Need tool recommendation

[yellabret]

i am not really a wood carver at all, but i do enjoy woodworking in general. i have a rocking horse project i need help on, i made an original and like it but wish to improve on it. actually, i started making 3 of them, then my band saw (super cheapo) broke and they went into the attic and have sat there for over 20 years. its a LOT of money in wood, and i just inherited a nice set of 1960-s vintage Craftsman shop tools and can now do a lot more. in the past i have just had too many hobbies - all expensive - to be able to do the woodworking as well.

below is a photo of the original, it is made from red oak. i like it and think it is impressive but it definitely reeks of amateurism. i designed it and made it with a $99 10" bandsaw, hand drill, rasp, and file. thats it. . very rewarding but backbreaking! i also included a photo of one of the three in production. so what i need is a hand wood grinder type tool for bulk removal and shaping.. i read elsewhere about a wood cutting blade for a 4-1/2 inch Makita grinder but it was deemed extremely dangerous to operate.

so what could I use for the bulk material removal? i used a Dremel for the very rudimentary face on the original, want to improve here as well. would a local wood carving class be helpful?

lastly, i plan to separate the legs on the new ones. not really carving, but I assume a reciprocating saw would be the right tool there....

[Claude]

Welcome to the forum! I moved your post to General Carving - I think you may get a wider audience here.

I don't think it looks amateurish at all - you should see the one I made 40 years ago from construction grade douglas fir! Ugly as all get out, but my boys loved it...

Tool recommendations depend a lot on how much money you have/want to spend. A Foredom or WeCheer with some coarse carbide burrs would be very good for doing the waste wood removal; equally good would be one of several blades on the die grinder (some are like chain saw blades, some are like the carbide burrs, but circular). You could do the whole thing with a chain saw. You could also do the whole thing with a mallet and couple of gouges. If you could give us a price range you're willing to spend, we could be more specific...

Claude

[yellabret]

thanks for the help - the die grinder looks like the best for waste removal, it just seems like i need a tool that i grab and work with 2 hands - the Foredom and WeCheer seem good for lighter use like shaping the hooves, some body creaqses etc. looks like i need a die grinder and a power carver both! i assume Home Depot has the choice of attachments i need?

as far as a chain saw, i have jacked many many cords in my life and can wield a chain saw with the best, but i would have no clue how to be artistic with one. thats a niche that just doesnt seem to be in my corner... ;-)

i found a local wood carvers club that has weekly saturday meetings, sounds likie a great place to get started!

david

[Donsexton]

I started out carving over 40 years ago with gouges. I now use chainsaws and many grinders die and side. Take a look at some of my old posts advice on and pictures of grinders. It’s hard to beat a variable speed die grinder. I like Makita but Bosch and Metabo make fine variable speed die grinders as well most cost around $230.

[STAR]

Two years ago a friend at my woodworking club said he was interested in making a rocking horse. I was interested to and so was another friend.

A month or so later we were all together at a 'Working with Wood " show and i spotted a guy making rocking horses. my two friends were quite interested so the three of us shared the expense of a book he had for sale by Anthony Dew , making rocking Horses.

We each contributed to the purchase, not because it was expensive but because we were all mates and what goes around comes around principle.. I decided to go the coward's way and purchase one, surprisingly the one least interested decided to use the book to build one, ( or was he a better poker player )

He followed the book and produced what I thought and others confirmed a horse way above what I and others thought his woodworking ability. Fast forward a year and my wife has a friend who needed an old rocking horse repaired and she volunteered me and my club to do it for her friend because I am there enough and I must do something useful there mustn't I.

My friend who is on to his second horse and doing a fantastic job, has been a guiding light. we had to do a complete new stand and I asked him about the horse and he told me, " it's all in the book " Just follow the instructions, do not improvise, because the author has revised the book each edition.

While I admit I have not really read the book, we have completed the stand without any dramas. we paid $ 50 Aust for it before the Australian dollar took off. I think on Amazon or similar you may be able to get it for about $30 US or so.

We have a fantastic online book supplier that can deliver into our letterbox for the same price listed on the book.

No wonder Borders Australia went into liquidation.

Pete

[Just Carving]

To find an Anthony Dew book:
Go to http://used.addall.com/Used/

Search for Author: dew, anthony, Keyword: rocking horse

I found a used one, Making Rocking Horses for 4 dollars s&h included. I never thought about building one but I've become intrigued by this thread. I'm always willing to explore new ways to use my carving and this looks like fun. Thanks!

Bob L