Rocking Horse

[Quintenius]

Hi all,
I have lurked on these forums for some time and thought I should post and say thanks for all the informative tips and instructions I have received from these boards.

My first Grandchild was born last year in October , and my wife saw a wooden rocking horse at some craft fair for an exorbitant price that she wanted to buy for him.
Me and my big mouth, I told her I could make a better rocking horse than that cut out plywood painted thing. And so it began.
These boards were a great source of knowledge for tools , techniques and encouragement.
This horsey is very rustic , in that I did not sand out the gouge marks. I was gonna but my son liked the rough look of it with the carving marks.
I have the bug now and will try to make others that are much more detailed and defined, but this is a rough first attempt.
Criticism and feedback is welcomed. You all contributed whether you knew it or not.

Quint

[Quintenius]

Uh , I messed up posting the pics somehow, lol.
I will try again.

Quint

[Quintenius]

The pictures are kinda sketchy. I had more wip photos but my camera was burgled before I got em down loaded.
A few detail shots to follow.

Quint

[jmischel]

That's way better than any cutout plywood painted thing, Quint. Excellent work.

[mpounders]

Nice job! I know the amount of work that goes into one of those. The carving takes a lot, but there are other skills you learn, like the leather work and such. Grandson is not going to want to share that, so you probably will need to make some more! Congratulations!

[ragiarn]

Great job. It is the best feeling to see a child enjoy the fruits of your labor.

[markken5889]

Hi Quint,

Very nice job you've done here. The rustic look, as you put it, adds to the charm of the horse. What a great, thoughtful gift.

Keep going now!

Mark

[Gulf Coast Handyman]

Quint, That is awesome, detail, finish, very impressive !

Dave

[fpace]

Whether or not you know it you created a priceless heirloom that will be a part your family for decades... fine job!

[Quintenius]

Thanks for all the kind comments.
I was probably silly to try the first major project out of Walnut, I love the look of the natural color, with just varnish you can see the grain pattern very well.
I need to learn to sharpen my gouges more efficiently, that walnut is pretty hard, dulls right out after a few hundred hours, lol.

Quint