Rocking Horse nearly done

[Ellie Delgado]

Thanks for your help with this project. I still have the mane, tail and eyes to do, but this is what Rockie looks like so far. Body and legs are white maple, rockers are walnut, stretchers are cherry and saddle and stirrups are Bolivian Rosewood.275529 275530 Ellie

[Prashun Patel]

that horse ROCKS!
Nice job. Can't wait to see it completed. Let us know how the recipient likes it. These are very fulfilling gifts to give.

[Stew Hagerty]

"Rockie" looks great Ellie. I like your wood choices, they contrast nicely.

When I made my granddaughter's horse, I made 3 piece eyes for it. I cut out a 3/16" thick oval of Holly (I had to play around with sizes and shapes that looked good on my particular horse); then I cut out a circle of 1/4" thick piece of Carupay (it's a rich milk chocolate brown South American wood) that would fit inside the Holly; finally I cut out a smaller circle of 5/16" thick Ebony. I drilled an off center hole in the Holly for the Carupay and an off center hole in the Carupay for the Ebony. I rotated everything the way I liked it and glued the pieces together. Lastly, I sanded the "eye" until each of the successively taller layers blended into the lower one, and thinned and rounded the edge until it looked good mounted. All that was left was to measure and mark the mounting locations and apply glue.

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[Ellie Delgado]

Thanks, it is for one and a half year old twins. I'm completing the finishing today and then the hair stuff. You are so right: can't wait to see the looks on their little faces!!

[Ellie Delgado]

Stew, THANK YOU for showing me the horse; how beautiful it is! You know, I do have some wood left over from an intarsia project that I could use for the eyes. I really like how yours look. The plan had it with a furniture button ... Haven't done inlay work before, so I appreciate the assist in directions in case I think I can manage it. Ellie

[Stew Hagerty]

Stew, THANK YOU for showing me the horse; how beautiful it is! You know, I do have some wood left over from an intarsia project that I could use for the eyes. I really like how yours look. The plan had it with a furniture button ... Haven't done inlay work before, so I appreciate the assist in directions in case I think I can manage it. Ellie

Actually, it's not inlayed on the horse. I just glued it on. That way it is rounded out from the body just like a real horse's eye. I'd be happy to help in any way. Here are a couple more eye photos, I have been trying to find one where you can see the curvature but sadly these are the best I have of that angle.

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[Ellie Delgado]

Oh, I see it now. You have that Holly so thin that it sort of looks like inlay. The best of all worlds. Now I am encouraged to brave the winds (really windy here) and go out to the shop to see what scraps I have. This is a great idea. I'm grateful for the nice pictures to show how the eyeball looks. I have the same type of craft yarn to use too. It wasn't easy to find. Ellie

[Stew Hagerty]

Oh, I see it now. You have that Holly so thin that it sort of looks like inlay. The best of all worlds. Now I am encouraged to brave the winds (really windy here) and go out to the shop to see what scraps I have. This is a great idea. I'm grateful for the nice pictures to show how the eyeball looks. I have the same type of craft yarn to use too. It wasn't easy to find. Ellie

OK, here is what the shape of the eye looks like...

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:confused: Since ech smaller piece is taller that the one it fits inside of, they can be rounded over so that they all blend into a nice smooth "eyeball" shape. The holly starts out 3/16" thick but it tapers down all around the edges. It doesn't go to a pointy edge though. I kept the edge at about 1/32" thick and gently rounded it over. The total thickness at the center of the "pupil" is very close to the original 5/16".

I used Macrame for the mane, and yes it wasn't easy to get my hands on the right size & colors I wanted.

I bought mine here:

http://www.macramesuperstore.com/macrame/Macrame-and-Jewelry-Cords/Bonnie-Braid-6mm-Cord-50-Yards.aspx?sortorder=1&page=1

I bought the 6mm x 50yd size in Almond, Rust, & Cinnamon. I used 50% Rust, 25% Cinnamon, and 25% Almond. I wove them in this order: Cinn, Rust, Almond, Rust, Cinn, Rust, Almond, Rust, etc. I think it looks good with the horse's colors.

I used African Mahogany for the body, Hard Maple for the rockers & stretchers, Jatoba for the mane & tail appliques, Kentucky Coffee Tree for the bridle & strap inlays, Butternut for the saddle, Quilted Maple for the handles, Curly Walnut for the hooves, the 3-piece eyes of course, and brown shoe leather for the ears.

I made it for my Granddaughter's 2nd Christmas. I put a lot of work into it, as well as a whole lot of love. It was my first major project after getting sick. But when she hopped on for the first time and named her Sally, every single minute was paid back 100 fold.

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[Stew Hagerty]

Thanks for your help with this project. I still have th e mane, tail and eyes to do, but this is what Rockie looks like so far. Body and legs are white maple, rockers are walnut, stretchers are cherry and saddle and stirrups are Bolivian Rosewood.275529 275530 Ellie

Well, keep us all up to date on your progress Ellie. I can't wait to see how it turns out.,

[Chloe Hanson]

Waiting to see how it all turns out too! You guys plan ahead to prepare gifts, which is great. Kinda makes me guilty, since I just bought my rocking horse online without any personalisation...