DAPNET Forums Archive › Forums › Draft Animal Power › Oxen › Question about making my first yoke
- This topic has 13 replies, 6 voices, and was last updated 14 years, 10 months ago by
Robernson.
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- December 16, 2009 at 1:08 am #41180
dominiquer60
ModeratorI have the privilege of working with a pair of handy beef calves that I have been training for a couple months now and the only thing missing (for a while now) is the yoke. I measured them and bought a pair of 5″ bows at NEAPFD and my boyfriend sawed out a 4.5″x5″ pine beam for a training yoke. It cracked a little while drying but it is not on the neck seat and seems manageable. The question is that according to the book (Drew Conroy’s) and Tiller’s yoke plans, the space between the calves should be 2.5 times the bow width, in this case 12.5″. The calves owner (boyfriend’s father) thinks that this should be wider because they have hay bellies and may bump together, but I worry about having to incorporate more of the crack if I make it wider.
Is the Tillers formula a good one size fits all to go with or is there harm in making the yoke longer?Thank you in advance for any help with my project.
Erika
December 16, 2009 at 1:14 am #56139Robernson
ParticipantHOWIE!!! Help this person!!!!
😀December 16, 2009 at 3:17 am #56136Tim Harrigan
ParticipantIt seems to me the rule-of-thumb is 2.5 to 3 times the bow width.
December 16, 2009 at 3:44 am #56129Howie
ParticipantThe first step to build a yoke for a pair of cattle is to measure the cattle.
Stand the largest one one in a doorway where you can measure how wide he is at the widest point.
The NECK SEATS should be that distance, plus about 6 inches for your cart,s pole or chain, apart CENTER TO CENTER.:p
If you want to do it right there is no one size fits all.December 17, 2009 at 2:28 pm #56131Vicki
ParticipantIn a doorway. . .Howie, you’re a genius!
December 17, 2009 at 2:55 pm #56130Participantpractice makes perfect:(:o
December 17, 2009 at 3:33 pm #56137ParticipantEricka: You have a lot of flexibility with that measurement. 2.5 to 3 times the bow width is just a rule of thumb that Tillers developed by looking at the proportional measurements of many old yokes. But it can be longer, for instance if you want to cultivate in certain row widths that are wider than that 2.5 to 3 spacing gives. Or it can vary as with a sliding yoke. So that is somewhat minor compared to the fit of the bow, both the width and depth. That is the where the rubber hits the road and where you want to be a little fussy.
December 27, 2009 at 6:10 pm #56132ModeratorThank you Howie and Tim for the advice, I couldn’t get to the internet as fast as I was able to get to my father’s shop of infinite tools. We went with 2.5 times the bow width. I will try to post a photo for you, they seem comfortable and happy so I am glad that I went with Tiller’s suggested measurement, instead of listening to the farm smart, but not Ox smart men in my life.
The cracks did not extend into the finished yoke and I filled a few worm holes with epoxy and covered all the surfaces with danish oil (linseed). My father was really into this project and is hunting for a piece of maple in his collection that he wants to set aside for a 6″ yoke. My boyfriend, Dale, gifted me a ring and staple for Christmas, when we get home from the farmer’s market today we will install it. The calves have pulled some branches around and will have plenty of work to do in the neighbors woods. Their logger left many limbs after he harvested fire wood and we are welcome to collect all that we want for our wood furnace.
I hope everyone has had a good and safe holiday season.
ErikaDecember 27, 2009 at 6:15 pm #56133ModeratorP.S. The off calf is a heifer, I have to make due with what is available to me. Meanwhile we have discovered that there are at least 2 and maybe 3 farms with milking shorthorns in our area, so we will begin our search there. Dale’s father sells his calves every summer, so the joke is that I am taking the long approach to teaching these calves to lead onto the trailer easily.
January 3, 2010 at 7:38 pm #56134ModeratorI’ve got a better shot of the finished product. I think the bows are snug enough but many of you may have a better eye for such things. The worst part of the whole project is that I have to leave soon to work for the winter, I can only hope that they settle back into a good routine when I return on 12 weeks. Thanks again for your support.
Erika
January 3, 2010 at 10:34 pm #56127Carl Russell
ModeratorExcellent job Erika. The bows look just right. I LOVE seeing you working on this. You’ll have no excuse not to be a NEAPFD 2010 with your new shorthorns…when you get them.:D
Have fun in FLA.
Carl
January 4, 2010 at 8:06 pm #56138ParticipantThe yoke and bows look great. Get as far as you can before you leave. In 12 weeks they will be a hand full but you will be fine. Most teams do not get much work in the middle of the winter anyway. Good luck.
January 5, 2010 at 10:37 pm #56135ModeratorThank You Carl and Tim,
I have had a lot of fun and fortunately I am able to get one more week in with them because there is not enough work for me in FL this coming weekend. Carl we will see about the shorthorns, I am leaving that up to Dale. If I happen to be gifted a pair, I don’t have a way to move them. I suppose if small enough they may fit in the back of my extra tall pickup cap, then I would have to sleep in the office with Bazel. I can’t thank you all enough for your encouragement.Erika
January 5, 2010 at 11:52 pm #56128Moderatordominiquer60;14235 wrote:…. then I would have to sleep in the office with Bazel….This I know, would not be a hard sell:D.
Carl
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