Thread: Latest Rocking Horse pic

Great work Pete,
Did you end up making the time capsule?
Look forward to seeing it completed with all the tack!

Cheers,
Gary,

PS,
Off hiking again!! 10 days!

Thanks to everyone for the positive comments. Mr Darcy was made for the daughter of some friends who was born on 13 September 2005 with Downs syndrome. Fortunately her condition is not severe. I am going to give it to her for Christmas, I know she won’t be old enough to appreciate and enjoy it for 2 or 3 years but I figured if I waited ‘til then I wouldn’t get round to it. He was named by my wife as I think she has the hots for the fictional character. I used all reclaimed timber, Ash for the swing stand and various grades of Mahogany for the horse. The plans came from a book by Anthony Dew as did all the tack and ironmongery. I put a time capsule inside the hollow section of the body containing information about me (I know it sounds vain), photos. of the wedding of the baby’s mum and dad and a local newspaper from her birthdate from the town where she was born. As the timber came in various shapes and sizes the horse is laminated from 28 pieces instead of 24. The head was shaped with gouges and chisels but all the carving for the body was done with an angle grinder with an Arbortech disc then refined with sanding discs used for grinding down welds, sounds crude but it’s FAST. After sanding down to 240 grit with a random orbital sander I gave it 2 applications of red mahogany stain and sealed it with 2 coats of shellac sanding sealer which I flatted down with 400 grit wet and dry used dry. I then tack ragged it and gave it 3 coats of Danish oil applied with a cloth. I followed this with a coat of tinted wax polish applied with a Webrax pad and buffed with a soft cloth then a coat of clear wax polish applied and polished off with a cloth, allowing a minimum of 20 minutes between application and polishing. I was allowed special dispensation to bring it in from the workshop as it's so cold over here that it affects the finish. More pics soon if you're all still interested. All the best Pete.

You've done well Pete - might revisit this one day when it hits the long list in my house.

Nice story too.

Cheers

Wonderful, Pete - the horse, the finishing & the thought and care behind the gift for a special little girl. I'm sure the parents will be touched by it, too, at a time when they would need some comfort.

Thanks for the details on the carving - I am wanting to start some carving, (on furniture) and also help our kids learn (13 y.o. wants to have some carving on her furniture & our 9 y.o. wants to carve full-sized Australian birds to set on 'fence' posts, etc.), so it's good to find out shortcuts & techniques/tools, etc. from someone who has done a lot of it!

I, for one, would love to see more pics - thanks!

Cheers,

Jill

brilliant - pity some snotty kid has to sit on it !