Category: Workbench & Accessories. Japanese saw horses

The Japanese Floor Workbench (Atedai 当て台) by Dominic Campbell – Part 2

When a work lifts your spirits and inspires bold and noble thoughts in you, do not look for any other standard to judge by: the work is good, the product of a master craftsman.

Jean de la Bruyere

Introduction

Gentle Reader, welcome to this second installment in my series of articles about the Japanese floor workbench called the “Atedai.” In Part 1 we looked at some of the design considerations and construction techniques involved in making this tool. In this presentation we will get to the fun part of putting it to use.

These workbenches, as I hope you will see, are incredibly versatile tools that can be used in endless ways. My objective in this article is to show you a number of those methods, some traditional and some less so, and inspire you to maybe give it a go yourself.

I will use examples from my own work, as well as examples from master craftsmen (including a few National Living Treasures of Japan) who have completed rigorous apprenticeships and used atedai professionally much longer than I ever will.

I have not received any direct training in this method of working but have ‘stolen’ many ideas and methods (lit. “Gijutsu wo nusumu” 技術を盗む) through observation and practice of their techniques.

This is the way traditional apprenticeships run in Japan – the master seldom gives direct instructions and entertains few questions, yet the apprentice is expected to learn everything – through observation and practice – and is thus said to “steal” his master’s techniques. Only in my case, my teachers are Stan, books, the internet, and videos!

I will use a fair number of pictures and video links in this blog, as they will show much more nuance than words can about how master craftsmen use their Atedai.

蟻を使った馬の作り方　Make saw horse

Disclaimer

If you live in a ‘chair culture’ and are just starting to work lower to the ground, then this may be the first time you have sat cross-legged on the floor since school. Take it easy! Go slow, improve your flexibility gradually and your knees will thank you. This style of woodworking is physical, and you must orient your whole body with the work to be efficient, and safe, which at first can cause some aches and pains. Bear with it – the results will be worth a little suffering!

If the floor is out of the question, don’t despair! There are a number of ways to use an Atedai either sitting on a stool or standing, which we will explore in this article as well.

Sawing

Sawing using an atedai falls mainly into two categories – rough sawing for stock preparation, and precision sawing for finer work/joinery.

Rough sawing doesn’t differ much from using low sawhorses… you lay your work flat on the bench, making sure to hang it over the side, or off the far end of the bench, and use your foot to stabilize the board while your hands work the saw. This is very quick and accurate methodology, one that doesn’t require the large, bulky, difficult-to-store sawhorses typically used in the Western woodworking tradition, but it is dependent on using Japanese saws.

Fear not, Gentle Reader, for you can still use Western planes… both on the normal push stroke, as well as the pull… by adopting this work style. I often use No.5 and No.7 planes for initial rough stock preparation, and both can be used well low-down, although it must be said not quite as well as Japanese planes. To push I often kneel to the side, or sit on the work and push towards the stops. Maybe not elegant, but still good enough for me – either way, no one is watching, except maybe Master Sprocket, the neighbor’s cat, who meticulously supervises every step of my work!

Another way to use push planes is to stand the atedai on its side and clamp the workpiece to its face, which allows you to plane standing up… this can also be useful with Japanese planes when planing longer boards or when you just need to stretch your legs and rest your back.

Jigs for any number of planing tasks are used as much in the Japanese tradition as they are in the West for 45° and 90° angles and, except for being designed for the pull stroke, do not really differ. One jig, however that may be new to you is a rather simple, but incredibly effective, device helping to shoot long edges. It is simply a flat board with a stop, which elevates the board above the surface of the bench, allowing your plane to shoot the edge of a board. This is one of the reasons you will often see 2 stops rather than 1 long stop on the Atedai. One stop braces the shooting board and workpiece while the gap between the two stops allows the plane to pass through and finish the stroke.

Chisel Work

Just as when planing, there are a number of ways, and many more besides, to use chisels at an Atedai depending on the task at hand.

For mortising, and other similar tasks, a great way to hold the work is with your derrière. Yes, finally we come to the famous bum clamp. Sitting on your stock (while potentially uncomfortable on narrow or high stock) is one of the best ways to keep the work steady and both hands free for using tools while positioning yourself for efficient and safe work with your eye directly over the mortise to help ensure the chisel stays plumb. As we will see, this is also very effective while at a standing bench too.

Hollowing work, like that used in kurimono carving, is often performed while sitting to the side of the bench directing all the force into the stop, and keeping the work steady. Be warned here, keep a mental note of where your left knee is in relation to your chisel! In this position it’s easy to make powerful horizontal hammer blows, and the last thing you want is a chisel jumping out of the cut into your knee.

The final ‘standard’ chiselling position is at the end of the Atedai, often using your foot to stabilize the work piece, although clamps may also be used. This allows for quick repositioning of the workpiece, if needed, and holds the work solidly enough for the work at hand (foot?). As you tend to chisel more or less vertically in this position, your foot isn’t in much danger, but it still pays to be cognizant of the potential risk at all times.

