Charleville
12th December 2008, 02:46 PM
Here is my finished version of Krackles, the toddlers' rocking horse, which is a pattern from http://www.woodcraftplans.com/wmkra.htm
http://img.skitch.com/20081212-qd625xa6f6hrmpg5ca3wbw5sg4.preview.jpg (http://skitch.com/charleville2/6jbb/skitched-717)
Click for full size (http://skitch.com/charleville2/6jbb/skitched-717) - Uploaded with plasq (http://plasq.com)'s Skitch (http://skitch.com)
http://img.skitch.com/20081212-8s9tk2bggntqg1ds6yf96nufck.preview.jpg (http://skitch.com/charleville2/6jy6/skitched-718)
Click for full size (http://skitch.com/charleville2/6jy6/skitched-718) - Uploaded with plasq (http://plasq.com)'s Skitch (http://skitch.com)
http://img.skitch.com/20081212-873su4qdku2tfqwjqmdxe7kk17.preview.jpg (http://skitch.com/charleville2/6jy7/page-1)
Click for full size (http://skitch.com/charleville2/6jy7/page-1) - Uploaded with plasq (http://plasq.com)'s Skitch (http://skitch.com)
This was a learning curve project for me as, along the way, I acquired a bandsaw, drill press, pneumatic sanding drum and a bunch of other new tools with which to make a start into doing a little woodwork alongside my other regular recreational hobbies such as fishin'. (The weather has not been so great for fishin' lately.)
Anyway, the major parts of the horse were made from construction grade 40 mm thick pine which is that pink painted stuff which is comprised of finger jointed small pieces of wood. I used that stuff because when I went calling on timber yards for 31 mm thick pine in the late morning on Melbourne Cup day, I discovered that they were all closing down for their Melbourne Cup Day lunches even though it is not a public holiday here in Brisbane. Bugga 'em! So I just took my trailer to Bunnings and got the thicker finger jointed stuff.
The downside of using that material, of course, is that when the pink paint is sanded off, the finger joints can be seen here and there but it is not too bad as the outer layers of the horse use 19 mm pine which covers up most of the finger joints.
The other downside is that had I followed the plans exactly, the horse would have been excessively wide for a little kiddie and so I have used thinner material in the body overlays which still gives me the body width that is OK but then makes the legs look really chunky - which is an effect that I rather like. Us guys with big legs have gotta stick together! :D
To make the horse, I made a quick and dirty router table for my old router (ie a scrap bit of melamine coated chipboard between two saw horses) and using the bandsaw and palm belt sander, I made some templates from the plans out of scrap MDF. That was a smart thing to do as machining thin MDF to a pattern is a lot easier to do accurately than thick wood and by use of a long flush trimming router bit, it was pretty easy make multiple parts accurately and quickly.
There were lots of lessons for a mug beginner to learn, especially about finishing and painting - eg, I painted the green rockers in the shade in my garage and then in the intense heat of a very hot day, I thought that I would harden the paint by putting them in the sun before they had dried. The outcome was that the paint blistered and I had big bubbles all over the edges facing the sun. Damn! :no:
The original design entailed having a wooden mane but I always think that wooden manes on rocking horses look a bit harsh and are not much fun for little grand-daughters to pat so I substituted some furry material secured to the neck and head with double sided tape. Seems to work OK.
The saddle is made from Tasmanian Oak, with clear Estapol. The outer nose overlay is also Tasmanian Oak but stained in American Redwood and likewise for the centre pine parts of the nose. By repeated staining of the pine on the nose, a color was reached that made the whole nose reasonably homogeneous in colour despite being a mix of pine and Tasmanian Oak. Of course, by having soft pine alongside the harder Tassy Oak, when it came to sanding, the pine sanded faster than the Oak and so some very slight demarkation lines have appeared between the woods but what the heck, I am just a learner.
I drilled big holes in the head and neck main frame so as to stop the horse being too front heavy. He has a very big head and I thought that there might be a tendency for the horse to tilt excessively forward if I did not do something about taking out some of that weight. So it is true that Krackles is an airhead. :D
http://img.skitch.com/20081212-ebxr72jr3hbu7kbeghetuafux4.preview.jpg (http://skitch.com/charleville2/6jrc/skitched-20081212-140256)
Click for full size (http://skitch.com/charleville2/6jrc/skitched-20081212-140256) - Uploaded with plasq (http://plasq.com)'s Skitch (http://skitch.com)
I think that the design is great because it is such a fun animal to look at but I would choose to take some short-cuts with the component pieces if I were doing it again. The designer has used multiple pieces to do what a couple of long pieces would have easily done a lot more accurately and quickly.
