figure 1. Here, both At this point, you should be ness of the leg. This is done to
the blade and the miter gauge able to test the fit of the tenon to lighten the look of the leg. There
are angled to match the mortise. the mortise by slipping the cor- are several ways to approach
It’s a good idea to locate this cut ner of the tenon into the mortise. this detail. The method I used

C
ANGled & offset TENONs
SIDE
VIEW
1 Aux. miter
gauge fence 2 Rotate
miter
C gauge 15°
C
Leg
a.
a. END SECTION END SECTION
VIEW VIEW
15° Remove waste
1#/4
Tilt saw
#/4 blade 15° Replace single
!/4 Rotate miter
gauge 15° blade with dado
set at 90°

Tenon Shoulder. Start with a single blade to Tenon Cheek. Square up the blade and switch to a
define the shoulder on the wide face of the leg. dado stack to remove the remaining waste and form
Rotate the miter gauge and tilt the saw blade. the wide cheek of the tenon.

4 WoodsmithPlans.com WS24726 ©2021 Cruz Bay Publishing, Inc. an Active Interest Media Company. All Rights Reserved.
was to form the taper with a
hand plane. I started with coarse TOP
(5!/4"x 18") BACK SUPPORT
cuts, then smoothed the faces F (4"x 5#/4")
and edges with lighter passes E
with a fine blade setting.
Rounding the long edges and
FRONT
end of the leg softens sharp cor- SUPPORT
(4"x 3") NOTE: All parts
ners and matches the deck. Then made from
D
glue the legs into the deck. #/4"-thick hardwood
#/8"-dia. hole
WorkTable b.
#/4
Moving up from the legs, the
next part of the shavehorse to
make is the table, as shown in F
the right drawing. This assem- D
bly creates a worksurface for the #/8"-16 x 7!/2" TOP
workpiece to rest on while it’s Hex head bolt VIEW
w/washers & nut
being shaped.
%/8
The table consists of three
parts: a top and two supports. a. FRONT VIEW E
The supports are different
lengths to hold the table at a 1&/8
F c. !/4
comfortable working angle. The !/8" roundover
shorter front support has a hole
!/8" roundover
drilled through it to attach to !/4
the deck with a bolt. This forms
a pivot so that you can raise the
back support up with a block to D END VIEW
shape thinner stock. The back
support is simply cut to size and
the bottom rounded slightly.
Notched. The top is wider than Cut NOTCHes & V-Groove
the supports. To join the parts,
a notch is formed on the top to
accept the supports, similar to 1 2
a mortise and tenon (detail ‘b’).
Cut the notches using a dado F
blade while holding the top on Tall aux.
Assembled
miter gauge
end, as in Figure 1 at right. F fence work table
The aim here is for a snug fit. D
Too tight could split the top, so
90°
sneak up on the width of the V-groove
notch. In my book, you should bit
Dado blade
have to press the pieces together
firmly with your hands.
a. END SECTION a.
Grooved. The three parts can
VIEW SIDE VIEW
be glued together so the upper
!/4
surface is flat. Once the clamps %/8
come off, head to the router table #/4
and rout a V-shaped groove
down the length of the assem-
bly (detail ‘c’ and Figure 2). This
detail allows you to hold square Making a Notch. A tall auxiliary miter Routing a V-Groove. Take your time to
parts corner to corner and also gauge fence provides support for the top center the bit on the width of the table
prevents round parts from shift- while cutting the wide notch. before routing the groove.
ing in the jaws.

5 WoodsmithPlans.com WS24726 ©2021 Cruz Bay Publishing, Inc. an Active Interest Media Company. All Rights Reserved.
 HANDLE
HUB (!/2"-dia. x 7") M
(1!/2"-dia. x 2") a. FRONT VIEW
L