In the photo above, Mr. Makoto Imai, a highly skilled carpenter, is using a similar set up, which was immortalised in ‘The Workbench Book’ by Scott Landis. The stop here is just a screw, which is all you need for most planing operations – although care must be taken if you don’t want to mark the end grain. I love the simplicity of this set up, and find Makoto’s work truly inspiring. Credit: Daiku Dojo http://www.daikudojo.org/Archive/20070414_tfgwc_asilomar_makoto_imai_demo/

While easier on the body in some respects, the lack of vises (Editor’s note: “virtually free of sin”) still means these workbenches require good flexibility and the use of body clamps. There is no escaping the fact that Japanese woodworking can be very physical. With that said, due to the need to lift your knee/leg up to, or to sit on, this kind of bench I have found the work surface needs to be slightly lower than your normal Western bench – for me about the height of my downward facing palm, with my arm by my side.

Miscellaneous

As you have no doubt seen, the potential ways to use the Atedai are incredibly varied. In this section I will outline some interesting techniques and ideas that may help show you just what is possible with these benches, or at least give some food for thought.

Firstly, using low sawhorses of the same height as your Atedai is a great way to extend the length or width of the work surface, and is a great solution for things like doors or shoji frames. It can also be incredibly useful if combined with, for example, a chop saw set at the same height.

Next, in a real blurring of east and west, you can put dog holes in your workbench – similarly spaced as you would on a normal workbench, for use of bench dogs, and hold fasts (Veritas make a lovely version which you can hand tighten). This can really add some versatility to your bench.

These holes will also give you an alternative to the ‘foot clamp’. By making a piece of wood with a hole drilled about ⅓ of the way in from one end, and a bolt passing through it into a dog hole (no need to attach a nut to the other end), you can create a foot-operated lever to press a workpiece into your stop, holding it very securely. The picture below shows Mr. Inomoto using this ingenious tool with his atedai

Conclusion

So, there you have it, a whistle stop tour of how to use an atedai. As you can see, the atedai is hugely versatile, and can offer all woodworkers, especially users of Japanese tools, a great way of working.

Low workbenches of various styles are used by a huge range of specific crafts within woodworking (as well as an equally large number of crafts outside of woodworking). I hope to have sparked some ideas that will be useful in your own work. Even if you continue using a Western bench, I hope you got a hint just what can be achieved with a couple of stops and your body…

While this way of working initially may appear quite simple, this simplicity belies the huge degree of nuance required to get the most out of it… from construction details to actual use. Often it’s not what the bench brings to you, but what you can bring to the Atedai, that determines the benefit it can provide.

You will also have seen that the benches themselves, as well as the methods of using them, are as unique as the craftsman employing them, so if something works for you, and is safe, crack on. There is no ‘one way’ to work with an Atedai, and I would love to see you at work with one of your own.

The best way to get a real sense of these benches in use is to view a range of craftspeople, including some of Japan’s “Living National Treasures,” actually using them, and so I wanted to leave a list of links for you to ‘steal’ some ideas of your own.

The Shokunin’s art is difficult, if not impossible, to separate from his work space, his tools and his equipment. The craft is not apart from his life so much as it is a heightened detail of life.”

Toshio Odate

Foreward

Today’s article is a guest post by Mr. Dominic Campbell, a friend and deeply Beloved Customer residing in Old Blighty who, when he needed a workbench, decided to make a traditional Japanese atedai, a solution I too am very fond of, even if my knees aren’t anymore.

This is the first in a two part series about his atedai Dom was kind enough to share with us. This first part is about the design and construction of the atedai in question. The second part will be about how to use this excellent tool. Enjoy!

Introduction

I began woodworking, I guess, like a lot of the readers of this blog, with some hand-me-down western tools, and a pair of cheap, flimsy, store-bought sawhorses. A lack of space, the inclement British weather and my lack of any form of work holding made sawing and other simple tasks difficult and frustrating.

I then stumbled across a video of a Japanese craftsman working in a very similar manner, yet with far superior results… I had to know what this guy knew. While reading, practicing, and absorbing as much information as I could ( some would say falling down the Japanese woodworking rabbit hole), my work developed, and I built up my skills to a point where I felt the need for a dedicated workbench. Using Japanese tools for 95% of my work, I have found they work best as part of a system, and so decided on a Japanese floor workbench AKA an Atedai (ah/teh/dai 当て台). This kind of workbench lends itself to a very flexible workspace. It can be adapted to use standing up, and easily stored out of the way conserving space when necessary, an important part of the Japanese tradition.

Much of my own work is kurimono (刳物), or carving from solid blocks of wood, as well as a bit of sashimono casework (指物) and tategu joinery work (建具), including kumiko-zaiku (組子細工). I tried to make one bench that would work for all of these specialties, but with an emphasis on the heavy chisel work needed in kurimono.

