After the holes are drilled, insert the tapered ends of the legs into the holes. If the legs are tapered correctly, they should fit snugly. Use a mallet to make sure that each leg is snug in its hole. Insert a wooden wedge, perpendicular to the grain of the bench, into the cut in the top end of each leg. Use the mallet to drive the wedges securely into place. This will cause the tapered end of the leg to expand and tighten within the drilled hole. Use the handsaw to trim away any part of the wedge or leg that sticks above the surface of the bench.
PLATE 147 The top of a leg in place through the bench, with a securing wedge inserted and trimmed flush
Once the legs are securely in place, they should be checked to ensure they are of equal length and that the bench itself sits level. If the bench rocks, place the bench upside down on a flat surface. Measure from the flat surface to the end of each leg to find the shortest leg. Measure and mark the other legs at the height of the shortest leg, and use the handsaw to trim each of the legs to the same length, cutting parallel to the flat surface.
PLATE 148 The bench (on its side) with legs inserted
Creating the Dumbhead
The dumbhead is the actual vise part of the shaving horse that holds the wood you are shaving in place. It applies a downward force against the piece of wood, locking it in place against the shelf. This allows the woodworker to use both hands to work the drawknife.
To create the dumbhead, cut the remaining log section into a piece that is roughly 32 inches long and 6 inches wide. (It’s better to have too much than not enough.) The finished length of the dumbhead will be about 30 inches. Begin by making a cut about 6 inches from the end of your log section, square across the face [flat side], to a depth of 2 inches. This cut defines the gripping surface along the bottom of the dumbhead. Next, saw in along this cut from both sides of the log, leaving a 2-inch-thick trunk in the center of the log.
Using a wedge, split the extra wood from the sides and face of the log section, on the long side away from the face cut, leaving a solid 2-inch-square center section intact for the neck. Shape the dumbhead itself with the broadax or hatchet, rounding the top end, away from the face, and narrowing the head to about 6 inches across by splitting away the thin, rounded edges of the log section.
PLATE 149 The dumbhead with all mounting holes drilled: foot-pedal hole at the bottom (right), mounting holes just below the head
The final step in creating your dumbhead is drilling the mounting holes. Measure approximately 2 inches down the neck from the base of the head, and then use the auger and ½-inch bit to drill the first mounting hole in the neck, parallel to the face and at least ½ inch from the front edge of the neck. Move down the neck approximately 1 inch each time, drilling at least four holes. Move to the far end (bottom) of the neck, and drill one final hole, centered in the neck and approximately 2 inches from the end. This hole will be used to secure the foot pedal.
Creating the Bench Inset for the Dumbhead
To create the rectangular hole in the bench where the dumbhead swings, use the auger and 2-inch bit to drill a hole, centered across the bench, approximately 16 inches from the end of the bench. Follow this hole with three more, leaving ¼ inch of wood between holes, moving away from the end. After the holes are drilled, use the hatchet to cut out the remaining wood and square the corners of the hole, leaving a rectangular hole about 2 inches wide and 9 inches long. (A chisel can be used instead of the hatchet for a more accurate cut.)
Creating the Shelf
To create the shelf, use one of the leftover sections split from the original log. Cut and split the board to approximately 30 inches in length, 2-inch thickness, and 8-inch width. To create the angled surface where the shelf joins the bench, make a handsaw cut across the width of the board, starting about 6 inches from one end and cutting through the board at a shallow angle, aiming for the center of the board’s narrow end. This surface may need further cutting or hatchet adjustments to create an even join with the bench.
The next step is the stabilizing block, which raises the vise end of the shelf above the bench. Cut and split a 5-inch-tall, 8-inch-wide plank, around 2 inches thick, and square both ends with the saw. One end (the bottom) remains square to join the bench. The other (top) end needs to be angled to join evenly with the shelf. Place the saw approximately 1 inch from the end of the block and cut, across the width, at an angle toward the opposite corner of the board. This surface may also require later fine-tuning to create an even, solid join to the shelf.
