Here's the new seat/base design for my shaving horse.  I used Black Walnut as that was what I had readily available.  I edge glued 2 sets of three boards(3/4" thick), and then face glued them using a new Veneer vacuum press I built and Unibond 800 veneer glue, to get the thickness I needed for my seat.  The stock I made is about 11.5 inches wide to get the rear seat width I wanted.  I could have used 12 inch wide boards I have, but I decided to use the more plentiful 5 inch boards i had to make the stock and save the wide stuff for a project that really needs a full wide board.  Since this pic, I have cut it in the surfboard shape you see outlined with masking tape, and put a generous roundover on the piece.  This week I'll drill my holes for the legs and slot for the clamp head arm.  Here's a pic of the veneer press I built using a kit from joewoodworker.com