Victorian style rocking horse
don't
even think of starting this project without purchasing this book. I got it
at amazon.com but I am sure it's available else ware.
originally I was going to make this a step by step project, but found that I would just be copying what Anthony Dew did in this book. I will also give some links where you can go to purchase plans, accessories, timber packs and whatever else you need to make your horse. before you jump in, I might let you know this is not an inexpensive rocking horse project. I used the scale plans in the book, bought my timber at a local lumber yard, purchased the eyes, mane and tale from Gordon's woodcrafts, made all the tack in my leather craft shop. this is just about the least expensive way to go and the small rocking horse I am building is going to be about $250.00.
I am not an experience carver of animals and certainly not
horses. that's ok Mr.. dew's book lets you start easy. these are two
simple projects to practice with. the one on the right is a hobby horse
head and is intended to go on a stick with a wheel on the other end. the
one on the left is the head for a 17th century panel type rocking horse.
both are carved from single pieces of wood without any glue up for the eyes or
cheeks. on these two projects I just carved the heads for practice and
didn't finish with the rest. I was too anxious to get started on the real
rocking horse.
I
am building mine out of yellow poplar but I might try the next one out of
pine. they are both equally easy to carve and I think with the right
grain, the pine might be a bit stronger for the legs. this part of the
plan concerns me because I built mine to go on bow rockers which requires a
modification of the legs. with this modification, the leg structure
doesn't seem as strong.
there
are a couple of things you will need in order to build this rocking horse.
the first is a good set of sharp chisels. I use pfeil brand but any of the
premium brands will do just fine as long as you keep them sharp. the
second thing you will need is a good way of holding the horse while working on
it. I have this European style workbench that worked pretty well but even
then it took a little ingenuity to get the horse into just the right
position to make the work easy. I think I may build a carvers chops like Mr.
dew uses before I build my next horse.
before
I started my horse I did a lot of research and visited many web sites here are a
few:
http://www.rockinghorse.co.uk/
http://www.gordonswoodcrafts.com/showcase.html
http://www.oldrockinghorses.com/
kind
of a ghostly figure after the base coat and some of the facial stuff is
painted. it does however look somewhat like a horse. I found that as
this project progressed the need arose for additional methods of holding my
horse. I found this workmate helpful after I screwed chevron shaped cleats
to the top. you will find If you build a horse that your own ingenuity
will come in handy.
now
this dappling business is kind o neat. I don't think you can really screw
it up. it is easy to get carried away though. the worst thing I did
was to start to think I was an artist. fortunately I caught myself and
remembered that I am a woodworker. anyway at this stage the horse is
almost done.
here
the mane, tail and some of the tack has been added. I really found the
mane to be a real pain in the a@#. I used the plastic mane and tail
and maybe the real horsehair is easier to manage, but this stuff was
terrible. finding parts, (buckles, bits, rings, etc.) small
enough for the tack was a bit difficult until I found a store over on grant
road. they had everything I needed and were most helpful to boot.
here the saddle is almost done and the horse I about to be mounted on the
rockers. up to this time, the horse had no name. this wasn't
intentional, I just hadn't come up with the right name. Karen was helping
me with the saddle when she came up the perfect name. when Karen was
holding the long black hair and noticing the tattoo's (pronounced dapple) she
suggested "Cher". perfect!!!
introducing cher, mounted on ash bow rockers and after I sent her to the beauty salon to have something done with her hair. you may notice in these photos that she doesn't have any stirrups. I try to make as much as I can on my projects but just couldn't figure a way to make these and look right with the saddle. I have ordered stirrups and will fit them as soon as they arrive.