Mounting the stabilizing block is the next step. Measure about 28 inches from the end of the bench (the end with the dumbhead mounting hole), and drive two small finishing nails partly into the bench, about 4 inches in from each side. Hold the stabilizing block on top of these nails, square end down, making sure the block is perpendicular (square) with the bench, and tap it down firmly a few times with the mallet. Do not drive the block down very far onto the nails—all that is needed is to score matching marks onto the square bottom end of the block. Remove the block and pull the nails out of the bench. Now use the auger and ½-inch bit to drill 1-inch-deep holes into the bench, centered on the nail holes. Then drill matching 1-inch-deep holes into the bottom of the block, centered on the score marks left by the nails. Drive 2-inch pegs, approximately ½ inch in diameter, into each of the holes in the bench. Line the pegs up with the holes in the stabilizing block and use the hammer to firmly tap it into place. The stabilizing block should now be secured tightly to the bench.
Now test-fit the shelf by holding it in place with the square end extending past the stabilizing block by 2 inches or so, and the angled end, facedown, resting on the end of the bench. Use the hatchet or handsaw to trim the angled surfaces of the shelf and the stabilizing block, if necessary, until an even, flat join is achieved.
Once the fit is satisfactory, have an assistant hold the shelf in place, likely by putting his weight on it. Using the auger and ½-inch bit, drill two 4-inch-deep holes through the shelf, vertically, straight down into the stabilizing block. The holes should be centered in the thickness of the block and roughly 2 inches in from the sides of the shelf. Next, drill two 3-inch-deep holes through the bench end of the shelf, also straight down into the bench. These holes should be 3 inches from the end of the shelf (not the end of the bench) and 2 inches in from the sides of the shelf.
Remove the shelf, and drive two ½-inch-diameter, 4¼-inch-long pegs into the holes in the top of the stabilizing block. Drive two ½-inch-diameter, 3¼-inch pegs into the holes in the bench. Align the holes in the shelf with the pegs, and apply pressure to the shelf to begin seating it into place. From this point, the hammer or mallet may be used to finish completely driving the shelf down onto the pegs to securely attach it to the bench and the stabilizing block. Work evenly around the shelf, driving in small steps at each peg, being careful not to split the shelf or the stabilizing block. Once the shelf is solidly against the stabilizing block and bench, use the handsaw to cut the pegs off even with the shelf surface for a smooth, finished appearance.
PLATE 150 A wooden mounting peg, driven through the shelf into the stabilizing block
Once the shelf is attached to the bench, make the dumbhead mounting hole in the shelf much the same as it was done for the bench. Drill the first 2-inch hole, centered across the shelf, about 8 inches down from the high end of the shelf. Follow it with two more holes, leaving ¼ inch of wood between them, working down the shelf. Use the hatchet to clean out and square the corners, leaving a 2-inch-by-6-inch rectangular hole.
Attaching the Dumbhead to the Shaving Horse
The first step in attaching the dumbhead to the shaving horse is drilling mounting holes into the shelf. Measure and mark a line across the shelf, about 2 inches down from the upper end of the mounting hole. Using the auger and ½-inch bit, move to the side of the shelf, center the bit in the thickness of the shelf, align the drill with the mark made across the shelf, and drill horizontally through the narrow edge of the shelf, into the rectangul
ar mounting hole. Move to the opposite side of the shelf and drill an identical hole.
PLATE 151 Mounting holes for the dumbhead, drilled through the shelf
Once the mounting holes are drilled, it is time to mount the dumbhead to the shelf. Mounting requires either a 6-inch-long dowel with a diameter of ½ inch (made from wood in the same manner as the legs) or a metal rod or anchor bolt with the same dimension. Slide the dumbhead down through the rectangular holes in the shelf and the bench. Slide the dowel through the hole in the side of the shelf, any mounting hole on the dumbhead, and finally through the other side of the shelf. The dumbhead should be securely mounted in place and swing freely.
