In his article “Expand your workholding with a spoon mule,” Dawson Moore demonstrates why a spoon mule is so useful when working on common green woodworking forms like spoons, cups, and bowls. Like a shaving horse, a spoon mule applies clamping pressure when you apply foot pressure, leaving both your hands free for powerful, efficient tools, like a drawknife or hook knife. But a spoon mule excels where a shaving horse falls short. A shaving horse, which clamps from above, struggles with short, sculptural pieces. A spoon mule, which grips low and from the sides, is much better suited to the job.

Moore’s article goes through different projects to show how he clamps them, but the photos fail to show just how fluidly the spoon mule works. That’s where these videos come in. If you’re on the fence about whether you should add a mule to your split-rail shaving horse, watch just how well one works.

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Build a Thoroughbred Shaving Horse

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Modifying a shaving horse for carving bowls

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