How to Make a Goat Stanchion Out of Wood

Make a rectangular frame with the B and C pieces. Hold the frame together by placing two screws at each corner of the frame. Mark the spots where the screws should go, and make holes for the screws using a drill and 3/32-inch bit, if necessary.

Place a D piece perpendicular to the rectangle at one of the rectangle̵7;s corners. D should rise up from the rectangle, like a table leg rises up from a flipped-over table. Screw D to the rectangular frame from inside the frame (not from the outside of the D piece). Repeat at the other end of that side of the rectangle, so both rear legs of the stanchion are attached.

Position an E piece so it extends between the two D pieces. It should be aligned with the ends of the D pieces where they connect to the rectangle corners. Screw E onto both D pieces, using two screws in each corner of the E piece. Drill holes for the screws, if necessary.

Flip the entire construction on its side. You should be able to look through the rectangle like it̵7;s a picture frame. Position the G piece of wood so it crosses the rectangle̵7;s corner (a corner that has not yet had anything attached to it) and extends 17 inches past the rectangle̵7;s corner. This will be the front leg, and it will be 17 inches long from the ground to the stanchion̵7;s frame. Screw the leg in place. Repeat for the second front leg.

Position the second E so it stretches between the two front legs, similarly to how the other E piece was positioned between the two back legs (the D pieces). Screw E to the front legs.

Saw F into four equal triangles, as though you̵7;re dividing a pie. Align one of the triangles with the side of the rectangle next to the D piece, so the triangle and D form a corner. Secure the triangle to the rectangle and the D pieces using screws ̵1; space the screws roughly two inches apart down both the triangle̵7;s sides that form its right angle (not the triangle̵7;s hypotenuse). Repeat at all the corners, using all the rest of the pieces made from F.

Flip the stanchion so it̵7;s standing on its legs. Place the platform piece, A, on top of the frame. Secure it in place using screws.

Position a G piece so it extends between the front leg pieces, at the ends of those pieces that rise above the platform. Hold G in place with a vice, and screw it to the front leg pieces. Repeat on the opposite side of the front legs; these are the top laterals.

Find the center of the top laterals, along the edge that faces upward. Measure two inches to either side of that center point, and mark those points using the permanent marker. Slide the H pieces between the front laterals and the bottom trench between the frame and the top of the platform. Arrange the H pieces so they are between the laterals with their innermost edges at the points you just marked. Secure the H pieces to the laterals with four screws each, and secure them to the frame with one large bolt each.

Place N on the top edge of the front laterals. Draw, on the N piece, where the N piece overlaps the H pieces. The drawings will look like rectangles that start from one long edge of the I piece but don̵7;t extend the entire width of the N piece to the other long edge. Cut out those rectangles using the jigsaw.

Measure the height of the goat from hoof to mid-chest. Begin from the platform and draw the measuring tape up the H pieces on the stanchion, up to the height of that measurement. Mark the height on the H pieces. Place brackets on the front legs, so that the bracket̵7;s right-angle corner is on the mark. Place a scrap board on the brackets and screw it in place. Enclose the shelf to create a trough, if desired, or nail a pre-made trough to the shelf.