PLATE 152 Installing the dumbhead
If the height of the dumbhead needs to be adjusted, simply remove the dowel, select a mounting hole at a different height on the dumbhead, and reinsert the dowel. When working on a very thick piece of wood, use the holes lower on the neck; for thinner pieces, use the higher ones. This ensures that the dumbhead keeps a tight grip on the wood.
Creating the Foot Pedal
The next thing to make for your shaving horse is the foot pedal for the bottom of the dumbhead neck. To do this, find a piece of scrap log from the earlier splitting. Use the hatchet or broadax to split a piece at least 1 inch thick (can be more), 12 inches long, and 6 inches wide.
PLATE 153 The foot pedal is held on the dumbhead shaft by a peg.
Using the ½-inch bit with the auger, drill four holes in a square pattern, approximately 1½ inches apart, centered across the width of the pedal, and about 2 inches from the center along the length. Use the hatchet or chisel to square the hole in the pedal, which should be about 2½ inches square. This is where the neck of the dumbhead will be inserted.
Once the pedal is in place, to keep it from falling off of the neck, place it above the hole in the bottom of the neck and insert a ½-inch-diameter wooden peg, 4 to 5 inches in length, through the hole so that it supports the pedal on both sides of the dumbhead neck. [A piece of metal may be substituted for added strength.]
Finished Product
Once the final pieces are in place, the finished product should look very similar to the shaving horse pictured below. The shaving horse will be approximately 6 feet in length, 12 inches wide, and 18 inches high from the floor to the top of the bench [seat]. All that is left to do is find a piece of wood, sharpen your drawknife, and begin using the shaving horse. It is always a good idea to test the strength and mechanics of the shaving horse fully before using it. This will prevent injuries and will allow troubleshooting of any minor problems.
PLATE 154 This diagram provides rough dimensions for the major parts of the shaving horse, and can be used to create a materials list if not using a full log.
PLATE 155 This is the shaving horse that Keifer and Claud built in spring 2009. It lives on a porch at The Foxfire Museum and Heritage Center and is routinely used for woodworking demonstrations during guided tours and other museum events.
Chair Bottoming with Poplar Bark
~Harriet Echols, Elvin Cabe, and Nelson Cabe~
We have published articles in our Foxfire book series on chair making before and on bottoming chairs with corn shucks and oak splits, but we have never done one on using poplar bark (from the tulip poplar, or Liriodendron tulipifera) to bottom chairs. Mrs. Harriet Echols told us that her parents used to bottom all their own chairs and she had been unsure about what time of the year the bark should be taken off the tree, so she checked with her neighbor, her son-in-law’s mother, Mrs. Mary Cabe. Granny Cabe told her the bark should be stripped from small poplar trees in late April or early May, as this is the time when the bark separates best from the tree.
On our first visit to her home, Mrs. Echols took us down to a field behind the house and showed us where some young poplar trees were growing that were suitable for making bark strips to use for chair bottoms. We tried splitting the bark off one of the poplars, then peeling the bark off the inner layer. It wasn’t easy for us to split the strips, so Mrs. Echols suggested that we come back another day and she’d have some of her neighbors help us.
On our return visit in early May, Nelson Cabe and his brother, Elvin Cabe, cut down a tall, straight poplar, about 6 inches around, and showed us how to strip the bark from the tree, then how to peel off the outer bark, leaving the inner bark to bottom a chair with. They even came on up to Mrs. Echols’s house and split the inner bark into 1-inch-wide strips, then helped us bottom a chair—an old one we had in our Foxfire classroom—as Mrs. Echols showed us how the pattern worked. It took us about an hour and a half to get the strips ready and to actually bottom the chair. We all felt so good about the job we did (with Nelson’s and Elvin’s help, of course) that we were ready to go home and bottom all the chairs at our own houses!
—Melanie Burrell
PLATE 156 Johnny Ramey (left), Mrs. Echols, and Fred Sanders on the porch, discussing how the chair bottoming will be done
PLATE 157 A tall, straight poplar tree with few branches is the best kind for making poplar bark strips. The one Mr. Elvin Cabe is cutting is about 3 to 4 inches in diameter.
