Work in progress Clydesdale and pony

[Silversam]

I know a few members have done this pattern many times but this is my first attempt and it’s a very big pattern. For me anyway.

Thought I would take some photos along the way.

So I started off cutting out the paper pattern into sections from many copies of the original pattern. This took a long time as there are so many parts to it. I said to the wife that if it takes this long to cut the paper think how long it’s going to take to cut the wood.

I knew it was going to be a long project for me as I only get to spend a couple of hours a day on it in the week after work and a few more hours at the weekend. I love doing the intarsia work so the time factor didn’t bother me.

Anyway, I sorted out some wood from the limited supply I have and started to cut some of the pattern out on the scroll saw.

I decided to start with the harness and yolk sections. Not sure why I started there but it just felt right. I shall see later if I chose wisely. As I am going to paint this area black and silver I used pine wood.

While cutting out the harness sections there was some very tricky parts to cut. The pattern on the blinkers got me thinking really hard. I went with two separate parts. The outside and inside. I couldn’t see how I could perform a nice cut with one cut without damaging the inside piece because of the shape of the silver area. I bet there’s some on here who can do it though.

I then decided to cut out the white parts of the pattern with some tulip wood. Photo shows both the harness and white parts.

Next I started to cut out the head section of the larger horse with some western red cedar.

More pattern cutting of the body to get it to fit the wood I have. I cut more cedar for the body and then removed some of the paper off the wood cuts to see the wood in the project. It was really taking shape and made me more excited to get more done.

I also decided to try some black and silver paint on part of the harness to see what that was going to look like. I don’t normally do any painting until I have everything cut out but I couldn’t wait lol.

More of the horses body cut out and the little bit of painting of the harness in place and I was really pleased.
I then started to cut out the darker shades of the body. Not 100% on what wood it is but it may be cedar again but a darker type.

Next up was the little pony body parts to cut out.

I then came to the little pony head.
Wow so many small parts to this. Very tricky to cut out. I have kept this separate from the other parts for the time being as I have so many parts cut out now and don’t want to mix them up. I think I will probably work on this first and get it glued together so it’s one big part and easier to work with when joining it up with the main part.

Today I cut out the hoof hair parts of the big horse. That was painful on the hands as the lower legs have already been cut out so was difficult to hold. Should have done that part before I cut the leg part out but I couldn’t make up my mind whether to cut the hairs out or use a dremel to shape the hairs. After practising on some scrap wood with the dremel and not getting very good results I decided to saw them out.

Well it’s took me two weeks so far and this is as far as I have got. Enjoyed it though.
Now I am looking forward to sanding and shaping and painting the harness.

I will post more photos when I have got further along with it.
Hope I didn’t bore you.
Andy

 

[linkshouse]

It's looking good Andy.

I can completely relate to your impatience with painting the harness. I often apply a bit of finish to cut out pieces whilst doing the initial assembly as I can't wait to get an idea of how it will look. It doesn't matter as it will get sanded off anyway when the pieces are shaped.

What are you using for the shaping?

I used to use a bobbin sander which is really not the best tool for the job. Then Brian (claymore) put me onto one of these - Blcak and Decker Cushion sander.

The cushion sander works way better than the bobbin sander and it's nearly a tenth of the price. It is pretty much all I use now so the £130 spent on the bobbin sander was money well spent - not :roll:

Anyway, back to your intarsia...

Great WIP write up, can't wait to see the finished piece.

Regards

Phill

 

[Silversam]

Morning Phil.
Thanks for the link to the cushion sander. I have read about these and seen some vids. Mainly when fitted to a grinder and thought they looked good.

How does this one fit?
Is it onto the grinder and do you have to buy special fittings?
How do you find it better than the bobbin sander.

I use a bobbin sander and dremel to shape my pieces but I am always up for better ways to do it.

I also use a sanding mop which I made from a utube tutorial fitted to a drill press and hand sanding as well.

I have a grinder stuck under my bench so if it fits to that I would get one. What about the sanding sleeves. Do you have a place you get those are can you buy them at Screwfix. I’m always at Screwfix getting odds and sods. Wife thought I worked there.

