- Look at my horse. my horse is amazing! Give it a lick.

- Mmm!..

...nevermind.

I didn't plan to make an instructable on this sawing horse when I was making it. Partially because of a bit specific nature of the materials I used. Partially because having the rough idea I was mostly improvising on a go so a lot of try and error was involved and it was a sort of a mess at some parts. But also partially because I wasn't in the mood which is kind of a thing too.

But after since I was a regretting bit about that lost apportunity, because it's an interesting project and there's a few things to show and tell. So I'm doing it now.

This is not a legit instructable. There's no any step-by-step tutorial in here. I'm just talking about mty horse and hoping it will be useful for somebody.

Step 1: Inspiration

- Ooooh thats dirty!

- Do you think so? Well, I better not show you where the lemonade is made. Sweet lemonadeohh sweet lem...

...sorry 'bout that.

After searching pinterest for the saw horse projects I ended up having these two candidates. They both offered nice features so, after having some inner discussion I decided to make them an inspirational parrents for my horse.

Step 2: Materials

But at first I had to deal with the material which was a bit odd.

As far as my inner Sherlock Holmes provides me with insites about the nature of things around me I was able to conclude that those logs were at some points a trees... presumably birch, because at some point they were used to produce veneer, and those circle logs is what was left from them. Then they were split in halves and used to make those fences that you can find ocassionally on local streets. Then those fences were discarded. And then we we got them and I pulled them appart.

As you can see those semi-logs have a substential twist and bend on them, so right from the beggining I knew thet there's no point in trying of making precise mesurements or perfect construction.

Those logs were used for main frame of the horse. I cleaned them with a hand plane and corrected a twist a bit as well. Some other parts were made from pine wood scraps.

Step 3: Construction

The whole construction consists of two frames. Unlike the pinterest design, in mine, one frame is narrower and fits within another (you can see it on the photo). I don't remember why, but it's important.

While having rough proportions in my head the most measurements were pretty much random numbers, so I'm not giving any numbers here. Even more to say, the horse turned up to be 10 cm higher then wanted. It can be fixed, but it not botheres me so far, so...

The whole thing is held together by rather large screws, which is not pesfect because they're getting a bit loose after time but it works for me. And it can be fixed when it'll become too bad.

The straight bar is made from two pieeces of pine glued together.

Two intermediate vertical bars are pine too. There's no axis going throug them in the place they intersect to make a scissor-like action when the horse is putten together. Notice, that they are not going all the way down to the floor. There's no need for thet in a first plase and it can become an trouble to stand the horse on uneven surface, so, don't do that.

I guess, that, maybe, by looking at this construction, you're having some doubts about its overall rigidity. I'll talk about it later at the "issues" section.

Here's some highlights on the constructing process. Some of them will become more clear after you'll get more familiar with the construction from further steps.

- When I assambled two frames and connected them at higher axis (you'll learn about it later) I had to trimm the feet at correct angle to make them stand on plane surface. To do so I've stand the table on even floor and made sure thet atleast three feet touching it by putting vedge under the forth one (you get the idea). Then I put a pencil on a wooden block of required height and used it to mark the legs parrallel to the floor. Then I cut them.

- To mark cut offs for appliable top bar at the tops of the frames I used laser lecel. A srting with a nut on one end will do the job as well.

- I accomplished this project by using mostly hand tools, and the linseed oil I used for finish is, probably older thamn me.

Step 4: Amazing Horse Option#1

- Have a stroke of it's mane, it turns into a plane. And then it turns back again when you tug on its...

...I guess it's the last one.

So let's put that horse together and have a look at the features he offers. But wait! What's goin on?! There's two pairs of axis holes in there!! What is that!!! They're eating her....and then they're going to eat me!......OH MY GOOOOOOOOOOOD!!!

Those two pairs of axis holes is what provides the multifunctionality of the horse I tryed to acheeve by hybriding those pinterest designs.

Here's Option#1, where I'm using the upper axis. Cut outs in tops of the "legs" are made to accomodate bar piece. It fixed on place by screws and those two red circles are indicators for positioning the bar the right way around (to assure holes for screws to coinside). You can see that two untemediate vertical bars (scissor-like ones) do not interrupt with that bar.

In this configuration the horse can be used as a support stand in combination with another horse and a panel that goes ontop of both of them.

Also a vice can be attached to the bar along with different other useful fixtured to make a sort of a mobile working station.

Step 5: Amazing Horse Option#2

At Option#2 I'm using the lower axis, to turn the construction into sawing horse. Two intrmediate vertical bars are helping to deal with shorter logs. Althoug they provide lower support point (in my particular case) it helps with dealing with bent pieces.

If you're wondering, how it stands without unfolding (legs spreading out at the bottom), I can send you onse again to the "issues" part of current instructable.

If needed, for some reason, the bar piece can also be attaced to one of the sodes of a horse.

Step 6: Amazing Horse Option#3

And the Third Option is to fold it for convenient storring. Just remove the bar and loosen the bolts at axis. It's not perfect in my case, but well enough.

Step 7: Issues and Solutions#1

Although my horse is pretty amazing it's far from being perfect.

The first thing I've already mentioned is regidity of the construction. My frame implements connecting logs at right angles, which means the degidity of the whole thinh gighly depends on the summ of strenght of connections in particular intersecting points (you know, where the screws are). It's not perfect solution and knew that but still I choose this one among other options like, for example:

a) Use really wide boards on sides instead of singular relatively narrow logs - I had no such boards, and I woldn't like the look of it.

b) Make lower connecting bars go in diagonals instead of being parallel to the top ones - I woldn't like the look of it.

So I went the way I went, and just made pretty deep cut-off cradels in the body of the logs for nesting the connecting pieces. I manneged to fit them snuggly enough, so summarily, the whole construction ended up being pretty ridgid nad stiff, although I realize it'll become more and more loose over time. But I believe, some more advanced carpentry can be applyed to connect pieces while going with this design to provide stable enough construction.

Step 8: Issues and Solutions#2

The second issue is about fixating the legs to prevent them spreading furthet than it's neede.

At saw horseconfiguration it had to be achieved by the way the construction blocks the vertical bars from further rotation itself. It kind of worked, but it opens to wide before being locked enough to perform it's duties. I fixed it by adding a ring and a hook on opposite sides that prevents the frames from spreadding too much.

At the support stand configuration... well, while making the horse, for some reason I thought that appliable top bar, when being installed will be naturally jammed between two scissoring frames and it will solve all the problems. Later I realised that those frames are moving the opposite way I thought they will, when the force is applyed. So I ended up using screws for attaching the bar and holding everything together.

The ultimate solution for both configurations is to have a piece of metal chain connected to one of lower horizontal bars, and a sort of a knob or a screw attached to the other one to hook the chain onto it at required lengh

...

I'm tyred at the moment and will spell check the text later, so, I'm leaving you with all those mistakes for now. This is it, thank you for your atten... Shut up woman! Get on my horse!..I'm sorry.