Rocking Horse

[Weekend_Woodworker]

Thanks I’ll give that a go. I’ll need to be careful with a file as I will need to go across the plys which isn’t ideal, but it would be good to see how it works.


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[AndyP]

What sort of pillar drill do you have? Can the head be turned 180° on the column? This could give you unlimited depth providing you can find a long enough drill.

 

[Weekend_Woodworker]

On to the sanding.

Not much to show, but an hour of sanding and filing seems to have got it to a reasonable state.

I have been continuing to think about the handles. I was wondering about cutting some large dominos, so did a test cut in some ply.

Unsurprisingly it gives a decent hole. It will only go to 70mm so I will need to plunge from both sides which will mean I don’t need to worry about it coming out the back of the ply.

I am not sure the beech 14mm dominos would look right so I think I need to try making some from oak. I’ll need to see if my round over but gives the right curve.


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[Weekend_Woodworker]

I made up a test domino from oak that seems to fit okay with a bit of fettling with my block plane.

With that proven it was time to make some for real.

I ripped down down a bit of 14mm oak I happened to have.

Then rounded it over on the router table in four passes.

That got the two bits looking reasonably shaped.

I then used the block plane to finish off the shape.

That gave me two over long pieces ready to go.

Next I needed to work out where to put the dominos and make sure they were in the same position on both sides. I used masking tape so I didn’t have to rub pencil marks off the wood afterwards

I clamped on a board to give an extra frame of reference for the domino machine

And feeling brave I went for it!

It seemed to come out alright which was a great relief. Dominos are really quick ways of cutting holes, but really quick way of messing things up if you get it wrong.

And on the other side.

Then on to the mortises for the foot supports

They both worked well.

Then it was on to putting a round over on both sides of the horse.

It doesn’t show much in the photo, but it makes quite a difference, particularly after a light sand.

Finally time to start putting some varnish on it.

I used some polyvine wax finish varnish, which doesn’t add much colour but does seem to be fairly robust.

That’s it for today.


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[Weekend_Woodworker]

And this is what it looks like with a couple of coats of varnish on it.

On to making the saddle. I cut down some Valchromat MDF I had spare.

Then set the saw to 45degrees for the miters

And cut the wood

Then back to 90 degrees

The. It was time to use the profile gauge to work out the curve for the saddle.

I stuck both sides of the saddle together with some double sided tape

And transferred the curve onto one of them.

I was then able to trim to the curve on the bandsaw

After that they had a little bit of sanding to get the curve smooth.

Then it was on to gluing them up. I just used masking tape to hold the parts in place.

Seeing as I was working to a looming deadline I went with the miter fast superglue to stick them together.

Next it was back to the router table to round over the edges

I had also rounded over a small strip for the back of the saddle which needed trimming to length.

And a quick round over in the ends

Then it was time to stick that on as well. Again I used some masking tape to act as a hinge so a stuck it in the right place as there is no chance to re-position with miter fast.

And with a light hand sand that was it done

I decided to use danish oil on the saddle rather than the varnish as it brings out the black colour quite nicely.

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[Weekend_Woodworker]

Next it was on to the handles and foot rests. I cut them to length and then rounded over the ends, using a bit of scrap to avoid too much mess as I went across the grain.

It was then time to get ready to glue them in. I decided to use the marking gauge to put a line on them that would just be hidden when they were banged all the way home. I also used a chisel to put a slight chamfer on the end to make starting them a bit easier.

Then with a bit of glue on the end they were ready to go.

Encouraged with the “tickling stick” they went all the way home

Which was repeated until all four were in place. A with the saddle placed on it didn’t look too bad.

Last step was to glue the saddle in place. And varnish the handles and foot rests

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[GaryR]

It has been fun following along. Such a clever design.

 

[Cabinetman]

Looks so much better than I thought- sorry, oh me of little faith!

 

[AndyP]

I like that, a lot.
I hope those foot rests stand up to the rigours of child play.

 

[Blackswanwood]

Looks great

 

[Dr.Al]

It has been fun following along. Such a clever design.

:text-+1: :text-bravo:

 

[Weekend_Woodworker]

Thanks, I need to post some proper photos of it finished. I can’t take any credit for the design as I got that from Dennis on his Hooked on Wood channel on YouTube.

I am hoping the foot rests and handholds will be suitably robust. They are 14mm thick oak going into a 45mm mortice on each side. They feel pretty solid, but I guess time will tell.


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[Weekend_Woodworker]

So here are some photos of the finished article.

And most importantly finished ahead of the birthday next week. Hopefully he likes it, however I recognise at that age the wrapping paper might be more fun to start with!


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[Malc2098]

Proper job!

 

[Mike G]

Well, that did turn out rather well, Mark. Well done.

Have you had a look at the ergonomics? It looks like the youngster might be leaning forward quite a long way to reach the hand-holds.

 

[AJB Temple]

Nice job.

Generally the foot rests (stirrups) on an actual horse are directly below the spine of a rider sitting upright. There are good reasons for this, most to do with keeping a lively horse between you and the ground This is an "Easy Rider" style pony You could name him "chopper".

Well done and thanks for posting up the design and your methods.

 

[Weekend_Woodworker]

Thanks for all the kind comments.

I am not sure about the ergonomics. I am hoping I will get a photo of him on it after his birthday. It may well be that he needs to grow into it.

I am sure his mother will explain to him how he should be riding it properly as she has her own horse.


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[Jonathan]

Super job Mark, I really like it, wouldn't mind copying that in adult size.
What I really love about these type of projects is the memories it gives the child, and the fact it can be passed down to many generations.

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[AJB Temple]

:text-goodpost: Spot on Jonathan.

 

[Cabinetman]

Hi Mark, I have thought long before saying this but to not say it and have an injury would be terrible.
I am concerned that you grandson might trap his foot or toes between the footrests and the floor as he rocks, perhaps some padding?
obviously I hope I’m mistaken and that he enjoys it as you would like. It’s a shame as it’s a credit to your hard work. Ian

 

[MattS]

That looks great. I like Valcromat anyway and love they way it looks a bit like a leather saddle once oiled!

I wouldn't worry too much about foot trapping, kids need a bit of jeopardy in their lives! Kids today don't get to learn about risk management through trial and error.

 

[AJB Temple]

To address Ian's point, you could treat the present footrests as anti-tip safety devices and fit some stirrups dangling from the saddle. I suspect this would improve usability a lot. Depends on child size of course.