Thread: Making a rocking horse

Hi Wongo,
The horse is absolutley brilliant. As Lig said, the head is truly a work of art. Your dedication to and feel for the project show all the way through.
I am truly sorry that the staining turned out badly and that the lesson had to be learned on this. Timber looks better as itself, always. I really am sorry and very sad.

Regards,

Rob

Wongo.
Please don't paint it.

Thanks boys. I am feeling a lot better now. I know painting wood is against my religion but it is probably my best option. Painted dapple grey horses actually look very nice and they are more traditional.

I could have sanded the horse back to raw wood again. It would be hard work though and I would end up having 2 similar horses in the house. I don't want that. I think the children would like it very much.

Anyway, I want to get it right this time. Dappling the horse is not an easy task. I will do some practise and I should be all right.

It is sad but its not the end of the world.

Hey Scott, my neighbour across the road has just finished his and he has given me permission to take some photos.

His is a dappled grey, the trick he use is to paint it grey first then get some fly screen and stick some circular stickers on it and using a pressure can of black, he then sprays thru the screen moving it constantly to get the dappled effect.

I'll go over today sometime and get some pics for you.

Thanks DJ. Dew's book has a lot of images and on how to do it right. He has some fantastic painted horses.


Sorry wheelinround and ptc. I do feel that I am letting the team down.

Originally Posted by Wongo

Thanks DJ. Dew's book has a lot of images and on how to do it right. He has some fantastic painted horses.


Sorry wheelinround and ptc. I do feel that I am letting the team down.

You have done sucha fanbloodytastic job Wong its your horse and you have to be happy with it.

All credit to your work carving etc

Originally Posted by Wongo

Getting the wood

Then I thought maybe I should paint this one.

It is wrong.

(I hate staining timber but… )

.

Do not paint it. It looks great as it is.
You are our guru, if you give up what hope is there for the rest of us useless wannabees.
Post a picture of the disaster and let us be the judge. You have obviously suffered a trauma induced loss of judgement. Don't bloody do it you goose.
But we do feel your pain. Last tv cabinet I stained I had to plane all the stain off. Obviously you can't do that, but I thought you put poly on before staining. Surely the stain hasn't soaked in. A few hundred hours sanding now is nothing compared to looking at it for the next..(rest of your life)

Originally Posted by djstimber

Hey Scott, my neighbour across the road has just finished his and he has given me permission to take some photos.

I'll go over today sometime and get some pics for you.

Haven't had a chance to get over there today. When he was home I was busy and when I wasn't busy he was out

Get some tomorrow or day after

Hi guys, anyone interested in making a rocking horse, living near, or able to travel to Ferntree Gully in Melbourne, pop into our club. (Knox & District Woodworkers Club, 45Glenfern Rd. FTG 03 97584849) We make several horses each year for the club as well as for members. The Rocking Group is working
every Friday night from 6 to 9 PM. If you happen to be a member of another
woodworking club, you can do it as a guest, otherwise you may need to join
the club. Last time money was mentioned, the cost of a horse was somewhere round $400. I am told, it takes about 80 hours to complete the job. Cheers Ladislav

Wongo, I gave it a go just like you 13 yrs ago and now have five horses under my belt. My next will be a large Red gum but that will take a while. Mean while I am enjoying your work, good luck.
Rod

Top work Wongy.

Jim,

Staining a rocking horse is not like staining a table top. It is quite simple for a table top. Wipe on, wipe off and it is done. For a rocking horse, you have to deal with end grain, straight grain and in between. To make sure the end grain and straight grain absorb the same amount of stain, I applied a coat of poly first.

I applied the stain to the horse and wiped if off right away. It worked reasonably with large areas with little details like the body, neck and legs.

The head is the problem. It is impossible to wipe off the stain evenly and quickly. As a result it leaves marks and uneven colour. The head does look pretty horrible. I gave it another go last night but it didn’t get any better. It is really no way around it.

I am actually quite excited about painting it now.

Originally Posted by Wongo

It is really no way around it.

.

You could get a cheap touch up spray gun from super cheap or bunnies and spray on the stain as a toner, that will work and you will get a nice even color. But you should give it a quick re sand first. Painting will also be good

Wongo, there are 2 reasons to paint a horse. First to cover your mistakes and second to create a colourfull, attractive object in a childs eye that resembles both a play thing and a real horse at the same time. A stained peice of wood may look great to it's creator but through a childs eyes a painted horse with bright eyes means a whole lot more.
Rod