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Thread: Rocking Horse Documentary

  1. Louis, Thank you for offering to take questions. It will make the carving of Bebe's medium horse so much more pleasurable. Please, a short list the carving chisels, gouges, and rasps you would absolutely not want to tackle this project without, a picture of these tools would be especially nice. Once again thank you for your generosity in sharing this project with all of us.

  2. #152
    Join Date
    Jan 2005
    Location
    St Thomas, Ont.
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    553
    I am impressed beyond words Louis excellent work.
    Craftsmanship is the skill employed in making a thing properly, and a good craftsman is one who has complete mastery over his tools and material, and who uses them with skill and honesty.

    N. W. Kay

  3. Addendum...

    Louis, Could you also include a list of tools that you could have struggled thru without but it was soooo nice to have. My husband loves to buy tools and is standing behind me with his wallet open. Thank you

  4. #154
    Join Date
    Sep 2004
    Location
    Etobicoke, Ontario
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    415
    Thanks for your comments...and for riding along James...it was good to have you aboard! Now we'll be able to consider beginning talks about an Ontario Creeker get-together...

    Susan, below are some pics of the tools I used. There are a few things that I didn't bother to show such as drill/auger bits, screwdrivers, awls, sandpaper, etc...

    Another thing of note is a means to secure the pieces being carved. I have 2 carver's chops at my disposal which were indispensable. I'm certain there are many other ways to hold the work, but for me, these proved to be especially valuable...especially in my small workspace.

    So, on to the tools.

    The absolutely required minimum...a pocket knife. That's it. What, you think you need all those fancy tools?

    ...but seriously, I used the Auriou gouges shown in the second photo (25mm-9sweep and 18mm-6sweep) as well as the short gouge from lee valley. It's still in their catalog somewhere. I also found some of the Palm tools (in this case Henry Taylor) to be very useful in carving the finer details of the face. That's pretty much all I used for the basic carving. My wife actually bought me a set of Auriou gouges for Christmas (about halfway through the project) and I didn't even have time to hone them to put them into use...
    - some type of coping saw to cut around the ears
    - rasps, microplanes or whatever other riffler you can get your hands on...in various forms of courseness. At the very least, the 2 nicholson patternmaker's rasps would be a good help...as well as a means to keep the teeth clean, such as the brush shown.
    - a reasonable backsaw for notching the hooves to fit over the rails...and for cutting the compound angles on the lower body to splay the legs (which can also be done on the bandsaw)
    - a drill or brace of some sort (with bits) for the various holes you'll encounter.
    - a few standard chisels...1/4", 3/8" (for the mortise on the neck), 1" (general stuff)


    Some of the tools that aren't absolutely necessary but were nice to have:
    - spokeshaves, both round and flat
    - a nice big drawknife...very cheap on the used market...not reason not to have one.
    - a pairing chisel to clean up hard to reach areas and glue removal.
    - the little chamfer attachement from Lee Valley was a great little tool...saved me pulling out a router, jigging up the table saw or eyeballing with a plane. It was safe, quick and extremely accurate. Don't believe me? Look at those sexy chamfers on the base...
    - I almost forgot...my son's 5oz. Lee Valley hammer to nail in the tack! A great little tool...by no means a toy!!


    If you're dimensioning most of the lumber by hand, you'll need a few planes (jointer, smoother,, square, marking gauge, saws, etc... If you're going the power tool route, these will be lessened.

    I'll add to this as I think of stuff...
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    Last edited by Louis Bois; 01-23-2007 at 1:48 PM.
    Louis Bois
    "and so it goes..." Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

  5. Louis, Thanks for your quick reply. What an impressive array of tools you have. I am perusing catalogs right now. Sifting through a lot of new information and hopefully someday I will be able to pass on my expertise to another a skittish beginner. Many thanks and sleep well.

  6. #156
    I hope I am not too late with my congratulations Louis. This whole thing came together very nicely and I would like to redouble my thanks for sharing the journey so thoroughly.

    As for the name, if he is still with Rudolf after you tried to laugh him off it, well, I won't tell you how to raise him; it looks like you are doing fine!

  7. #157
    Join Date
    Sep 2004
    Location
    Etobicoke, Ontario
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    415
    Tom, it's never too late! Thanks for your comments and participation during the course of this thread. It was much appreciated.

    Susan, I'm a little embarrassed to say this...but my tool "collection" would scarcely fit on the surface of my bench...thus is the danger of the slippery slope we all must face. Needless to say, I won't go there.

    But I will say that if you have a willing partner with an open wallet behind you, you should take full advantage of this unique opportunity to avail yourself of every tool you can identify!!!...and one of each you can't! just in case... After this horse, the only thing I find in my wallet is the odd moth trying to fly out.

