Hello Everyone!!!
I'd like to start this thread by appologizing for my lack of contributions these past months. I've been extremely busy (I know, excuses...excuses...) and checking in only occasionally to try and keep up with all the great info being dished out so generously. I'd like to make up for it with this thread...
With the holidays fast approaching, some of you may be scrambling for ideas...what would be THE perfect gift for that special child in your lives? If you have some time, a bit of skill with hand tools and lots of patience, you could build one of these...yes, you COULD!!!
I hope I'm not being presumptious in my assumption that some of you may be interested in following my journey into the world of heirloom toys. In any event, it's definitely not required reading and can easily be ignored. In the hope that some of you may find it interesting, here is what I am proposing to do.
I have about 2 months, give or take a few days, until my son's 3rd birthday and if you haven't already guessed it, I'm planning to build him a rocking horse (on a swing/safety stand as opposed to rockers). I'll be using Anthony Dew's excellent book entitled "The Rocking Horse Maker" as my guide. I'm not approaching this as a total "newbie" as I've already built a few of the simpler horses from the aforementioned book. I will, however, be tackling the "medium size" horse this time, which involves a bit more carving and detailing in general. I will also be painting this horse...something I haven't done before. I would like to share the build process with you by documenting my progress, step by step...as it happens...so that you may take this journey with me.
Here are a few photos to get the ball rolling. The wood piled on my workbench will cover most of the material for the head and body...minus the legs and stand. I plan to bandsaw the parts to shape to save a bit of time, but most of the rest of the process will be done with hand tools. I've also attached photos of my previous attempts...the natural one was first, a gift for my godson (about 10 years ago)...and a "half-size" horse that I built as a decoration for my mom's house a few years ago...to whet your appetites, so to speak. Here we go.
I cannot provide plans for this project (due to copyrights on the material) but the book is available at most large bookstores.
I hope you enjoy the journey.
Best Regards,
Louis
p.s. I finally get to use that lovely "Forge Royale" carver's vise that I acquired a while back!!!
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