TechGuide Building an Ox Yoke By David Kramer Copyright 1997, Tillers International Types of Yokes on their forehead where the straps cross. The head yoke is traditional to parts of mainland Cattle have been domesticated and used as oxen Europe and South America. (Fig. 1) for thousands of years. Throughout this time a variety of harnessing systems have been developed and used for oxen, the most common system being the yoke. There are two main types of yokes: The head yoke and the neck yoke. Figure 2: A North American-style traditional neck yoke. A neck yoke rests directly on the necks of the Figure 1: A Bolivian-style head yoke on a team of oxen. It is carved and rounded to fit the animals' oxen. necks comfortably. Bows pass under the necks of the oxen and secure them in position. The oxen A head yoke is secured directly behind the horns transfer their power to the yoke beam by pushing of the oxen. The animals transfer their power to with the top of their neck directly against the the yoke beam by pushing on straps that wrap beam, and by pushing with their shoulders against around their horns, behind the yoke, and across the upper part of the bows. Neck yokes are the front of their head. The beam is shaped to fit traditional to England and much of North over the neck of the oxen. A leather pad is placed America. (Fig. 2) Revised: February 2000 1 www.tillersinternational.org Figure 3: Parts of a traditional neck yoke: A – yoke beam; B – bows; C – bow width and size of yoke; D – spacer block; E – bow pin; F – staple; G – pole ring; H – chain hook. to turn. The force of draft from a neck yoke Comparison of Yoke Styles begins farther down the spine, and some of the force is taken through the shoulders by the bows. There are advantages and disadvantages to each A neck yoke can be used on polled cattle and it of the yokes mentioned above. The head yoke can be used for training very young animals at an limits the individual movement of each ox, and age when they respond quickly to training. When the team must learn to operate together. The holding back a load, the neck yoke will ride force of draft from the head yoke is transferred forward on the necks of the oxen. This can be through the neck of the ox. The hitch point of the disturbing to the animals, and sometimes they get yoke must be placed to prevent the head from their ears pinched between the yoke beam and being pulled up and back, or downwards under their horns. A brichen can be attached to the neck load. The head yoke cannot be used on animals yoke to help solve the braking problem, but it is without horns, and it cannot be used to train an added expense in equipment and time spent on young calves whose horns are very small. An preparing the animals for work. A brichen is a advantage of the head yoke is that it serves well belt that wraps around an animal’s rear quarters for braking loads. Since the yoke is secured and permits it to hold back a load with its rump. tightly to the horns it will not shift forward when the animals stop a moving load. Some teamsters see an advantage in the limited individual movement the head yoke forces upon the ox team, especially with an animal that likes to swing its head or tends to misbehave. The neck yoke allows more freedom of individual movement for oxen, making sharp corners easier Tillers’ TechGuide 2 Building an Ox Yoke Full Scale Copies of these Plans and Templates are available from: Tillers International 10515 E. OP Ave. Scotts, Michigan 49088 USA www.tillersinternational.org Phone 269/626-0223 Figure 4: Tillers’ Plans for a Traditional North American Neck Yoke. Revised: February 2000 3 www.tillersinternational.org purpose yoke of any size. Once you have In pulling contests there seems to be little determined the correct bow width (Bw) and bow difference in performance by yoke style. Teams depth (Bd), all other dimensions of the yoke are of oxen with similar body weights will pull fairly factors of these dimensions. For example, if you equal loads provided each type of yoke is are making a yoke with a 7-inch bow width, plug carefully fitted. Tillers does not recommend one 7 into all of the equations on the plan where you yoke style over the other. As an ox driver you see Bw. Full-scale yoke templates can be ordered will need to consider the styles and choose the from Tillers for yoke sizes ranging from 4 inches one that bests suits you and your team. It is to 14 inches, while plans are available for yokes possible to train a team to work in both styles of up to size 8. yokes. TABLE 1: We generally use neck yokes at Tillers. Neck Woods Commonly Used in Yokes yokes were traditional to this area, and they are suitable for our work because our