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Thread: Rocking Horse Documentary

  1. #46
    Join Date
    Sep 2004
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    Etobicoke, Ontario
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    Well kids, it's time for the half-time stretch!!! I've got all the major parts of the horse cut to size and ready to glue together.

    I planed the tops of the legs flush with the lower body block...scrub planes are wonderful, aren't they?!? I then sized up the middle body blocks, 2 long side pieces and 2 smaller end pieces.

    I already had the head and neck muscle blocks glued down.

    So now, all that remains is to glue all the parts together and remove everything that doesn't look like a horse. There's an awful lot of wood to remove, but it's mostly grunt work.

    Once the horse is more or less carved to the finished shape, a decision has to be made about how much detail to carve into the body. Since this particular horse will be painted, most of the finesse will be lost. The best we can expect are a few neat shadow lines and a few possible paint highlights in appropriate areas.

    I'll glue "old what's-his-name" up this weekend. Guess my son has to come up with a name soon...I'm up for suggestions in case we fall short on ideas.

    Adios,

    Louis
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    Louis Bois
    "and so it goes..." Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

  2. #47
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    Sep 2004
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    ...more pics of horse precariously put together...nobody sneeze!!!!
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    Louis Bois
    "and so it goes..." Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

  3. #48
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    Feb 2003
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    This is almost as good as when we'd hover around someone trying to fix some software, watching every move [sic], "helping" with advice. Love watching other people work. It's looking very, very good.

    Pam

  4. #49
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    Sep 2004
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    Etobicoke, Ontario
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    Thank you Pam. It's nice to have you (and other SMC'ers) looking over my shoulder. Sorry I didn't clean up the place...you can keep your shoes on.

    One of the reasons the place is in disarray...my water boiler blew up a while back. I cleaned up the place after that event. Then, last year, we found some tree roots (more like small trees) growing in our main drain. A plumber dug that up this summer...another mess. So now, I'm just leaving it in disrepair, getting a head start on the next disaster. At least the basement's dry...and I can flush without any fear!

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

  5. #50
    Louis,

    I am brand new to this thread and enjoyed the entire journey. Thanks for taking the time to show us the step-by-step progress.

    Two points: 1 - You would probably get more comments from others if any of us could actually imagine being good enough to tackle something like this. I suspect most are just sitting there slack jawed like I found myself more than once.

    2 - Whenever I try to carve or sculpt something in three dimensions, I find that having a three dimensional model is by far the easiest approach. Do you think the book you are using is an adequate substitute? How many zillion pictures of horses have you studied? Do you wish you had a pony to model for you? Are you shooting for any particular breed?

  6. #51
    Join Date
    Sep 2004
    Location
    Etobicoke, Ontario
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    Hi Tom,

    Welcome to my nightmare!!! No, not really. I'm having a blast, even with this deadline hanging over me. Now to answer your questions...

    Thanks for the compliments...I'm simply doing it to hopefully encourage others to take the plunge and start with a carving project of their own...although I draw the line at little rosettes on the side of toilet paper holders. ...not that there's anything wrong with that!

    ...side note...did you ever get around to building that carver's vise?

    I do indeed wish I had a pony to model for me...but alas, I have a very small basement.
    The book is reasonable with regards to giving good step photos of carvings in progress...I find it helps to scour the web for photos of old rocking horses...and I acquired an amazing book: "THE ROCKING HORSE: A history of moving toy horses" by Patricia Mullins. It's not cheap, but if you plan on making a few of these, it is absolutely packed with examples of the most wonderful horses.

    As to specific breeds? I'm pretty much shooting for "horse" at the moment with a traditional "dapple gray" painted finish.

    ...and now on to a progress report.

    I didn't get much shop time this weekend, but I managed to glue up the entire body! I even put a few newspapers, family photos and a note to the future in the body cavity. Hopefully, these documents will never be seen...

    I also started to carve the recesses under the body at the front and rear. I managed another hour this evening to start carving the neck. This is an absolute joy to do...nice straight grain...the gouge just "swooshes" through the wood. It's so therapeutic.