An adjustable CLAMP
L
!/8"
H
chamfer
STRETCHER
(1!/2"x 8#/8") 1#/8 M
If you remember your simple 1!/4
machines, there are two here: K
CLAMP SCREW !/2"-13
the lever and the screw. A foot- (1"-dia. x 8!/4")
!/8" cap nut
roundover
operated lever presses a jaw K
#10 x 1!/2" Rh
against a workpiece resting on !/8" roundover woodscrew
the table. The jaw’s relative posi- w/washer

tion can be adjusted with a wood I

ADJUSTABLE JAW
screw. There are more pieces here (2!/4"x 6!/16")
FRONT I
VIEW
than in the other sections of the
construction, but it’s still pretty RUNNER
(#/8"x 7!/8")
#/4 straightforward. G
J
POST J
A Strong Frame. In essence, (2"x 27")
you’re making a stout frame to
&/8 support the clamp jaw. It’s out- G
lined in the right drawing. A
#/8 !/8"
pair of long posts anchor two roundover
9#/8 thick stretchers which together
house the sliding jaw assembly. #/4"-dia. hole
12 The posts have through mor- !/2"-13 x 9"
tises in the upper half to hold hex head bolt,
w/washers and nut
the stretchers (left drawing and H

Figure 1 on the next page). A

shallow groove runs between !/2" ID flanged
sleeve bearing
&/8 the mortises to accept a runner,
NOTE: Clamp screw is
as shown in details ‘b’ and ‘c.’ made from 1"-dia. dowel.
You can see the way to do this at Hub is cut from a
1!/2"-dia. dowel. NOTE: Posts are
the router table in Figure 2. Bar is !/2"-dia. dowel 1"-thick hardwood.
At the bottom, you need to cut Stretchers are 1!/2"-thick
hardwood. Adjustable
a slot to hold the pedal. I found b. jaws are &/8"-thick
1"-dia. 1!/8
counter- it was best to cut this at the band FRONT
hardwood. Runners are
#/4"-thick hardwood
bore, saw. There’s also a counterbored VIEW
#/32"- G
deep hole that holds a flanged sleeve
!/16" chamfer
G bearing just like the deck. A
roundover softens all the edges H c.
and completes the post work. J
#/8
I
Stretchers. The two stretch- %/16
TOP
ers have long tenons on the #/8 J G
SECTION
ends sized for a snug fit in the VIEW
I
I #/16
mortises (detail ‘b’). The upper
stretcher has a threaded hole for
the wood clamp screw. A wood #/8 #/8
#/8"-dia. threading kit includes a tap and #/8
threadbox and is frankly fun to SIDE
d. G K SECTION
use. The article on page 8 walks VIEW
you through the process step by Each half has a rabbet on each
1#/4
step. The stretchers have round- end that together forms a slot to #/4"-dia.
1 hole
1 overs routed on the edges and engage with runners installed in I I
#10 x 1!/2" Rh
!/2
can then be glued to the posts. the posts, as shown in details ‘b’ woodscrew
Adjustable Jaw. The sliding and ‘c’ above.
adjustable jaw is a unique con- The jaw also has holes drilled
struction. It’s made in two from each edge to accept the #/4
!/4
halves and is designed to be clamp screw from above and a
#10 fender washer
assembled in place with screws. steel mounting screw and fender

6 WoodsmithPlans.com WS24726 ©2021 Cruz Bay Publishing, Inc. an Active Interest Media Company. All Rights Reserved.
 a.
washer from below. To drill these,
Post 1
screw the halves together and
drill the holes at the drill press.
BOTTOM !/2
The lower edge of the jaw is #/8"-16 x 2#/4"
VIEW
Hex head bolt N
rounded to make a better clamp- w/washers and nut
ing surface (detail ‘d’). And a
N
PEDAL b. END VIEW
centered notch is cut to hold (1!/2"x 1!/2"- 18!/8")
square parts firmly at an angle. 5 !/4"-rad.
N
Clamp Screw. The clamp screw is
made from a wood dowel that’s Roundovers taper to
threaded using the threadbox !/4" radius at end of pedal
from the kit. (Refer to Sources
on page 12.) The dowel has a
tenon shaped on each end. I did Through MORTISE & Groove
this at the router table using a
straight bit. The dowel is held in
a V-block and rotated over the 1 Auxiliary drill 2
bit to form the tenon. press fence
&/8" Forstner G
bit Lower post over bit
The clamp screw is capped and rout from
with a hub cut from a larger mortise to mortise

