![](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8t_fJzHeB7Q/Tb1nuJOoa8I/AAAAAAAAFXo/7jiNEDx27jo/s200/Bench.Toolbox.jpg)
You've felt it.
That moment of panic when, while planning for a family vacation, you realize you're going to be away from your workshop for an extended period of time. An excruciatingly long period of time.
It's the very reason I learned to carve and whittle. For times on holiday when I can't bear to relax for one more second, I have a set of carving tools and chunk of wood at the ready.
![](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8PDuVDSdPAQ/Tb1nu1OF1vI/AAAAAAAAFXs/frcQizW7lSc/s200/Bench.Vise.jpg)
Yesterday, while perusing the sutlers' sundry wares at the Fort Frederick 18th-century Market Fair, I was drawn to the various devices the woodworkers brought with them so they could continue to work while away from home.
The top photo is a toolbox and low bench with storage beneath. The large dovetails that join the boards are pegged, and one of the two legs has a pedestal foot.
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The third photo is a simple and handsome shaving horse.
Beneath it is a truncated shaving horse which is sort of a cross between a shaving mule and a shaving pony. The man who made it is a spoon carver. The L-shaped metal bar that's attached to the pivoting head holds the workpiece in place.
![](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rWWStXopoZ0/Tb1nzDMVecI/AAAAAAAAFX8/1T6p-C7aG0o/s200/ShavePony2.jpg)
What looks to me to be an exaggerated angle on the wooden legs would help keep the bench stationary in use; the carver's weight can't be used since there's no seat. The metal front leg digs into the ground, further anchoring the mule-pony.
The final image is one I found online and was designed by a member of the Lumber Jocks community.
![](http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-b7sguj1Sw94/Tb1nvBCQwnI/AAAAAAAAFXw/J_6WLPJER8I/s200/LJ.Bench.jpg)
I can see this doubling as a bowl bench. With a short-handled adze, you can straddle the bench while the workpiece is secured by a bar clamp equipped with tall wood pads. You can add a little tool box underneath so the weight of the tools help keep the bench from sliding.
Lots of a clever ideas to take woodworking on the road. Now maybe a beach vacation won't seem so torturous.