PLATE 158 The thin part of the log at the top is cut off, and the branches are trimmed off. Using a sharp pocketknife, Mr. Cabe slits the bark lengthwise, from one end of the log to the other.
PLATE 159 He then runs his knife down the bark in a slit about 1 to 2 inches from the first cut and pulls off the first strip of bark. He and his brother, Nelson, continue to cut strips off the tree until it is completely stripped of bark all the way around. They got about four or five long strips from this tree, which was plenty for the chair we were bottoming.
PLATE 160 When they got to Mrs. Echols’s house, they peeled off the outer bark, leaving the white, pliable inner bark, which was used to bottom the chair. Nelson, left, and Elvin, right, splitting a piece of inner bark (that they’ve already scraped the rough outer bark off) into two pieces, about ¾ to 1 inch wide
PLATE 161 Mrs. Echols scraping off another piece of the bark, using a kitchen knife
PLATE 162 To begin bottoming the chair, a strip is folded over the chair round at the back of the chair. To hold the strip in place, tiny notches were made on either side of the strip, above and below the round, and then tied with a piece of string, looping it over and over about ten times.
PLATES 163 AND 164 This strip was about 20 feet long. We began looping it around the front and back rounds as shown in these two pictures.
PLATE 165 As we came to the end of the first piece of bark strip, Nelson showed us how to connect it to a second piece with a notch like the one pictured. This works quite well while the bark is still green. If it has dried out, simply soak it for a few hours before bottoming the chair. Also, to secure the notch, we tied a small string around the strips.
PLATE 166 After completely wrapping the seat in one direction, Nelson started weaving the strips across the chair. The pattern he chose was a simple under-over pattern. Although the weave felt loose at first, it began to tighten as more rows were woven.
PLATE 167 This shows the underside of the chair. It has to be woven just as the top side is. Note the notches where separate strips of poplar bark are connected.
PLATE 168 To complete the chair bottom, the end of the last strip is woven back through the last two or three vertical rows, leaving no loose ends.
Raising Native Azaleas from Seed
~Coyl Justice~
“About publishin’ [my] secret, I don’t mind because at eighty-four, it don’t make a lot of difference. None of my family is gonna do it anyway.”
In their nursery tucked into a hillside of the Betty’s Creek community in Dillard, Georgia, Coyl Justice and his wife, Mildred, demonstrated for me the steps of gathering and then planting the seeds of the native azalea bushes that provide beautiful color in the mountains each spring. As he described to me each step of the process of growing these azaleas from seed, Mr. Justice told me not only what he does in his nursery but also how a laype
rson could copy what he does, using materials frequently found in the average home. As we walked their property, I witnessed the thrift and ingenuity that have undoubtedly been contributing factors in the success of their nursery. No container seemed to be wasted; even old medicine bottles were recycled and put to good use. Long before “green” was anything other than a color, Mr. and Mrs. Justice, and so many other people of the southern Appalachian Mountains like them, were making do with what they had, saving anything that could be reused, and wasting little, simply because doing so just made good sense.
During my time with them, I found Mr. and Mrs. Justice to be patient with the many questions of a novice gardener and generous with their hard-earned knowledge. Their passion for their work was clear as they enthusiastically showed me all their many plants and gave advice for some of my own gardening dilemmas.
The Justices maintain several greenhouses in which they grow various types of plants that they will later sell in their nursery. Through hard work, study, patience, and determination, they have created a business that they enjoy. The fruits of their labors have beautified homes in the surrounding area for many years, ensuring that long after they’ve retired, their legacy will continue.
—Lacy Hunter Nix
PLATE 169 Coyl Justice holding an immature seedpod with evidence of bug infestation
Gathering and Storing
After the native azaleas have bloomed out in late spring, a seedpod will form where the blossoms were. Allow the pod to remain on the plant until it begins to brown, usually in late September. Mr. Justice explained to us that if the pod remained on the plant for too long, it would burst when picked, spilling the seeds onto the ground.
The Foxfire 45th Anniversary Book Page 55