dowel (detail ‘a’ on the previous

G
page). Then drill a hole through #/8" straight bit
the hub and screw to accept
a. Square up a.
a dowel handle. The handle the hole with END
a chisel VIEW
is secured with steel cap nuts
#/8
twisted onto the ends.
The screw can be threaded into
the upper stretcher and screwed
into the jaw, as shown in detail Through Mortise. A Forstner bit Stopped Groove. The router table is
‘d’ on the previous page. This and chisel form a one-two punch to my tool of choice for cutting stopped
whole assembly can be installed create accurate mortises. grooves. Cut the groove in two passes.
on the deck using a large hex
bolt, washers, and a nut.
Materials, Supplies & Cutting Diagram
Foot Pedal
A Side Strips (2) 13⁄4 x 3 - 52 M Handle (1) 1⁄ -dia. - 7
2
The final part to make is the
B Center Strip (1) 13⁄4 x 115⁄16 - 52 N Pedal (1) 1 ⁄2 x 11⁄2 - 181⁄8
1
pedal that attaches to the bot-
C Legs (4) 13⁄4 x 31⁄2 - 191⁄8 • (2) 1⁄2"I.D. x 3⁄4"O.D. - 1⁄2" Flanged Bearings
tom of the posts. This piece has
D Front Support (1) 3⁄ x 4 - 3
4 • (1) 3⁄8"-16 x 71⁄2" Hex bolts & Nuts
a pair of dadoes cut across oppo-
E Back Support (1) 3⁄ - 4 x 53⁄
4 4 • (6) 3⁄8" Washers
site faces to slide into the notches
F Top (1) 3⁄ x 51⁄ - 18
4 4 • (3) #10 x 11⁄2" Rh Woodscrews
in the bottom of the posts (upper
G Posts (2) 1 x 2 - 27 • (2) #10 Washers
right drawing and detail ‘a’).
H Stretchers (2) 11⁄2 x 11⁄2 - 83⁄8 • (1) #10 Fender Washer
Before installing the pedal,
I Adjustable Jaws (2) 7⁄ x 21⁄ - 61⁄
8 4 16 • (1) 1⁄2"-13 x 9" Hex Bolt & Nut
shape a tapered roundover on
J Runners (2) 3⁄ x 3⁄ - 71⁄
4 8 8 • (2) 1⁄2" Washers
the outer ends. This detail eases
K Clamp Screw (1) 1-dia. - 81⁄4 • (2) 3⁄8"-16 x 23⁄4" Hex Bolts & Nuts
the edges of the pedal making
L Hub (1) 11⁄2-dia. - 2 • (2) 1⁄2"-13 Cap Nuts
it more comfortable to press
against and prevents the edges 1"x 6" - 72" Poplar (3.0 Bd. Ft.)
from splintering over time. E D G I I
F J
The pedal is secured with tt

bolts, washers, and nuts (no 1#/4"x 4" - 96" Poplar (4.7 Bd. Ft.)
C C A
glue). This way, you can take it
apart if necessary. Then you can 1#/4"x 6" - 96" Poplar (7.0 Bd. Ft.) N H L H
have a seat, grab a piece of wood A C C
B
and drawknife and before you
know it, end up with a chair.

7 WoodsmithPlans.com WS24726 ©2021 Cruz Bay Publishing, Inc. an Active Interest Media Company. All Rights Reserved.
Cutting Threads
in Wood

