Jingle bell rock

[sawduster]

Well the deed is did . A project most of you could do in a weekend had taken me a month and a half It's my first ever and it was, by turns, challenging, exciting, frustrating and wonderful. Fred helped me with some thick poplar and Sapele and helped with some glue up and milling on his big machines but the rest is all me. I even turned the handle bars :eusa_danc I originally made the legs from oak I milled myself and a week later they cracked :BangHead:
......still getting used to that whole moisture content thang
Fred to the rescue with the sapele :icon_thum
One of the biggest challenges is the fact that I do not have room to work in my shop and must do most everything outside . I did a happy dance for last weekends forecast and brought it all home then.
thanks to all who provided the finishing advice both on and off the forum . I went with what I knew which was lemon oil and 6 coats of lacquer. Not spectacular but good enough for this project. Tomorrow my 15 month old grandson gets his first rocking horse and I have had the journey of a lifetime ....with many more to come I'm sure :icon_thum

Just don't ask to see my shop right now :rotflm:

So here it is ....warts and all :gar-Bi

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Happy Ho Ho everyone and thanks for lookin'

 

[patlaw]

It's an heirloom. Very nice. Congratulations.

 

[Canuck]

Very nice Robert!

That sapele looks terrific. Be sure and take some pictures to he takes his 1st ride!

Wayne

 

[Steve_Honeycutt]

I do not see any warts. This will be a piece that will be used, cherished, and handed down to the next generation. I hope you signed and dated it.

Steve H.

 

[BKind2Anmls]

I think it's wonderful!

 

[JackLeg]

​Big Bro, that's a beauty! He'll love it and you and remember you for years to come! Merry Christmas to you and the Shoppe Widow!! God bless!

 

[Mark Stewart]

spiffy indeed

 

[Berta]

Well worth the time and effort! It is beautiful.

 

[Michael Mathews]

Very nice. Congratulations!

 

[ScottM]

WOW Bro...that is super cool. He will be riding for years to come.

 

[Bryan S]

Wayyyyyyyy cool.:eusa_clap

 

[jerrye]

How did you get that thing in the scroll saw?

Great work bro. A treasured possession for sure!

 

[sawduster]

Very nice Robert!

That sapele looks terrific. Be sure and take some pictures to he takes his 1st ride!

Wayne

Yeah, ol fred saved the day with that Sapele :icon_thum It was short notice but he actually had enough in his cut-off bin to hook me up :icon_cheers
I will certainly have the camera ready but i am also prepared for the fact that, with all the new and colorful toys and doo-dads in the room , he might have little to no interest initially . No worries though , he will get there

 

[Canuck]

Yeah, ol fred saved the day with that Sapele :icon_thum It was short notice but he actually had enough in his cut-off bin to hook me up :icon_cheers
I will certainly have the camera ready but i am also prepared for the fact that, with all the new and colorful toys and doo-dads in the room , he might have little to no interest initially . No worries though , he will get there

Take it slow with him Robert.

We were a little too quick with our Grand daughter the year I built her the little horse. This was the result...............

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She did get used to it after awhile.

Wayne

 

[TracyP]

Very nice Robert.

 

[sawduster]

I do not see any warts. This will be a piece that will be used, cherished, and handed down to the next generation. I hope you signed and dated it.

Steve H.

That's the beauty of photos ....I get to pick what you see and the warty ones get deleted :rotflm: In reality the miss-steps are not glaring and are mostly due to my rookie-ness when it comes to things like doweling, cleaning up squeeze-out, end grain prep and such as that. Some things I did not notice until I looked at the pics There's not a thing wrong that I can't live with though . There is joy in doing but there is also joy in learning and fixing

 

[sawduster]

WOW Bro...that is super cool. He will be riding for years to come.

I did about 85% of it on the scroll saw ! I cut the poplar with a jig saw but the rest I scrolled .....not for the faint of heart ! Lots and lots of sanding the edges afterward

 

[smallboat]

Very nice horse by the way!
I'm sure it will be treasured for a long time.
Hang on to it when he's grown- it will come out of retirement soon enough.

Good advice from Canuck!
This week I pulled out the old rocking horse for our older grandson.
He's a very active 2 1/2 yr and quite fearless. This fall I watched (spotted) as he followed a 6 yr old neighbor up a 6' stone retaining wall.
As in free climbed it while wearing oversize Batman boots.
All of which is to say he's not timid.

Here's how the intro to horse went-
I tried to lift him on and he wouldn't have it - he is 2 1/2 after all.
Then I get instructions, "Pop Pop horse" - so I demonstrate
Then he climbs up with me
I get up and he's riding merrily by himself.

He climbs down and back up and he owns it.
Its his new favorite seat in the house.

Every kid is different, they each have ways of acclimating to new things- their world is full of them.

 

[LeftyTom]

Hi ho, Splinter!

 

[Bill Clemmons]

Robert, I hope you put your name and the year somewhere in a discreet location on that. When your great-great-grandchildren are riding that horse, they're going to wonder, "Which one of our ancestors built this great horse?"

Beautiful job Bro.