Carving Horse or New Jaw Horse...???

[Old Codger]

Hi Everyone! I've been considering making my own carving horse but have recently seen posts praising the new 'Jaw Horse' units now for sale by several mfg's... My question is...should I continue my carving horse project or purchase one of the new Jaw Horse units...what do most of the cane/stick carvers use... I'm currently using a carpenter's vice and hate having to stop my work and reposition my work every couple of minutes...the carving horse is much q uicker and easier, but does take up a lot of room compared to the new jaw horse units...Help!!!
Kenn

[Waitpinga Whittler]

You're going to get a lot of opinion both ways so in the end its going to be what works for you. I like the portablility and flexability of the jaws. When I'm using power especially its nice to take them outside so that all the dust etc isn't in the shop. If you are using a draw knife though, you are going to have to bolt them to the floor because the pulling action will just topple them. You will also have the same old problem of having to stop and adjust your work from time to time although its a bit quicker than a standard bench vice and with the foot peddle you get lots of pressure on the jaws for a firm hold quickly.

The draw horse is faster still for shifting grip and you are pulling against the clamping strength of your legs and your body weight. Usually this works well although you can get slipping if the work is awkwardly shaped.

All in all I reckon the jaws are more versitile for a wider range of activities but the horse works better for specifically pulling with a draw knife. If you can only have one... I'd take the jaws.

[Marvin Little]

I made a shaving horse but went back to using the vice to hold my sticks. The horse does take up a lot of space in a shop but would be useful if your weather allows you to work outside. In the end it will depend on what you want and how you will work. If I had been able to try one before I made mine I probably would have not bothered with it.

Marvin

[Old Codger]

Thanks gang! Sounds like some good advice. I'm going to see and try an old style carving horse this week since I've never used one before...This one is made by a 'blind carver' who made it years ago and swears by it... I'm currently leaning toward one of the newer style Jaw Horses as it would be easier to store in my limited shop space... Again, thanks for the sage advice! Save carving to all!
Kenn

[RUssL.]

If you scroll down in the post below to my own response #10 you can see what I dug upsomewhere as a good alternative (to save shop space) to a full blown shaving "Horse"; the shaving Pony.
The design is not mine.
It works pretty darn good so I never developed V2.0. I have used it for walking sticks and other cylindrical shaped parts of any carving.
It them just gets pulled out of the vise that's holding it and set aside in my small little shop space.

Shaving pony plans/drawings?

[AL...]

That is a fantastic idea
Thanks for sharing that one
Cheers
AL

[Old Codger]

RUssL your carving pony looks very interesting...sort of a minature shaving horse... I've never seen or heard of one before...looks like it might work out perfectly for me... Will have to really look the sight's design over more closely but it looks pretty neat! Thanks for the info!!! Safe Carving to you!
Kenn