Way off topic..... but should be good for my grand nephews

[Pistolero]

When I was a kid in the 50s, I had a wooden hobby horse called a "Wonder Horse", all red with black
markings, mounted on springs. Loved it and used it for years.

I decided to make a couple of replicas for two grand nephews. Started with pix on the net,
finally found one with a yardstick against the head! This allowed me to scale pix and I created
a scale drawing side view, then had it blown up to full sized by Kinkos, made templates to
cut out parts and started working. Springs were hard to find, but finally got two kinds, not
sure which would work best.

Here are a few construction photos, and the finished 1st one, finally the 2nd and 3rd under
construction. Had a friend with lots of kids come over to test it with three kids, starting at
19 months, then each about 2 yrs older. Worked so well, and her kids loved it so much that I added another to the "assembly line", making one for them for her kids for Christmas, too.

Lots of work, but fun, too. I think the kids will love them, even
though they have no batteries or video screens.

Bill

 

[S Mac]

Looks great, brings back memories.

 

[Brad]

Nice project. We had a similar horse as kids in the lat 60s and early 70s.

Working in wood can be quite enjoyable.

 

[Rick]

Excellent woodworking but the painting really makes it. Great job and lucky kids.

 

[Pistolero]

Thanks for the kind words. The strangest part was how small the horse is. MY
Wonder Horse was BIG......... well, it is in my memories, from when I was about 4 years
old! Somehow they got smaller.

It has been fun. Have two more to complete when I get home. Visiting in
Fla now, in the upper 70s today and sunny, nice visit, nice weather. Soon back home where
winter is about to start.

 

[KHornet]

My little sisters had one of those exactly the same red and black in the early 60's. Can remember them bouncing up and down on the thing. Your woodworking looks great, and the paint job is super.

 

[smokeywolf]

Had one when I was a kid. Named him Jubilee after Dale Robertson's line in "Tales of Wells Fargo"

Bought one at Gemco for my oldest son who was 2 at the time (now 33). That one went through 3 more boys over the next 20 years or so.

Your hand made wooden horse is a giant leap up in class.

 

[williamwaco]

Blast from the past.

I remember those.

You did GOOD!

 

[JWFilips]

Ah, My only form of exercise when I was a tike! Remember watching Saturday TV shows riding it all the time ( Think I even ate my meals on the darn thing!)
I broke a few springs on it too if I recall
You did a beautiful job!

 

[Pistolero]

Thanks guys. It really is a labor of love. I know that the kids will
enjoy it. About 60 years later, I still have good memories of my old
Wonder Horse. I bet they will get similar enjoyment out of
these.

One of the other neat things is that I got all my father's good old Delta
Homecraft woodworking tools from his estate. I have been cleaning them up
and lubing, repainting, replacing blades, rewiring and such. They are all old
solid cast iron stuff, table saw, shaper, band saw, drill press, lathe, disk
sander, etc. So I have used their great grandfather's tools to make these horses,
and that is kinda special too, at least for me. I remember watching my Dad
make furniture that we still have back when I was in 1st grade, using these
same tools which are now mine.

 

[Pistolero]

Gave the last of the Wonder Horses (#3) to the 4 yr old recipient (a friend's boy)
yesterday afternoon. He was all grins, came over and thanked me. We asked what
he was going to name it, and said "You don't have to come up with a name right now,
take your time." He thought for about 10 seconds and said "I will call him Stormy",
which really floored me - great name, and in a hurry with no prior knowledge that the
horse was coming.
It was great fun, but my grand nephews won't get there copies until Christmas day.

Here I am finishing up some of the trim paint.


Fun projects, but I didn't load a round, cast a bullet or go to the range for about 2 months! All my spare time went into
those three horses.

 

[Brad]

I haven't shot or cast much lately either. The lathe keeps getting in the way!

Those are some fine horses Bill. You did a fine job.

 

[Pistolero]

Thanks. They were great projects, and it was a good reason to focus on getting my father's
bandsaw back in running condition, and pick up a planer that I had bought from a friend but
had not picked up (at about 500 lbs it was a chore to move, but worked great to level the
interior pieces before gluing on the second plywood side on the horses).

I am kind of glad that they are behind me. With the Christmas deadline, too much other stuff had to
take a back seat. I have a TIG welder that I haven't had time to set up and get running, and am
seriously looking at selling my nice old Sheldon lathe and purchasing a new Grizzly 4003 lathe. Still have
lots of other stuff in the works, too. Like a home addition that I'd like to get started in the
spring!

I bought a snow blade for my wife's JD 425 tractor and while I got the hydro lines made up
and the adaptors, mechanical and hydraulic, I couldn't find time to get it installed and
working. Hoping that spending the money on a blade will cause the deep snow to bypass
my part of KS this winter, but can't depend on that!

Too many projects. I have no idea how I found time to work 40-50 hours a week
before I retired!

Have a Merry Christmas - ALL of you!

Bill

 

[Ian]

Merry Christmas to you and yours, Bill. That's some fine work you did there, and it's always good to see some fine tools getting refreshed and put to work.

 

[Pistolero]

Thanks, Ian. Yes, I am very fond of those old Delta power tools, they were part of
my father's shop ever since I can remember, before I was in 1st grade. I still remember
watching him use them, and explain what he was doing. Seeing them rusty and
out of operation after my Dad was too old to use them, and finally, even to care
much anymore was sad. I have been around them longer than any tools that
I own, and they still work well.
They seem much happier now, all repainted, surfaces polished and oiled, with
new wires and new chance to make things. The wood lathe and disk sander are
still inop, but they are on the list.......

We still have a number of pieces of furniture that my father made in the family,
and everyone knows which pieces he made.

Bill

 

[smokeywolf]

I used to think Dad had accumulated a lot of tools, and compared to many he did. However, I've tripled or quadrupled what Dad had.

No press or particle board in furniture before the latter half of the 20th century. I'm still using the chest of drawers that was my father's when he was a child (1930ish). Also, just hung a small bookshelf on the wall in the mother-in-laws bedroom that hung on the wall of my father's bedroom some 90 years ago.

The old tools, machinery and furniture was built to last for generations as opposed to today where if you get a one year warranty expect it to break or break down at the end of that year, because that's when the manufacturer expects it to break.

 

[Pistolero]

The old tools were definitely made to last. I did note that I am hearing a bit of a growl from the
table saw lately as it spools down, which was running smoothly and quietly when I first got it up and
going again. I will probably pull the arbor assembly out and replace the ball bearings this winter. The
shaper runs smoothly, and at about 10,000 rpms you would definitely know if the bearings were
going. Drill press bearings are still quiet, too.

As far as how much stuff my Dad had ....... I still have a partially restored 1935 Fairchild 24 with a Warner
Super Scarab in pieces (wings and tail covered, thru silver) and a fully flying (out of annual and needs tires)
Waco UPF-7 in his hangar, plus a LOT of tools, nuts, bolts, rivets, washers, and a few more individual
woodworking tools, a fairly large Lionel electric train set (well, I guess small by some standards) and a whole
bunch more stuff to deal with before we can sell the hangar in Va. I am going to keep the Waco,
but the Fairchild needs to find someone to finish the restoration. Lots left to deal with!

I really do like old tools, and yes, the furniture he made had zero particle board, all solid wood.

Bill