Nonetheless, it has been a project which I have enjoyed immensely. Gotta watch him though - he likes to lurk in the dark in my garage ...
http://img.skitch.com/20081212-xue3py55yrxm2kwb5cidesxayx.preview.jpg (http://skitch.com/charleville2/6jr4/skitched-720-2)
Click for full size (http://skitch.com/charleville2/6jr4/skitched-720-2) - Uploaded with plasq (http://plasq.com)'s Skitch (http://skitch.com)
http://img.skitch.com/20081212-qd625xa6f6hrmpg5ca3wbw5sg4.preview.jpg (http://skitch.com/charleville2/6jbb/skitched-717)
Click for full size (http://skitch.com/charleville2/6jbb/skitched-717) - Uploaded with plasq (http://plasq.com)'s Skitch (http://skitch.com)
http://img.skitch.com/20081212-8s9tk2bggntqg1ds6yf96nufck.preview.jpg (http://skitch.com/charleville2/6jy6/skitched-718)
Click for full size (http://skitch.com/charleville2/6jy6/skitched-718) - Uploaded with plasq (http://plasq.com)'s Skitch (http://skitch.com)
http://img.skitch.com/20081212-873su4qdku2tfqwjqmdxe7kk17.preview.jpg (http://skitch.com/charleville2/6jy7/page-1)
Click for full size (http://skitch.com/charleville2/6jy7/page-1) - Uploaded with plasq (http://plasq.com)'s Skitch (http://skitch.com)
This was a learning curve project for me as, along the way, I acquired a bandsaw, drill press, pneumatic sanding drum and a bunch of other new tools with which to make a start into doing a little woodwork alongside my other regular recreational hobbies such as fishin'. (The weather has not been so great for fishin' lately.)
Anyway, the major parts of the horse were made from construction grade 40 mm thick pine which is that pink painted stuff which is comprised of finger jointed small pieces of wood. I used that stuff because when I went calling on timber yards for 31 mm thick pine in the late morning on Melbourne Cup day, I discovered that they were all closing down for their Melbourne Cup Day lunches even though it is not a public holiday here in Brisbane. Bugga 'em! So I just took my trailer to Bunnings and got the thicker finger jointed stuff.
The downside of using that material, of course, is that when the pink paint is sanded off, the finger joints can be seen here and there but it is not too bad as the outer layers of the horse use 19 mm pine which covers up most of the finger joints.
The other downside is that had I followed the plans exactly, the horse would have been excessively wide for a little kiddie and so I have used thinner material in the body overlays which still gives me the body width that is OK but then makes the legs look really chunky - which is an effect that I rather like. Us guys with big legs have gotta stick together! :D
To make the horse, I made a quick and dirty router table for my old router (ie a scrap bit of melamine coated chipboard between two saw horses) and using the bandsaw and palm belt sander, I made some templates from the plans out of scrap MDF. That was a smart thing to do as machining thin MDF to a pattern is a lot easier to do accurately than thick wood and by use of a long flush trimming router bit, it was pretty easy make multiple parts accurately and quickly.
There were lots of lessons for a mug beginner to learn, especially about finishing and painting - eg, I painted the green rockers in the shade in my garage and then in the intense heat of a very hot day, I thought that I would harden the paint by putting them in the sun before they had dried. The outcome was that the paint blistered and I had big bubbles all over the edges facing the sun. Damn! :no:
The original design entailed having a wooden mane but I always think that wooden manes on rocking horses look a bit harsh and are not much fun for little grand-daughters to pat so I substituted some furry material secured to the neck and head with double sided tape. Seems to work OK.
The saddle is made from Tasmanian Oak, with clear Estapol. The outer nose overlay is also Tasmanian Oak but stained in American Redwood and likewise for the centre pine parts of the nose. By repeated staining of the pine on the nose, a color was reached that made the whole nose reasonably homogeneous in colour despite being a mix of pine and Tasmanian Oak. Of course, by having soft pine alongside the harder Tassy Oak, when it came to sanding, the pine sanded faster than the Oak and so some very slight demarkation lines have appeared between the woods but what the heck, I am just a learner.
I drilled big holes in the head and neck main frame so as to stop the horse being too front heavy. He has a very big head and I thought that there might be a tendency for the horse to tilt excessively forward if I did not do something about taking out some of that weight. So it is true that Krackles is an airhead. :D
http://img.skitch.com/20081212-ebxr72jr3hbu7kbeghetuafux4.preview.jpg (http://skitch.com/charleville2/6jrc/skitched-20081212-140256)
Click for full size (http://skitch.com/charleville2/6jrc/skitched-20081212-140256) - Uploaded with plasq (http://plasq.com)'s Skitch (http://skitch.com)
I think that the design is great because it is such a fun animal to look at but I would choose to take some short-cuts with the component pieces if I were doing it again. The designer has used multiple pieces to do what a couple of long pieces would have easily done a lot more accurately and quickly.
Nonetheless, it has been a project which I have enjoyed immensely. Gotta watch him though - he likes to lurk in the dark in my garage ...
http://img.skitch.com/20081212-xue3py55yrxm2kwb5cidesxayx.preview.jpg (http://skitch.com/charleville2/6jr4/skitched-720-2)
Click for full size (http://skitch.com/charleville2/6jr4/skitched-720-2) - Uploaded with plasq (http://plasq.com)'s Skitch (http://skitch.com)