Rocking Horse build-WIP-FINISHED.

[Paul Chapman]

That's looking quite stunning already, Paul.

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[CHJ]

Quite an advancement Paul, hope you are not running short of abrasives :lol:

 

[Paul.J]

Thanks Paul/Chas
CHJ wrote
hope you are not running short of abrasives
I think i might just have have enough Chas

 

[tenpin]

Paul

that is stunning =D>
absolute beautiful piece of work..

 

[Paul.J]

Latest update on the horse.
Have now completed all the carving i think :roll: and filled in where necessary,bound to be something somewhere along the line.

Have now drilled a 25mm hole right through for the tail to fit,cut out the recess for the main to fit.
This was just marked 25mm back from the ears and then marked the length of the main,to a depth of 1/2" x 3/8" wide.


Cut the recesses for the large staples that will hold the stirrups.
These were marked by using the cut outs that are in the saddle,then i used a 3mm drill for the pilot holes.


And finally cut out the hooves to take the temporary hoof rails.
These will now stay on to protect the hooves fron being damaged.
click on images

Just got to give it it's final sanding before painting,though the first coat will no doubt show up some blemishes.Then fix the eyes in.

 

[CHJ]

Those curves are flowing nicely now Paul, looks like you have quite a good finish without any endgrain fuzz, do you seal the wood with anything before painting?

 

[Paul.J]

Thanks Chas.

CHJ wrote
do you seal the wood with anything before painting?

I just use a primer Chas.
First coat usually mostly gets sanded off.Then it will have another coat.
Then 2-3 coats of primer again sanding well between coats,then a gloss coat,then all the finer detail is applied like the eye lashes,teeth,ears,nostrils,dapples,and then a clear coat of varnish to finish
Just hope i've still got a steady hand :shock:

 

[PowerTool]

Looks great,can't wait to see the finished thing
Be interesting to know how many hours it takes from start to finish - I'm guessing at "lots" :wink:

Andrew

 

[Paul.J]

Latest update.
I'm glad to say that things are moving along quite nicely.Surprise surprise :shock:

The horse as now got it's first coat of primer.This usually shows up any imperfections that i have missed but am glad to say that there were only a few
I will give it a coat of undercoat,rub that down,then i will fix the eyes in,which will be painted over.


This coat will be rubbed down with a finer grit paper,and so in through the coats.


So while i was waiting for the paint to dry i started to get on with the two pillars.Some turning at last
I have used 4"x4" planed,which ends up at 3-3/4".
This i feel gives a stronger,more stable :lol: pillar.


And here are the pillars turned.Not quite finished.I will remount them nearer the time of completion.
Click on images

Now it is time to start on the rest of the stand,which i can be getting on with while the paint is drying
Hope you like it so far.

 

[CHJ]

A real smoothie Paul, has the customer chosen a colour/breed theme?

Dapple Grey, Palomino, Chestnut, Appaloosa perhaps

 

[Paul.J]

CHJ wrote
has the customer chosen a colour/breed theme?

Dapple Grey, Palomino, Chestnut, Appaloosa perhaps

Yes Chas.It will be a Dapple grey finish,with black main and tail.
Same as the others i've made.
Seems to be a popular choice

 

[Paul.J]

Started on the stand now which as you will have noticed from the pillars will be made from Pine.

Here are the boards i will get all the parts from,which are 8"x1-1/4".
Just got to plane the 2 hoof rails,and the top rail down to 7/8",and cut the rest to length.


And here is the stand with pillars showing how it will rughly go.
Just got to chamfer some edges drill some holes,sand it nice and smooth,assemble it and then varnish.
Click on images

 

[Paul.J]

Latest update on the horse is-

that i have now glued the eyes in using a two part filler and managing to get the eyelids by squeezing the eye in just enough for the filler to squeeze out creating the eyelid,just need to sand it carefully without scratching the glass eye :roll:


Then i turned my attention back to the stand.Thought i'd do all the routing and sanding before i start to give the horse it's final coats of paint.
I finished off the two pillars on the lathe,and cut the tenons down leaving about 6mm over.
Cut all the stand parts to size,bevelled the edges,with a router where needed and sanded nice and smooth.
The two cross pieces were glued and screwed to the bottom rail,with the two pillars placed in to keep the two pieces central to each other.
Sorry for the lack of piccys here,but the stand is the part where you have to move quick with the glue up as there are eight wedges to be knocked into the pillars,which will be shown later when finished,so it all gets a bit hectic :roll:

Here i am drilling one of the four holes that will take the pillars.Two in the bottom rail and two in the top rail.I used a 35mm forstener bit for this.


Here i am sawing two slots to take the wedges in the pillars.


And here is the stand assembled.
I will just give a quick coat of varnish to keep it clean ready for it's final coats,when it's dried.
click on images

Then i can have a good clean up of the shop to get rid of as much dust as i can,ready to paint the horse

 

[PowerTool]

Eye looks good,stand looks good.
Horse looks good.

Looking forward to seeing the finished article all painted

Andrew

 

[CHJ]

Looks like someone will be keeping a careful eye on the paint job Paul.

 

[Paul.J]

Thanks Andrew

CHJ wrote
Looks like someone will be keeping a careful eye on the paint job Paul.

I am quite looking forward to the paintwork Chas,even though it's been a while :shock:

 

[Paul.J]

Just another update on the Horse

Sanded the stand down and gave it a coat of varnish.
This will now be left until i finish painting the horse.


The horse as now had three coat of primer/undercoat,rubbing down between coats with finer paper.
This piccy shows it's final fourth undercoat which was an 80/20 mix of undercoat and gloss.This will leave a smooth finish,no brush marks,i hope.


And next will be the top coat of Grey gloss which i will mix
So not far to the finishing line now :lol:

 

[Paul.J]

This weeks update on the horse.
Finally got the top coat of Grey on the horse.
This was mixed by using some of the Black and White paint that was bought to paint the horse.So a pale Grey colour was required.


Here is the Tak kit that you need to finish the horse off.
So i needed the dappling pads to do the dappling,and also the swing irons were taken out.


Here is the paint and a dappling pad.I use an old tile to put the paint on and dab the pad with to take most of the paint off the pad on to the tile till you get a lightish grey for the dapples.


Here is the horse all dappled and all the rest of the features painted in.
Red paint for the inner ears,nostrils,around the outer eye and the mouth,and white paint for the teeth.The red was also used to seperate the teeth.


Also cleaned and painted the two swing irons while i had the black paint out,as you can see in the background.
Click on images.

So i will give this a couple of days to dry properly before applying the two top coats of varnish.
I can now finish the stand off,by rubbing it down and also giving that it's last coat of varnish.
Then it will be on with the mane and tail,saddle and brassware

 

[CHJ]

Looking good Paul, I am impressed with the dappling.

 

[Paul.J]

Thanks Chas
Yes the dappling turned out quite well,though i did do some practicing before i put them on the horse :roll: