Rocking Horse

[Jim dePrado]

I am going to be making a rocking horse for my wife's cousin who is due to give birth in July. I have plans that I got from Woodcraft, but I wasn't sure on what kind of wood to use. I wanted to use walnut for the accents (tail, mane, saddle, etc), and I was thinking of red oak for the main body, legs etc. Does this shound OK? Are there any woods that aren't kid safe? What finish would you use?

Thanks for everybodys help.

Jim

[Michael Ballent]

Most woods should be safe, but I do not think the combination of red oak and walnut would go well together. Just my opinion, I would use maple for the body and walnut for the accents. (but I am a sucker for that combination)

[Roger Myers]

I agree with Michael about the maple and walnut. Looks good... This one I made for my daughter about 19 years ago... The picture is fairly recent (and not too good) but you get the idea... aside from his ears being a little too floppy, he's aged pretty well...and still gets put in service from time to time...
Oh...the finish was simply oil...and then wax... it too has held up very well.
Roger

[Jim Young]

Do a search for rocking horses on this forum and you will find quite a few awesome horses. It may give you an idea of the differences in colors.

[Frank Pellow]

I like the one that I made out of walnut with pine accents.

[Dale Thompson]

Jim,
You may want to check this one out. So far, it still looks pretty good and and the grandkids have rounded up a lot of cattle with old "Turbo"! :)

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=11515

Dale T.

[Gilbert Vega]

I used Mesquite for the rocking horse I made for my grandson.

[Jim dePrado]

Thanks for the information and the pictures. I will probably make the horse out of Maple and Walnut. I'll post some pictures when I'm done.

Thanks again,

Jim