New to the Forum

[Skint881]

Hello all,
having recently retired, I've turned my woodworking hobby into a very small business.
I've made several rocking horses, and have developed a rocking horse chair for children with disabilities.

I recently discovered plans for a carved rocking chair.
I decided, after ready the posts from people who have made it, that its ideal for someone of 5'6".
Being 6' I scaled up the plans. It's a perfect fit, but WOW........ it's big!!!!
I've started shaping it and its developing into something very interesting.

 

[Droogs]

Welcome and i like the dapple horse

 

[MARK.B.]

Hi and Welcome, can you send me some rocking horse poo i hear it is very rare and hard to get.
I could swop some Hens teeth or a cutting from the Money tree in the orchard

 

[Lazurus]

Welcome to the Forum, I made a semi carved horse some twenty years ago for my then to be born son, it has now become a bit of an heirloom.

 

[Phill05]

Welcome Skint, you have made a brilliant start with the horses extremely well done.

 

[bourbon]

If It's a business, (IE you are selling them) are they CE UKCA marked? something to be aware of as the fines are pretty steep. And welcome to the forum.

 

[Skint881]

If It's a business, (IE you are selling them) are they CE UKCA marked? something to be aware of as the fines are pretty steep. And welcome to the forum.

Yes they are all CE marked.

I have 9 products with hundreds of pounds and hours of paper work invested in them. Hence my forum name!

 

[bourbon]

Thank you for taking my comment in the way it was intended. Lots of people don't and get defensive about it. CE marking is the reason I don't sell toys I make. Hence them being scattered all around my house. TBH I haven't got the patience to sort all the paperwork out.

 

[Skint881]

Thank you for taking my comment in the way it was intended. Lots of people don't and get defensive about it. CE marking is the reason I don't sell toys I make. Hence them being scattered all around my house. TBH I haven't got the patience to sort all the paperwork out.

No problem at all.
I'm sure there have been a lot of people who have missed very good advice, simply by not taking a minute to think about a well intentioned comment.

I started making the horses, to bring some income in due to enforced retirement.
I thoroughly enjoy making them, but my business skills are rubbish. Fortunately my wife is a bookkeeper and has lots of business experience. I think she gets quite exasperated about my lack of understanding of how to run a business. ( I tell her that's why I married her!)
I tend to sell a rocking horse and make the chairs for disabled children at cost. I'll never be a rich man, but you won't find anyone with a bigger smile.

 

[gog64]

Cracking horses Skint, and the painting looks great. The chair looks a bit epic in scale, finding room for it might be a challenge!

 

[TheTiddles]

Thank you for taking my comment in the way it was intended. Lots of people don't and get defensive about it. CE marking is the reason I don't sell toys I make. Hence them being scattered all around my house. TBH I haven't got the patience to sort all the paperwork out.

12 more months of getting to use CE for now, followed by maybe another 12, then perhaps maybe 12 after that, wonder if they will ever just admit it was a bad idea… no, I don’t wonder that.

 

[TheTiddles]

Nice rocking chair, is that the one from the free plans online?

 

[Skint881]

Cracking horses Skint, and the painting looks great. The chair looks a bit epic in scale, finding room for it might be a challenge!

I was asked by a charity if I could design a chair for a special needs school.
The ages were from 4 to 14. So I designed 3 chairs to cover 1 to 14 years.
They are all finished in exterior varnish.
They have a waterproof cover that I designed and made. (I would have been lost if not for Youtube and sewing videos!)
I also make the cushions, as some of the children need to be "padded" in.

It has been a very rewarding and enjoyable project.

 

[Skint881]

Nice rocking chair, is that the one from the free plans online?

Yes it is. I think its by J Cole. The website is The Chairguy.
The plans and details are very good. Its another interesting project.
This is the progress so far.

 

[Digger58]

Hello all,
having recently retired, I've turned my woodworking hobby into a very small business.
I've made several rocking horses, and have developed a rocking horse chair for children with disabilities.

I recently discovered plans for a carved rocking chair.
I decided, after ready the posts from people who have made it, that its ideal for someone of 5'6".
Being 6' I scaled up the plans. It's a perfect fit, but WOW........ it's big!!!!
I've started shaping it and its developing into something very interesting.

Wow wow and wow, beautiful work

 

[clogs]

skint....
all ur work is truly great.......
I just wish I had the spare time...
ur last chair, what do u use to smooth out all those odd stickey up bits....?
I hope not one of those chainsaw carver disc's thingy used on a 4" grinder.....heard they are killers.....
just interested.....
plenty of saw dust at ur house I suppose.....hahaha....

plus, I think u need to advertise in Horse n Hound.....sell em to the rich bxxgers....
prob a mile out but £1500 or more sounds about right to me.....

 

[Skint881]

skint....
all ur work is truly great.......
I just wish I had the spare time...
ur last chair, what do u use to smooth out all those odd stickey up bits....?
I hope not one of those chainsaw carver disc's thingy used on a 4" grinder.....heard they are killers.....
just interested.....
plenty of saw dust at ur house I suppose.....hahaha....

plus, I think u need to advertise in Horse n Hound.....sell em to the rich bxxgers....
prob a mile out but £1500 or more sounds about right to me.....

Thanks for your comments. Its very rewarding when you get positive feedback.

I agree with you about the chainsaw discs, they look lethal.
I do use cutters on my angle grinder, but they are very well designed for the job. Nevertheless I still wear protective gear.

I sell my horses on my wife's shop website. Pavia-Lee on Parchment Street - Unique Gift Shop In Winchester
I've sold a few from the site, but mostly its word of mouth.

 

[Doris]

Yes they are all CE marked.

I have 9 products with hundreds of pounds and hours of paper work invested in them. Hence my forum name!

This is something I've actually forgotten about sorting out for my rocking horses (have been making them ad hock for a number of years but plan to concentrate on them next year).

How do you go about getting CE marks?

 

[Skint881]

This is something I've actually forgotten about sorting out for my rocking horses (have been making them ad hock for a number of years but plan to concentrate on them next year).

How do you go about getting CE marks?

Hello Doris,
I used this company to guide me UKCA and CE Marking Consultant Specialists Advice and Training - Conformance.co.uk
I bought a package that detailed the requirements for each step in the process. A a lot of the work can be self certificated, such as data sheets stating that your materials all conform to EN71.
The physical testing was done by this company SATRA Technology. I had to take my demonstrators for testing and they issued a report stating all the tests, and if it was a pass or fail. My first product came back as a fail, I was very disappointed. But it had only failed on a labeling issue. So I fitted the correct label, and self certified that it passes all requirements.
I trawled the internet to find info on all of the requirements for EN71 conformance. Its a lot of work, and can be costly, but well worth it in the long run.
Prior to Covid I've taken my horses to charity events. I let the children ride them and they throw some coppers in a bucket. I call it "Donate and ride". They've raised a a reasonable amount for charities, and its a buzz seeing the kids having so much fun on them. You don't often see rocking horses these days, I think the parents enjoy them as much as the kids
If my products weren't CE marked I wouldn't have liability insurance so would not be able to do this.
I've now got to set about working out how to change to UKCA. From what little I've read so far, its not a huge amount of work, I just have to find the motivation.
Hope this helps.