The Heirloom Rocking Horse

Step 5: Mark the outside edges
of parts B,C,D,E & G and round them over on the shaper using a 1/4" quarter-round cutter -- or with your router and a rounding-over bit. Do not round the front edges of the neck where it meets with the body...or the straight, vertical edge at the rear of piece E, since these edges must be square when assembled.

Step 6: Assemble the main body
parts (D,E & F). Use pieces of 3/8" dowel rod to align the parts when gluing and clamping, but DO NOT glue the dowels in place yet. If you prefer, the body can also be assembled with #10 x 2-1/2" flathead wood screws. Sand the body assembly on the disc sander so all the parts are flush. See Fig. 3.

Step 7: Mount the legs
(B & C). Align the legs with 3/8" dowel rods that extend through the body and into the legs on both sides. Disassemble, then glue and clamp the legs into place with the dowel rods. The legs can also be assembled without the glue by using #10 x 2-1/2" flathead wood screws. This approach allows you to disassemble the finished rocking horse for shipping or storage, if necessary. The screws can be covered with stain or paint later.

Step 8: Center the front and rear braces
(J) on the feet and attach with two #10 x 2" flathead wood screws driven up through the braces and into the soles of each foot. Place the horse with the two attached braces on the rockers. Make certain the horse is sitting level on the rockers by sliding it back and forth until the body is parallel with the floor. Fasten the front and rear braces to the rockers using #10 x 1-1/2" flathead wood screws. Attach the remaining three braces (J) to the rockers using #10 x 1-1/2" flathead wood screws. Round off the sharp edges of the rockers at this point, being sure they remain fairly square for maximum stability.

Step 9: Attach the saddle
(G or H). The 3/4" thick upholstered saddle board (H) is attached with #10 x 1-1/2" flathead wood screws. If you choose the 1-1/2" thick solid wood saddle (G), it is attached with 3/8" dowels and glue. Determine the locations for the three saddle mounting holes on the bottom of the saddle and drive a small brad into the center of each hole location, leaving about 1/2" of the brad protruding. Snip the heads off these brads using wire cutters. Turn the saddle over and set it carefully in position on the horse body. Lightly tap the top of the saddle with your hand or fist to transfer the hole centers to the horse body. Turn the saddle over and pull the brads out. Drill three 3/8" blind holes in the bottom of the wood saddle (G) and the top of the horse body at the indicated locations. Dowel and glue the saddle to the body. Place a weight on the seat or clamp it firmly into position while the seat dries to assure good adhesion.
 
Continue . . .