After keeping Stan up to date with my progress on the workbench build, and showing him what his tools had been up to, he asked if I wanted to share my thoughts on this style of workbench.

And so, in this mini-series, I hope to show you, Gentle Reader, a method of working, and work holding that may, or may not, be of immediate practical use to you, but that is interesting, and provides some food for thought, nonetheless.

Atedai Construction

Before we look at how to use an Atedai, we first need to build one, and although the construction of the Atedai is simple at first glance, there are a few important considerations and details to keep in mind.

It must also be said here that all workbenches are as varied as the people that use them, and this is no different for the Atedai. The type of work you do, the materials you work with, the training received, how tall you are, how you intend to use it… the list is endless…will all dictate your bench’s dimensions, design details and final appearance. It is not uncommon for craftsmen to have several atedai on-hand depending on the task undertaken. In this post I will FOCUS on just a single way to get the job done.

The Work Surface

The work surface is the heart of any workbench, and it is no different here. We mostly have the same considerations too: single slab, or laminated? What species of wood? How long? How wide? How thick? What height? Will it be flat or angled? There are no right or wrong answers, within reason, and is often a case, the final selection will depend on what you can get hold of, what you like, and the type of work that you do (you can start to see why craftsmen often have a number of benches in their workshops – they are easy enough to make, and store easily out of the way, taking little space, so why not?).

My own bench top is a 57″ x 17″ x 3.5″ sycamore slab (and 7″ high with the legs in). This is quite long for the work I do, but it gives the bench good weight/inertia, and is useful for the occasional long beam I have to work. It was not, however, easy to get flat, nor is it easy to keep dead flat along its entire length and width. You pays your money and you takes your chances…

A Few Observations

There are a number of possible answers to the questions posed in the previous section, and so I thought it would be useful to briefly explain my thoughts behind the selection and preparation of my work surface in order to give some insight into the kinds of questions you should be thinking of.

With regard to construction, you have to weigh the pros and cons of each approach, and make a decision that works for you. A laminated top will tend to be a bit more stable, whereas a solid top could be liable to warping a bit more. A solid slab is a bit more traditional, can be made to move a bit less through certain techniques (as we’ll see below), and is quick and easy to put together – i.e. you buy it, and apart from surface prep, the top is basically done. That said, big slabs can be harder to find (depending on where you are), and can be expensive. I actually found it easier to find a slab, than it was to find smaller stock of the same woods…. most lumber yards near me won’t give small orders the time of day… it was either construction pine, or a big hardwood slab. I hope you have better options!

In terms of wood choice, most woods commonly used to make workbenches will work fine. Too soft and the atedai will be easily damaged, but too hard and the atedai may damage your work (especially if using softer woods), and become slippery. Woods with contrasting hardness between winter/summer growth like douglas fir can work, but problems can arise especially if you shoot a lot on the surface, as the winter wood and summer wood can wear down at different rates leaving ridges. I went with Sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus – actually a kind of maple) as it has a fine grain, is medium hardness, and I could get hold of it in the right dimensions for less than £100… all important considerations!

To make sure my top was as acclimatized as possible, I left it for about 5-6 months in the workshop where it will be used (it was air dry when I bought it, but I don’t know for how long). My shop is an unheated 1 car garage, and not climate controlled (I use a small dehumidifier, however), so I expect some movement. That said, I wanted to give it the best chance of settling in before I started flattening the top, and doing the joinery for the stops and legs.

When I brought the slab home it had quite a bit of cup and twist – one potential downside of using big slabs – and it took some hard yards to make it flat and twist free. I left the underside untouched as much as possible – to retain as much weight as I could in the bench – planing only where the legs would go, plus a bit on either side. Preparing a big slab, unless you have an industrial sized planer, is a hand tool job, so prepare yourself for a work out.

The sides of my bench are 90° to the top, with special attention placed on the right hand side when sitting at the working end. This is traditional with atedai because the user indexes a plane vertically against the right hand edge of the top to quickly shoot the edge of boards to 90°. although I prefer to use shooting jigs to help when 100% precision is needed. You can also attach a length of wood to the right hand edge to form a support ledge for the plane when shooting.

As you can see in the pictures, this slab has a few knots scattered about, which I stabilized with CA glue, and planed flush. This has worked well so far, but if the knots come loose in the future, I will cut them out and patch them.

With regard to dimensions, the general rule of thumb is that if you work wider boards you tend to need a wider bench (although you can up to a point plane wide boards on the narrow bench, it can be hard to use the bench as a reference surface to check for twist). However, too wide is harder to keep flat, is heavy, and is more expensive.

Too short a bench makes it harder, if not impossible, to plane longer stock. But again, too long is heavy, expensive, and harder to keep flat (can you see a trend here?). It is also impractical, unless you are Stretch Armstrong, as you can only plane as far as you can reach while sitting or kneeling. That said, you can (as you will see in Part 2) put a floor bench on saw horses (or your normal workbench) to use standing up to increase your reach, in which case a longer bench can help cover long stock prep too.