    It's going to be a crazy week at the Bois household...so I don't know If I'll get to do anything until next Sunday!!! Hope you enjoy the pics.

    Have a great week!!!
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    Louis Bois
    "and so it goes..." Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

  7. #52
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    Sep 2004
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    Addendum...a pic of flattening the body cavity before gluing the top...and a cool sunset shot from last night!
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    Louis Bois
    "and so it goes..." Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

  8. #53
    I was going to mention the carving vise project. Um, er, it is still in the planning stage.

    To be honest, the vise is still on the list and I have done a small amount of carving since you so generously sent me those plans. I have some wood chosen and have discussed custom hardware with a metalworking buddy. Will I ever get through the honey do list?

    Cool idea about the time capsule.

  9. #54
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    Sep 2004
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    Etobicoke, Ontario
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    ...just a quick one tonight...managed to get another half hour in the dungeon...carved the neck a bit more. I'll try and be diligent with carving pics from now on as things will be changing quickly...stay tuned.

    nighty-night.
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    Last edited by Louis Bois; 12-12-2006 at 2:25 PM.
    Louis Bois
    "and so it goes..." Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

  10. #55
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    Feb 2003
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    Austin, TX
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    This stallion is going to scare your boy, he's so muscular and strong, wonderful.

    A method question: Do you push or hit chisels for the major, first shaping?

    Pam

  11. #56
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    Sep 2004
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    Yes Pam...this is going to be an Assateague wild pony on steroids!!!

    As to the method question: I usually push the gouge until it gets dull...then I break out the mallets and whack the c@#$ out of it

    ...just kidding. So far, the only work the mallets have seen was to start the small muscle blocks on the legs. That hard maple is REALLY hard. Aside from that, I find I get the most control just pushing the tool...one hand pushes at the back and the lead hand guides the tool while resting the palm on the work. I know that some carvers use mallets for the whole process except for the final detailing. I'm not quite comfortable with that yet.

    Louis
    Louis Bois
    "and so it goes..." Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

  12. #57
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    Quote Originally Posted by Louis Bois
    Yes Pam...this is going to be an Assateague wild pony on steroids!!!...
    Then his name should be Chesapeake or Chincoteague.

    Pam

  13. #58
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    Sep 2004
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    Great names Pam...I'll toss them at the wain and see what he thinks!

    ...a few more snippets of time in the tar pits this evening...and a realization: ONLY 39 DAYS LEFT!!!!! Yikes.

    In the following pics, you'll notice that the neck muscles are slowly blending more fluently into the neck. I'm removing wood in layers until I get all the sharp angles to merge into curves. I'll then start roughing out the body to get a better feel for the contours around the shoulders and haunches.

    Once these basic areas are established, I'll start to refine the musculature and blend in the legs, which still need a fair bit of work. I'm hoping to get some primo time over the holidays...but I'm not holding my breath.

    Buh-Bye.
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    Louis Bois
    "and so it goes..." Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

  14. #59
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    Sep 2004
    Location
    Etobicoke, Ontario
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    Parties!!! These things have been plaguing me since the middle of last week. no sooner had I overcome...well, mostly overcome...my cold than these system weakening parties began to rear their ugly heads. Guess we really need to learn how to say no. It's really not that easy.

    Sporadic would barely describe my shop time of late. I've been sneaking down to the pit between dinner courses...pretending to go to the washroom...need to get a tool to fix that leaky faucet...only to emerge 15 minutes later with another leg muscle roughly shaped. That's what my week has been like.

    Collectively, I've probably logged about 4 hours this week. Not that great.

    I'm giving the neck a rest to advance other stages of carving. I'm essentially trying to blend all the sharp corners into flowing lines. I started with the leg muscles and then worked my way up...aside from starting to shape the hooves. The photos are relatively self-explanatory.

    I'm going to continue giving my horse the "Jenny Craig" treatment until he gets somewhere near Oprah's shape . Ahem...moving right along...

    I've reposted an old pic alongside the new ones for comparison.

    sleepytime is a lovely time...
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    Louis Bois
    "and so it goes..." Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

  15. #60
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    ...a few more detail pics...
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    Louis Bois
    "and so it goes..." Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

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