158 – Rocking Horse (1 of 2)

Written on 09/26/2011
Marc Spagnuolo

The charity build begins! Let's get this rocking horse started!

The rocking horse is a great project for new and experienced woodworkers alike so its perfect for our charity build. The construction is fairly straightforward and requires minimal tools & materials. If you would like to build along, you can download full-size patterns here. Unfortunately, the full official set of plans are no longer free but you can purchase them here. Between the video and the full-size pattern, you can probably estimate the sizes of the smaller parts, making it unnecessary to purchase the plans.

There is a lot of detail in this video! I wanted to make it as approachable as possible for all skill levels so I spend a good deal of time going over proper layout. The “real-time” perspective gives you a much more realistic idea of how a project like this goes together.

What You’ll Need:

– A pre-laminated pine board approximately 3/4″T x 20″W x 72″L.
– Short length of 3/4″ dowel rod
– 3/4″ forstner bit
Counter-sink bit
– Jigsaw with a fine tooth blade (18-20 TPI)
– Router outfitted with a 1/8″ round-over bit
– Sander
– Screws
– Hand Saw
– Square
– Rasp
– Compass
– French curve
– Construction Adhesive
– Spray Adhesive

How the Charity Works

For each person who completes a rocking horse (one per person), I am donating $1 to Livestrong. We also have numerous corporate and individual sponsors who are matching my donation. With their help and yours, we are trying to reach our goal of $10,000! If you don’t want to build along you can always donate directly. And if you’re interested in becoming a sponsor, please feel free to contact me. 100% of proceeds benefit Livestrong.

When you finish your rocking horse, simply send me a picture and your build will count toward our final tally. All pictures must be submitted by November 14th.

Our Sponsors

Special thanks to our individual sponsors: Erik Gilling, Joseph Buscemi, and Jason Small.

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