The final question regarding dimensions is total height, a combination of top thickness plus the legs. Most people use an atedai while sitting on a zabuton cushion placed on the floor like the one shown in the photo above. In this case, the bench top should be low enough to hit your knee so you can stop it from sliding, but high enough that your plane will not hit your knee (ouch!) when planing or shooting down the middle of the stops. Somewhere between 4-7 inches high normally works well, with a slab thickness of between 2-4 inches, YMMV. If in doubt, go higher – you can always reduce the height slightly later down the road. And zabutons tend to become thinner with use.

Another consideration is perhaps unique to the Japanese atedai, namely whether or not to build the top with a slope. Some craftsmen prefer the bench to slope down towards the end they sit at for ease of planing, but I prefer a flat surface. It’s a better all-rounder, and it’s easy enough to prop up the far end temporarily if desired.

To slow down any movement, I sealed all end grain surfaces (using Osmo End Grain sealer) on the completed workbench (top, legs, and stops). All of this combined (plus dovetailing the legs, as explained below) has worked well to stabilize the top, and movement has been minimal, although it’s always worth checking before any fine joinery task… little and often is a good idea for keeping a bench flat.

The end grain sealing is all the finish I have applied to this bench. I left the top with the planed surface in order to keep it from becoming too slick. As I don’t use a lot of glue or finishes in my work, I didn’t apply anything else to the surface, but a light coat of oil can help things from sticking too much if needed.

The Legs

Now back to the construction of the atedai, we come to the legs, or battens, which should be thick and solid – in my case 4×4 inch sycamore attached to the underside of the top with sliding dovetails.

You can simply toe-nail, or similar, the legs in place if you wish, but the sliding dovetail helps to keep the board flat and is, IMHO, a much more elegant, long term, solution. It is not uncommon in Japan for these benches to be passed down from master to apprentice, so I built mine too with longevity in mind. Sliding dovetails can also help knock the bench down for storage or transport, if that is something that you will need.

After talking to Stan, I went with a double tapered sliding dovetail, which helps the legs fit extremely tightly (while also being much easier to slide in place), and helps resist humidity fluctuations, bangs and vibrations better than a standard tapered sliding dovetail – all important advantages for a workbench.

The double taper in this case refers to a taper not just in the width of the dovetail (as is fairly common) but also in the height of the groove along its length, with the leg tapered to match. This connection can be achieved in any number of ways, in my case with plane and kotenomi. The tapers on my bench were around 1cm in width, across the board, and 0.5cm in height – this still made for a pretty tight fit.

My legs right now are just a bit proud of the edge of the top while it settles in, so I can knock them in further later if needed. Their slight projection doesn’t interfere with shooting with a top that is 3 inches thick however, so they aren’t causing any headaches being a little proud…

As a final touch on the legs, and to give the bench the most stable footing possible, it is wise to relieve the middle of the legs slightly – just enough to keep it clear of the floor. Also, some thin rubber, cork, or in my case, part of an old chisel roll, help to prevent the bench from sliding around. You don’t want to use anything too thick however, as that will absorb too much shock, reducing the efficiency of your hammer blows when chiseling.

The Stop(s)

The work you do will determine what kind of stops you need. Sashimono-shi tend to use much thinner stops, while those using the bench for kurimono, or hollowing work, will often (but not always) use more substantial stops to stand up to the forces involved, often with just one stop across the entire width of the board. Again, it’s horses for courses.

Back then, to our good old friend the sliding dovetail. In my case for the stops, I used a regular stopped sliding dovetail. I didn’t taper the stops at all, as I wanted to make sure they stay in place firmly – a sideways knock on a tapered stop will send it flying too easily for my liking.

My stops are quite substantial, much bigger than I have seen sashimono-shi use, but stop short of a full width stop, in order to leave room for morticing longer stock (see part 2, coming soon, for the venerable bum clamp), as well as a gap for shooting. If you decide to make your own atedai, you will need to consider what work you will use it for, and plan your stops accordingly.

One useful feature of the stops is that being dovetailed, you can make several and interchange them, or remove them completely, depending on what you are doing. These benches really are incredibly versatile, and are completely custom to the work you do – a joy to use.

Summary

And there you have it. Four sliding dovetails cut into a slab of wood to receive two short legs and two stops and you have yourself a workbench that is quickly ready to go to work but easily stored away in a few seconds when not needed.

I hope, in this post, to have given you some insight into how to build an atedai workbench for yourself, and some of the considerations you must think about if you do. They are simple benches, but there are a few important considerations to think about before you decide to make one. If you have any questions, just leave a comment below, and Stan or I will do our best to help.