8 WoodsmithPlans.com WS24726 ©2021 Cruz Bay Publishing, Inc. an Active Interest Media Company. All Rights Reserved.
As a kid, I spent hours open- But to be honest, I’ve always fairly consistent. But cutting uni-
ing and closing the vise on been a bit intimidated about form threads isn’t as difficult as it
my grandfather’s workbench. building a project that required sounds. In fact, all you need are
It had wood jaws, a wood cutting wood threads. To prevent two simple tools.
handle, and best of all, a large the threaded parts from binding, TAP & THREADBOX. The inside
wooden screw. the threads would have to be threads are formed by drilling
Ever since then, I’ve been fas- identical — inside and out. And a hole and gradually twisting
cinated by projects with wood that sounded complicated. a tap down into it. (The tap is
threads. Deep, V-shaped threads As it turns out, I was right the metal tool with a T-shaped
spiral around the outside of a about one thing. To get the handle in the main photo.) To
wood cylinder. And these threads threaded parts to fit together cut the outside threads, you spin
mesh together with threads smoothly, the size and spacing a threadbox (the wood box with
inside a hole (right photo below). of the threads does have to be turned handles) around a dowel.
SIZE. Threading tools are
available as matched sets that
range from 1⁄2" to 11⁄2", refer to
Sources on page 12. The size
refers to the diameter of the
dowel that can be threaded.

{ Veneer Press. Tightening a single wood screw applies all the clamping { The threaded dowel must match
pressure that’s needed for this small veneer press. With different sets of the threads in the hole perfectly for
threadboxes and taps, you can make the wood screw in various sizes. a smooth, easy-to-use screw.

{ Benchtop Vise. The twin wood screws on this small, benchtop { Small-Piece Clamps. Cutting small wood threads are ideal for
vise thread into tapped holes in the back jaw. Apply a couple of small, delicate work such as these micro clamps. Just thread a
oversized caps and handles for a functional benchtop vise. short dowel and then tap threads in the lower nut.

9 WoodsmithPlans.com WS24726 ©2021 Cruz Bay Publishing, Inc. an Active Interest Media Company. All Rights Reserved.
 FIRST: SECOND: THIRD: FOURTH:
Insert Turn tap Back out Repeat
tap and clockwise tap a steps 2 & 3
check for two or quarter until tap cuts
square three turn to through hole
turns clear
chips

Drill hole !/8"

smaller than tap

Inside Threads CUT THREADS. After letting the

I begin a threading project by oil soak in, it’s time to cut the
cutting the inside threads with threads. The bottom end of the
the tap, as in the photo at right. tap has a slight taper that helps
Later, this makes it easy to test center it in the hole, see first
the fit of the threads on the step in drawing above.
dowel and make any necessary Even so, the important thing
adjustments to the threadbox. is to make sure the tap goes
PILOT HOLE. The first step is to straight into the hole. (It will
drill a pilot hole for the tap. As still cut if it goes in at an angle,
a rule, this hole should be 1⁄8" but the dowel that threads into
smaller in diameter than the the hole will wobble or bind.)
nominal size of the tap. (For To accomplish this, twist the { A sharp tap combined with a
example, drill a 13⁄8" hole for tap slowly and evenly in a closed-grain hardwood leaves crisp
a 11⁄2" tap.) This way, there’s clockwise direction, applying threads ready for a mate.
plenty of material left to cut a small amount of downward
away and form the threads. pressure (second step). turn to clear the chips, like you
LUBRICATION. The tap will fit At first, the tap will turn see in the third step.
quite snug in the hole. So to freely. But after a couple of Now, it’s a simple matter of
make it easy to turn, it’s best turns, you’ll start to feel resis- continuing to thread the hole
to apply a generous amount of tance. At that point, back the all the way through the block,
oil. (I use boiled linseed oil.) tap out about a quarter of a as shown in the fourth step.

selecting dowels
The secret to ending up with crisp, SHAPE. The shape of the dowel is
clean threads is selecting the right also important. As the wood dries,
dowels. For starters, stick with the dowel may go out of round.
close-grained hardwoods like maple, (You’ll know by the egg-shaped
cherry, walnut, or birch. Open- ends.) These dowels feed crookedly
grained woods (like oak) have a through the threadbox.
tendency to chip out. SIZE. One final consideration is the
STRAIGHT. You’ll also want to check diameter of the dowel. Many dow-
that the dowel is straight. It’s diffi- els are slightly smaller or larger than
cult to cut consistent threads if it’s their stated size. So you may want to
bowed. (I roll the dowel across my take the threadbox with you to the
bench to check straightness.) lumberyard and check the fit.