land is flat and For Light Duty Yoke Beams the oxen do not need to do much braking. We also use the neck yoke because we prefer to train Common Name Botanical Name our oxen at a young age before their horns have Pine Pinus grown. The focus of this TechGuide will be on Aspen Populus tremuloides the construction of neck yokes. Alder Alnus glutinosa Tulip Tree (also Yellow Poplar) Liriodendron tulipifera Design and Fit of a Neck Yoke Sassafras Sassafras Before construction begins it is important to understand the parts of a yoke, how the parts For Heavy Use Yoke Beams function, and how they should be sized to properly fit a team of oxen. This information is Common Name Botanical Name covered in detail in Tillers TechGuide, Neck Elm Ulmus americana Yoke Design and Fit: Ideas from Dropped Hitch Shagbark Hickory Carya ovata Point Traditions. Yokes for oxen are like shoes Hard Maple Acer saccharum for children. One size does not fit all. A young Hornbeam Carpinus caroliniana team may need as many as five or six yokes Sycamore Acer pseudoplatanus before it reaches maturity. A well-fitted yoke Yellow Birch Betula alleghaniensis will allow an ox team to pull to its full potential. A poorly fitted yoke will cause discomfort, could injure the oxen, and will not allow the team to For Bending Ox Bows pull to its full potential. The parts of a neck yoke are shown in Fig. 3. The size of the bow, or bow Common Name Botanical Name width, is one of the most critical dimensions in Hackberry Celtis occidentalis fitting a yoke. Because this measurement is so Hickory Carya critical, the size of a neck yoke is generally given White Ash Fraxinus americana by the width of its bows. A 7-inch yoke will have White Oak Quercus alba bows with a 7-inch space for the neck of the Red Oak Quercus rubru oxen. When the yoke is on the oxen you should English Walnut Juglans regia be able to slide your hand between the neck and one side of the bow. The Tillers Yoke Plan (Fig. 4) is designed to give dimensions for a general- Tillers’ TechGuide 4 Building an Ox Yoke The Yoke Beam A 60 to 70 lb yoke is not too heavy for a full- grown team of animals that together may weigh There are many types of woods that can be used two tons. The comfort of a larger surface area to to make the yoke beam. Softwoods can be used push against makes a larger beam worth its extra for small training yokes, or for larger yokes that weight. are used for pulling carts and other light work. A yoke that is used for plowing sod, pulling stumps, The size of the yoke beam will vary with the size or logging should be made of a harder stronger of the yoke needed. Table 2 gives rough wood. Traditional woods used for yoke beams in dimensions of the stock needed for various yoke North America are listed in Table 1, but do not parts according to the bow width of the yoke. limit yourself to this list. I have seen yokes made Sometimes a team may not be equal in size. One from a wide variety of soft and hardwoods. I ox may require a 7-inch bow width, and its believe old farmers often made yokes from what partner may need an 8-inch bow width. In a case was on hand. Some teamsters may be concerned like this I generally make the yoke beam about the weight of a large yoke. This is really according to the larger bow width, and drill the more of a problem for the person lifting the yoke bow holes closer together on one side to fit the up onto necks of the oxen than it is for the oxen. smaller ox. TABLE 2: Dimensions of Yoke Parts in Inches Bow Width 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Rough Cut Beam length 28 35 42 49 56 63 70+ 70+ 70+ width 4 5 6 7 8 8 9 9 10 depth 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 11 Diameter of Bow Holes Bored in the Beam 1.25 1.5 1.75 1.75 2 2 2 2.25 2.25 Bow Stock length 32 40 48 56 62 66 68 70 72 thickness 1 1.25 1.5 1.5 1.75 1.75 1.75 2 2 Staple/ Mild Steel square bar 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.62 0.62 0.62 0.62 0.62 length 14 17 20 23 26 29 31 33 35 bulb width 2.5 2.75 3 3.5 4 4.5 5 5.5 6 Pole Ring/ Mild Steel round bar 0.37 0.37 0.5 0.5 0.62 0.62 0.62 0.62 0.62 length 14.5 14.5 15.5 15.5 16 16 16 16 16 (These lengths will make a ring with an inside diameter between 4 and 4.5 inches) Pear Shaped Chain Link/ Mild Steel square bar 0.375 0.375 0.375 0.375 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 length 12 12 12 12 13 13 13 13 13 Bow Pins/ Spring Steel round stock 0.187 0.187 0.187 0.187 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 Revised: February 2000 5 www.tillersinternational.org Seasoning The Wood Figure 5: A yoke beam split from a large log is less likely to check when drying than one made from a smaller full log.