In Part 2 of this mini-series I will show you how you can actually go about using such a workbench, some further customizations that one can make, and some examples from other craftsmen to help inspire you – I hope you’ll join us.

Dam of Sunshine In Paris tops Day 2 at Magic Millions as Yulong continues investment.

Toby Liston has sold million-dollar horses before, but the May 24 session-topping AU1.4 million (US927,814, AU1=US0.6627) achievement for his family’s Three Bridges Thoroughbreds operation represented a new milestone.

The Victoria-based stud sold Zenaida —the dam of Surround Stakes (G1) winner Sunshine In Paris. who made AU3.9 million on Day 1 of the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale—for the seven-figure sum to Yulong early on Day 2.

The tenth million-dollar mare sold—nine were sold Tuesday, headed by three-time group 1 winner Forbidden Love at AU4.1 million—continued Zhang Yuesheng’s spending spree and his unquenching appetite for breeding stock for his Yulong operation.

Two further million-dollar mares were also sold at the Gold Coast Wednesday as the market leveled out following a bumper opening race fillies and mares catalog on Tuesday.

“It’s very exciting and it’s a big deal for our family and our farm. We haven’t sold a horse (of our own) for AU1 million before, so it’s great,” Liston said.

“We’ve done it for other people, it’s easy to sell somebody else’s horse, but it’s hard to sell your own.

“We have to trade, we have to sell these horses, so it’s great that a good Victorian (farm) bought her and we can’t wait to see her foal.”

Liston added: “It’s a lot of money, I was hoping for AU1 million. It was just great to get a fantastic result.”

Sunshine In Paris’s dam Zenaida (Lot 751) was bought by agent Paul Willetts on behalf of Three Bridges Thoroughbreds for AU240,000 two years ago at the Gold Coast sale when in foal to Aquis Farm’s first season sire Dubious and the emergence of the Annabel Neasham-trained filly provided a trading opportunity impossible to ignore.

An unraced half sister to the group 2-winning Sydney Cup (G1) runner-up Hear That Bell, Zenaida has also produced group 3 winner Macroura and the winning Noble Exception.

She is in foal to Arrowfield’s Japanese shuttler Maurice.

Liston credited the relationship with Kiwi agent Willetts, which was established in 2015, as a turning point for the Three Bridges Thoroughbreds business.

“We are good at raising horses and we thought we were good at buying them and we reflected on ourselves and said we had to get better,” Liston revealed.

“Ever since he has helped us out, we bought (South Australian Derby, G1, winner) Leicester as a weaner for AU10,000 and he’s been wonderful with our broodmare selections, he’s a great friend and Zenaida is testament to that.

“The first year (we called on Willetts’ advice) we bought a mare for AU140,000 with a foal at foot and we sold it for AU750,000 and that changed our trajectory.”

Yulong’s chief operating officer Sam Fairgray confirmed Zhang “was there” on Sunshine In Paris, but stopped short of the AU3.9 million price eventually paid by agent James Harron, and what underbidder Coolmore were prepared to pay.

However, Fairgray was happy that Yulong now owned the rising 4-year-old’s mother, who will visit CF Orr Stakes (G1) winner Alabama Express this coming season.

“She’s a mare that, going forward, the pedigree is going to improve and improve,” Fairgray said.

“She’s got the two stakes-winning daughters already and it’s likely we’ll keep the fillies out of her and keep building the family.”

Zenaida’s Dubious colt, whose sire has relocated to Kitchwin Hills in the Hunter Valley for the upcoming breeding season, will be offered as Lot 1423 through the Lime Country Thoroughbreds draft at next week’s National Yearling Sale.

He was purchased as a weanling through last year’s Great Southern Sale by agent James Bester for AU145,000 from Three Bridges Thoroughbreds, the farm also consigning Zenaida through their own draft on the Gold Coast.

Late in the session, Zhang won an extended bidding duel for Great Vibes. a European-bred-and-raced juvenile winner who was sold in foal to Juddmonte’s Champion sire Frankel.

Zenaida’s daughter Macroura, who is in foal to the pensioned Deep Field. will be offered as Lot 991 through the Vinery Stud draft at about 11 a.m. Thursday.

Yulong had to go to AU1.375 million to buy 5-year-old mare Great Vibes, a daughter of stakes winner and top producer Whazzat. She spent almost eight minutes in the ring as the bidding stopped to a crawl, going up in AU25,000 increments.

The sale of Great Vibes was not only a solid result for vendor Arrowfield Stud, but also the telecommunications companies.

Zhang had left the Magic Millions complex and was bidding online, while his undisclosed ringside adversary was bidding through Barry Bowditch over the phone.

As the bidding progressed, Fairgray left his chair on one side of the Gold Coast ring to station himself next to Bowditch, who was sitting in the stand, in an attempt to ascertain who Zhang was bidding against.

With his phone to his ear, Fairgray was relaying back to his offsite colleagues about what was occurring as he and Bowditch looked at each other, before the latter hung up and walked off, and the green screen signaled the mare was Yulong’s.

