My leg fell off!

A nice day to mend a horse - better do some weeding too!

Not my leg, you understand, but the leg of my ancient saw horse. One of a pair a friend and fellow wood mechanic left behind some 20 years ago. after lending a hand to refurbish the staircase in our Victorian house that we were converting back to a house after it had been converted into flats in the early 70s.

New piece glued in place

Although I have built several horses over the years this pair have spent their entire life with me, here at Laughton Towers. The tops are sacrificial lumps of MDF screwed to the horses through deeply recessed counter-bored holes. Spending most of their time outdoors, at best protected from the elements by a folded tarpaulin they are prone to rot and insect attack. After being used last week while building the stand for the Chelsea Flower Show. one of the horses developed a wobble. The rot had got at one of the legs, so it was out with the saw, a scrap of wood suitably sized on the bandsaw, and some type III glue. A careful bit of cutting and fitting, a period in the cramps and the leg was as good as new.

There is something very satisfying about fixing something that has been around for a while. These horses get used for all sorts of jobs and it would have been a real shame to just discard them. They should go on for a few more years now.

Ralph.