10 WoodsmithPlans.com WS24726 ©2021 Cruz Bay Publishing, Inc. an Active Interest Media Company. All Rights Reserved.
 Outside Threads CHAMFER & OIL. To get the first
Once the threads are cut inside thread started (and keep
the hole, you’re halfway done. the fragile edge from chip-
Now it’s time to pick up the ping), I sand a chamfer on
threadbox and cut the outside the end of the dowel. Here
threads in the dowel. again, applying oil softens
TWO PARTS. The threadbox con- the wood fibers and makes
sists of two wood blocks that it easier to cut the threads.
house a V-shaped cutter, see TEST CUT. The threadbox I
drawing below. The cutter fits used was already adjusted
into a notch in a threaded post. by the manufacturer. But
Tightening a nut on the end it’s still a good idea to cut
of the post locks the cutter in a threads in a scrap piece and
“pocket” in the upper block. check the fit of the dowel in
Just a word of caution. The the tapped hole. { When cutting threads with the threadbox, use a quality
post is made of brass, so it’s Don’t expect wood dowel. As you start cutting, check the fit in the already cut
fairly soft. So to avoid bending threads to fit as tightly as hole and make adjustments as necessary for a perfect fit.
(or breaking) it, be careful not to metal threads. (A good fit
overtighten the nut. will seem a bit loose.) This pre- Now grip the threadbox by the
METAL INSERT. The cutter is posi- vents the threaded parts from handles and slowly rotate it in a
tioned right next to a metal binding when the wood expands clockwise direction. At the same
insert in the upper block. This or contracts with changes in time, apply steady, even pressure
insert is threaded to match the humidity. Note: To improve the downward. There’s not much
threads cut by the tap. The rea- fit, adjust the depth of cut by slid- resistance — about as much as
son is simple. ing the cutter in or out. using a corkscrew.
When you rotate the thread- CUT THREADS. Once you’re sat- If the threadbox gets harder to
box around the dowel, the cutter isfied with the fit, clamp the turn, it’s probably because chips
makes a groove that “catches” “real” workpiece vertically in have clogged the throat open-
the threads in the insert. These a vise and lower the threadbox ing. To clear the chips, simply
threads then pull the cutter onto the end of the dowel. You’ll back off the threadbox about a
around the dowel. This creates a feel a “thunk” as the cutter con- quarter of a turn.
spiral groove in the tapped hole. tacts the end of the dowel. As you continue to turn the
threadbox, it will work
its way down the dowel,
EXPLODED VIEW Nut exposing the newly cut
tightens
OF THREADBOX on post threads on the end.
to secure THREAD SHAPE. The ridges
cutter
on these threads are fairly
sharp (detail ‘a’). Because
Slot for of this, they’re a bit frag-
chip ejection
Metal insert
guides threaded ile, and they may chip
Upper block
dowel with use. But that won’t
houses insert weaken the thread. The
and cutter
thick root of the thread
Lower block guides that fits in the
and supports unthreaded Post
part of dowel groove provides
the strength.
UNSCREW THREADBOX.
a. After you reach
Sharp V-shaped the desired length,
thread cutter
fits into back the threadbox off the
notch
in post dowel. Then run it back
down one more time. I find
Dowel this clean-up pass leaves
Cutter the thread faces smoother
and better-fitting.

11 WoodsmithPlans.com WS24726 ©2021 Cruz Bay Publishing, Inc. an Active Interest Media Company. All Rights Reserved.
 MAIL Project Sources
ORDER
SOURCES • McMaster-Carr
Flange Bearings . . . . . 6338K422
McMaster-Carr • Woodcraft
630-833-0300 1”-6 Threading Kit. . . . . . 12T15
mcmaster.com

Woodcraft The shavehorse has a couple

800-225-1153 coats of wipe-on oil finish.
woodcraft.com Manufacturers and retailers
will periodically redesign or
discontinue some of their items.
So you’ll want to gather all the
hardware, supplies, and tools
you need before you get started.
It’s easy to adjust dimensions or
drill different-sized holes to suit
your hardware.

12 WoodsmithPlans.com WS24726 ©2021 Cruz Bay Publishing, Inc. an Active Interest Media Company. All Rights Reserved.