Building a Sawhorse. Joinery and Hand Tools (suitable for beginners)

Aside from the rather amusing auction antics, Fairgray said Zhang was consumed by the industry and that he would be delighted Great Vibes would join the Victorian stud’s broodmare Band.

“He loves being here and going and looking at the horses and so forth,” Fairgray said of his boss’s massive investment.

“He’s got a good eye for a really nice type, he loves learning about the pedigrees and what’s worked and why people are buying them. He’ll ask why a horse made so much or why did that person buy it.

“His knowledge of the industry is amazing, worldwide that is. He follows it very closely and he knows what’s going on all around the world.”

Great Vibes is a half sister to European group 2 winner and now Rathberry Stud-based sire James Garfield. who was also group 1-placed in France, as well as the stakes-placed The Shrew and Morag McCullagh.

At the close of trade on the second day of the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale, the auction house reported that 329 mares had sold at a clearance rate of 76%, slightly down on the figure recorded 12 months ago when 357 mares exchanged hands at a clearance rate of 85%.

At AU76,772,500 (50,878,978), the aggregate spend is down 2.2% on the corresponding stage of the 2022 edition. However, the average lifted by almost 6% to AU233,351 (154,647), having finished Day 2 12 months ago at AU219,696. The median dipped slightly, sitting at AU110,000 (72,899) at the conclusion of the action Wednesday.

Magic Millions’ Barry Bowditch was happy with how Wednesday’s trade played out, but he also believes the in-foal market saw buyers treading warily given the uncertainty ahead of next year’s, and the year after’s, yearling sales.

“I think there’s still a huge thirst for quality lots. Horses at the middle-to-top end, in a large number of cases, were participated on with gusto,” Bowditch said.

“There were many pleasing results today. In saying that, I think we’ve got a very motivated group of vendors out there who are looking to be very realistic.

“There’s plenty of value to be found in the passed in lots, and in what we’ll be offering (Thursday).”

The third and final session of the National Broodmare Sale starts at 10 a.m. local time.

For more Australia and New Zealand racing, sales, and bloodstock news, visit ANZBloodstockNews.com.

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Saw Horses – Do You Need A Set?

Saw horses are a clat to get out and I’ll only use them if I have to (perhaps I’m lazy).

But of course they are extremely useful, and it’s nice to know there’s a couple stashed away ready to grab if needed.

Whether you need something cheap and nasty, or a sturdy work of art will depend on how they fit in with your workflow.

These days for me, saw horses are more of a thing where if I’m doing some donkey work outside they’re be set up. Offloading a timber delivery, working through a load of rough boards, that sort of thing.

Once I’m in the workshop, I very rarely leave the face of my bench. I’ll do all of my sawing off the workbench itself, it gives a continuous workflow, which is something I’ve never found you can get right using saw horses.

In this post I’m going to take a look at the types of jobs that I feel sawhorses are handy for, and give some thoughts on what I find to be the best design.

Saw Horses In The Workshop –

The Portable Workbench

When I was building workbenches, saw horses were used a huge amount in my work. They were my workbench.

Everyone can benefit from them now and then, but when you’re building a workbench they become much more than a support for sawing.

In fact if you don’t have a proper workbench, then a couple of sturdy trestles make for a pretty good impromptu set up for any job.

Building a workbench off a couple of sturdy saw horses

With our bench building business a few sets of sawhorses allowed the best use of a rather small space. I’d have several builds on the go at once, build the top off the saw horses, then build the base off the top (which was still on the saw horses).

Once the builds were complete, they were all stacked out the way, giving an empty space for the rough prepping to start over.

If you’re in the process of building yourself a decent workbench then you don’t need anything fancy for your saw horses, some plastic trestles will do. You’ll work off them for the build, but once that’s complete you’ll barely need them at all.

There are a few exceptions though when having some good saw horses can be a real help.

The Stackable Assembly Table

Something I do still appreciate a decent pair of saw horses for is when I’m building extra large projects. If I’ve got a great big dining table to build, then I may do a glue up on them. And I don’t need to be precious about getting glue dripped all over (which happens a lot).

Once again, they’re like an impromptu workbench that comes out when needed, but takes up little room when they aren’t.

So they definitely come in if you build lots of large projects. Another time is if I want to keep my bench in action whilst I have something waiting in the clamps.

For the vast majority of projects though they’re not essential. There’s certainly ways to deal with all of our cross cuts without them.

Working Without Saw Horses

When it comes to cross cutting your timber, the key to working without saw horses is in how well your workbench is set up. It comes back to that one vice thing.

Without a tail vice, the workbench can be used for all cross cutting

If you don’t have a tail vice, then you can saw off the end of the workbench. I prefer this as it streamlines the whole motion of working.

For dead long lengths this might not be practical, particularly in a small workshop. But if space is at a premium and you don’t want to be storing extra stuff, then there are easy ways around it.

