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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
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