    ...and an update on the name, it looks like it may be "Gabriel" which coincidentally is my son's middle name...but he calls it "Gabriel Bois". Quite the formal chap be he.
    Last edited by Louis Bois; 01-23-2007 at 1:58 PM.
    Louis Bois
    "and so it goes..." Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

  8. Louis, In the cuisine world. people who love food and cooking are called 'Foodies". Might you be a 'Toolie'? Also kudoes to your Wife for understanding, supporting and adding to your tool collection. You are a wonderful addition to this forum. Thank you

  9. #159
    Join Date
    Apr 2004
    Location
    Geneva, Swisscheeseland
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    1,501
    Holy cow!! that is one darn impressive project!!!!!

    But I am surprised... no horse shoes from the local blacksmith?
    A flute without holes, is not a flute. A donut without a hole, is a Danish.

  10. #160
    Join Date
    Sep 2004
    Location
    Etobicoke, Ontario
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    Thank you Susan...and YES, my wife was a priceless asset to the completion of this horse, giving me all those precious hours while she entertained "the ever-curious one"...no small feat! She has an equal stake in this project...and I let her know it...and besides, she can ride Gabriel too!

    ...and thank You Dan...our local blacksmith took ill and was unable to fulfill my request for elf-horse shoes...perhaps I can retrofit them later....and I love the quote from "the Day The Earth Stood Still" or are you using it from the Tron reference?
    Last edited by Louis Bois; 01-25-2007 at 11:17 AM.
    Louis Bois
    "and so it goes..." Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

  11. Louis, I am scouring ebay for good used tools and the further I get into this project, the more confused I become! A 1" gouge is listed and it is stamped 9, is that the sweep? The legs on our pony are oak and I am working on the knobbyness at the knee joint now, trying to make a nice soft round curve; is this where rifflers come into play (and if so, do I really need the whole array of coarse to fine tools?)or would a small round rasp work just fine? Could you list your favorite woodcarving catalogs, hopefully you have a few low-end. As much as I love the beauty of the Aurious, I have not earned such fine tools yet. Thanks for your time

  12. #162
    Join Date
    Sep 2004
    Location
    Etobicoke, Ontario
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    415
    Yes Susan, the 9 in this case is the sweep. Have a look at Chris Pye's website for some excellent reference material...link... http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com/

    An alternative to the Auriou rasps has been mentioned in another thread on the Neanderthal Haven front page...posted by Terry...about Dragon rasps. They seem like a worthy alternative/complement to the Nicholson patternmaker's rasps. Might be worth a look for the price.

    I used the Nicholson #49 quite a bit on the legs, as well as the "microplane" rasps from Lee Valley, which leave a smoother finish. I only picked up the coarser/larger Auriou rasps toward the end of the carving phase as I liked the others so much. Any of these will produce great results.
    Last edited by Louis Bois; 01-25-2007 at 3:35 PM.
    Louis Bois
    "and so it goes..." Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

  13. #163
    Join Date
    Apr 2004
    Location
    Geneva, Swisscheeseland
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    Quote Originally Posted by Louis Bois
    ...and I love the quote from "the Day The Earth Stood Still" or are you using it from the Tron reference?
    Yes

    Dan

    End of line
    A flute without holes, is not a flute. A donut without a hole, is a Danish.

  14. #164
    Join Date
    Sep 2004
    Location
    Etobicoke, Ontario
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    I'm not going to "flog a dead horse" so to speak...but I've received a few questions with regards to the range of motion of the horse.

    ...well, a little Photoshop magic later and I superimposed images at both extremes of the range of motion. This gives a pretty good idea of the rocking movement of this type of mechanism, aka, a "safety stand".

    I'll post a few "finished" pics (with brass bowler hats on rails and domes nails covering saddle nails) of the horse later tonight and then I'll consider this thread officially closed...unless, of course, there are any other questions with regards to this project.

    Cheers,
    Attached Images Attached Images
    Louis Bois
    "and so it goes..." Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

  15. #165
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    Sep 2004
    Location
    Etobicoke, Ontario
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    This will conclude my contributions to this thread. I'm glad that some of you enjoyed this self-indulgent tutorial and I hope that I shed some light onto the quirkier parts of the project.

    As you can see, it's not as difficult as it may at first seem to be. I imposed a deadline on myself and decided to try and stick to it. I just made it, taking a few shortcuts along the way. If I had to repaint the horse, I'm confident that it would be a thousandfold better...but it wouldn't be this horse...my son's horse...Gabriel. I'm happy with the result...and more importantly, so is my son. He rides it daily and it gives me a tremendous sense of accomplishment to see him do so.

    ...now on to his bed...my next project! No deadlines as he'll probably be sleeping on a mattress for a while.

    Thanks for riding along...
    Attached Images Attached Images
    Louis Bois
    "and so it goes..." Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

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