These days my workbench is positioned poorly for cross cutting. There’s not much overhang off that right end as the bench has been sat where it’s best for the cameras.

Sometimes I’ll rummage for the sawhorses, but I avoided this when we chopped the rough boards for the top of our Hall Table. They were great long lengths of cherry and I just cross cut them using a bench hook on top of the bench. This isn’t ideal and I had to saw a little closer to flat, but it’s quick for the odd couple of boards.

In our Hall Table build I cross cut the rough cherry boards to length on the bench top.

The Multi-Purpose Stump

You won’t have seen this in the current workshop, but something I used to do an awful lot was use my stump as a saw horse. The stump is generally there for axe work but it’s unbelievably functional. Basically it’s a dead weight, so gives you the rigidity of the floor brought up to a practical height (knee height), and you never misplace it.

The Best Saw Horse Design?

If you’re looking at how to build your own then go get yourself some 3” square material and knock up a couple like my timber framing ones.

These are the best design in my opinion, all round practical and pretty straight forward to make. They’re very grounded and are solid enough to mortice off which is nice.

I built mine for building workbenches off so they’re more chunky than you’d generally need. 3” (75mm) square material is plenty thick enough for furniture making.

A timber framing style trestle makes for the best saw horse. This one’s extra stout for bench building.

Personally I don’t like the splayed leg designs. They’re ok if you’re looking for a couple of folding plastic trestles for cheapness, but if you’re building your own wooden set I’d avoid this design.

I find that the legs are constantly in the way; you’re always sawing in to one or clamouring over them. And the splayed style of trestle rocks. You can correct it, but anytime you come back to them if there’s been a slight movement in the timber they rock again.

A part of filming that I hate is the tripods and they remind me of splayed leg saw horses. Like spiders – legs everywhere. I rectified my tripod problem with monopods in concrete. That’s what a timber framing saw horse gives you.

Stackable or folding?

If you’ve got the space then saw horses are one of those things that you just want to leave out. But that would cause a problem for me, because if they were left out I’d just start to store wood on them. And then tools on top of that wood.

The best thing about them is their ability to be shunted away when not required. For real space saving the folding plastic ones are king, but for long term woodworking use they get wobbly fast.

I’d say everyone can benefit from having a pair of those plastic ones stashed away though. They fit in your car boot well for that occasional car park cutting action (although I normally just use a trolley).

If you go for timber framing trestles for something rigid to work off, then they will take up a little more space. It’s something to keep in mind, but they can slot together quite snuggly and take up a fairly small footprint.

What is a practical height?

Like most things, the best height depends on the use.

For sawing stuff to length – around knee height. For working off – go a tad higher. (My timber framers are about 28″ tall.)

I’ve had a bit of a design floating around in my head for a while. I’ll call it the ‘Ultimate Knock-down Workbench, Workmate Type, Saw Horse System Thing’, that I really need to start playing around with.

Which Saws Are Best For Ripping Thick Stuff? [Video] The Plane Build – Video Perfect Tracking Japanese Hand Saws

About Richard Maguire

As a professional hand tool woodworker, Richard found hand tools to be the far more efficient solution for a one man workshop. Richard runs ‘The English Woodworker’ as an online resource and video education for those looking for a fuss free approach to building fine furniture by hand. Learn About Richard The English Woodworker.

Комментарии и мнения владельцев

Great post, thanks. Saw horses seem to provide a variety of uses that’s as wide as the variety of woodworkers. I like that aspect. They can become quite personal things. I use a three (vertical) legged horse and it comes in as the base for my shaving horse. The shaving horse is just a plank with swing and jaws at one end as usual. The plank just sits on the saw horse and I sit on the plank. In long sessions, I wish I had a saddle, but otherwise very functional. The plank bit just stores upright against a wall. As a saw horse it’s useful for the usual variety of jobs. And it’s a good seat for a cup of tea.

Very interesting Duncan, the multi use is an intriguing thought. I’ve considered a lathe that attaches to saw horses so I can make a big heavy one that doesn’t take up space. And how could I have forgotten the seat for the tea!

I think this is the closest: https://www.theenglishwoodworker.com/the-saw-donkey/ I only know this because I’m building some now. Cheers!

A pair of these donkeys just to the bottom of the kneecap is about perfect for both ripping and crosscutting. Sometimes I think a third would be helpful. Most of the time they reside in a corner. built mine of lumberyard 3×3’s.

Thanks Josh, I though we’d covered something at some point. There’s some dimensions on that post – it’s a bit scratty. If you’ve got to buy wood to build them then fence posts would be perfect.

Thanks for this Richard and for the link to the saw donkey blog post Josh. My pair are finally built out of reclaimed fence posts – here’s to many years use and abuse!

That’s got me thinking Richard. My workshop is small at 4×3 metres but a single saw horse that fits under my bench and to match the height of a block for axe work could work really well.

That’s a clever thought. If the stump’s well located so it doesn’t have to be moved about then Bob’s your Uncle. That would also make an ace set up for heavy morticing.

You are exactly correct about the splayed legs are like spiders with legs everywhere. I am currently working with my saw horses and I’m constantly tripping over the stinking legs. Timber framing saw horses are in my future, thanks for the idea.

Ha, I’m glad I’m not the only one. You want to try camera tripods when there’s a load of money dangling on the top!

I’d say test a knee-high saw bench as well. Simply made and useful for dimensioning rough timber, cross cut, rip and diagonal, drilling holes, cutting deep mortises etc. Works as an extra table for the chisels when my bench is occupied by the lathe, or putting the coffe cup somewhere it will not be knocked over, sitting on for a break, while admiring your work, standing on so you can store things all the way to the ceiling… You’ll make one in an hour and if you don’t like it, it is easy to take apart and burn.

So far I’ve only been using the workbench and don’t have any sawhorses yet. It’s worked pretty well for most things, but I’ve struggled with ripping, crosscutting bigger boards and when using the brace, so I’m contemplating building a Roman workbench (the type Chris Schwarz has reviewed and made). It seems like it could serve both as a sawhorse and as a convenient bench when chopping large mortises or when drilling. What’s your thoughts on this kind of ‘bench’, Richard?

Hi Henrik, I’ve actually written a post on this somewhere, but haven’t got round to refining it to publish (it felt a little argumentative!). But as a real short answer, I love the history side and I could certainly see it being ‘useable’, but there’s far better and easier options today when it comes down to both the approach to the build, and usefulness. I believe that two well built timber framing saw horses, and a heavy plank on top would not only be a lot easier to build, but infinitely more versatile. I do however have a complete an utterly hypercritical soft spot for the ‘Roman’ bench, so I could understand why if you choose to build it.

Great point. Obvious, really. I’m now going for those solid ‘saw-donkeys’. I guess the attraction of the Roman bench was the larger work area and having some holes for bench dogs and holdfast that I liked. Sort of what Jonas suggests.

My saw horses look a great deal like upside down buckets. It’s imperfect, but infrequent. For cross-cuts that don’t fit in the vise, it’s passable and I smile when I chuck the saw horses under the sink, out of the way. I like to rip vertically in the vise with two hands on the saw handle (there’s a reason for that funny notch on the top of the handle). When the rip gets too long for the vise, my saw horse looks a great deal like a Band saw. I do own a pair of fold-up plastic sawhorses but there is a plank of wood across them that is buried under my lathe tools (my only other machine) and it would be a nightmare to fish out those horses. They are too tall for sawing anyway.

Ha, actually two buckets do make a really good saw horse. And you’re right, the plastic ones are too high for sawing, at least for a good ripping session.

Thanks Richard. Great approach on the topic. Indeed, much of what you use in the workshop may not be so necessary. I think everything must be suited to the needs of each one. Avoiding little-needed objects can make work flow better. Cheers!

I have had pretty good results from two very different designs of horse. At the cottage I use a couple of 4-foot x 20″ high splayed-leg ones (width and longways), with a 6″ wide top extra-sturdy stretchers. The top has dogholes, the stretchers double as quick steps up when the sawhorse wants to be a short ladder or scaffold. Good on rough ground outdoor work. They live outside in all weathers. The other set are Krenov style, made with 5/4″ thick material. The top bar is just set into a dry-pegged bridle joint. That lets me sacrifice replace the top bar, or tweak the height (default is same as bench height), or use the lower crossbar to hold stuff. Making them was good mortising practice – the joints are wedged through-mortises. These extend the ‘length’ of the workbench for long stock or just hold stuff that would otherwise clutter the bench. I find these strong enough to hold whatever, and light enough to grab move one-handed. Not beefy enough to mortise on though. Yes, I do really need to get more disciplined about how many projects are “in progress” at a time.

You always make me laugh.in a BQ car park cutting up some oak on a trolly. Lol.i have done it though.

Good day, Richard! There is one clever work mate like out of metal that can be used as a workbench when standing and as a saw horse when on its side: https://www.YouTube.com/watch?v=Uq1owp98Pj4 Also, I saw in some woodworking magazine idea of two stackable saw horses that I really liked. When stacked they have a height of a workbench and when not they both at a knee height. One of them had kind of a skirt around it where the other would stand on it when stacked. So that the height of the skirt defines the total height when they are stacked.

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These are all lies and I love my sawhorses. Many upsetting things were said and I feel attacked. Just kidding but starting out on my woodworking adventure I am just building two sawhorses from two old shipping pallets using Tom Law’s design from Fine Homebuilding and am very pleased with myself. My neighbour asked me what I was doing with them. I had no idea. These are sawhorses for sawhorses sake. I told him I needed them to construct a rocking horse but he seemed suspicious and might be onto me.