Andy

 

[linkshouse]

The cushion sander has a mandrel so needs to be held in a chuck. In a perfect world I would get a chuck adapter for my bench grinder and mount it on that but as it stands I use it in my drill press.

I also make my own sanding mops which I used to make with the sanding sheets held together with a nut and bolt and then also use this in the drill press. I suspect I saw the same Youtube tutorial that you did.

Since then I have started making them differently which allows me you use them on the buffing wheel mandrel on my bench grinder. I have a full write up on making and using them on my website here - Homemade sanding mop for bench grinder (If this link contravenes rules mods, please shout up and I'll remove it).

Regards

Phill

 

[Silversam]

Thanks for the link Phil.
Had a look at the link and also your website. Very nice site. I also ended up following your link to forest travels.

I’m jealous.
Looks like you’re having way too much fun in the motor home.
You won’t get any work done now you have that. With the summer heatwave we have had you picked a good year to buy a motor home.

Enjoy your travels.
Andy

 

[linkshouse]

Thanks for the link Phil.
Had a look at the link and also your website. Very nice site. I also ended up following your link to forest travels.

I’m jealous.
Looks like you’re having way too much fun in the motor home.
You won’t get any work done now you have that. With the summer heatwave we have had you picked a good year to buy a motor home.

Enjoy your travels.
Andy

Thanks Andy, yes you're right the motorhome is the best/worst thing we've ever bought! It's sure had some use this year and pretty much taken up all my spare time.

Phill

 

[Silversam]

Well it’s almost another 2 weeks passed by since the last update of the work in progress.

Not got a lot done in the time as I have been busy with some household duties.
I’ve been shaping out the little pony and it’s coming along nicely. I started with the pony head as there was a lot of small pieces and I didn’t want to misplace any.

Since I had done the pony head I thought I may as well carry on with the body of the pony. So I shaped the sections and glued a few together. I’ve not glued the head and neck onto the body yet as I want to make sure I can get it to fit nicely with other parts of the pattern.

I also couldn’t resist painting some more of the harness.

When I have all the harness done I am going to spray varnish this to give it a nice shiny finish. Will not be varnishing the horses though, that will be finished with oil.

Did a little bit more work on the pony. Started to shape out the white parts of the legs.

I am pleased how the pony is starting to look and I think this would make a nice project on its own in the future. Just the pony by itself. Might have to make a stable full of pony’s and train them

Looking at the side view I may have to put a shim under the whole pony to raise it up so it looks closer to the front than the larger horse. I will see how things look later when I have the big horse shaped out.

When I started to shape the big horse I noticed the bum didn’t look right. I checked the pattern from the book and it was spot on but the picture in the book showed more parts to the rear of the horse.

I looked online and saw many Clydesdale horses that had been made and the bum area was missing these extra parts in the final finish. I decided to add the missing parts myself as I thought it gave more dimension and a better look.

You can see the two parts in the picture above. It’s on the big horses bum area. It now looks similar to the pony’s rear end. Still a bit more shaping needed yet though.

A closer look at the pony. Not all glued together yet though. Still waiting to make sure it will fit into position properly. I don’t want to glue it together and end up out of synch with other parts.

I’m also not cutting out the bottom part that ties it all together until the horses are all done in case the legs end up in a slightly different position. A few millimetres wrong and it won’t fit as good as I want it to.

Well here’s the last photo and this is as far as I have got so far. I look forward to the weekend to get some more done. It’s a challenging project but very enjoyable so far.

 

[Silversam]

Well another couple of weeks have passed and I have made a little more progress. Some parts were extremely fiddly to fit together to get a nice join. I also have had to cut out a lot of risers as the pine wood that I used for the yolk and harness part was not as thick as the other wood. It was getting hard to fit pieces together with the pine wood being too low down.

I’ve had to do a lot more painting with the harness and sometimes I had to repaint after cutting and sanding when the fit wasn’t spot on. I have also been applying varnish to the painted parts to make them shiny.

I’ve looked at many images on the internet of the Clydesdale and pony that people have made and I have noticed a lot of variation in the way that they were made. I found this helpful in making my own.

I started to shape and fit the big horses head. A lot of pieces in this and some were very fiddly.

This section is proving tricky. Getting the yolk to fit nicely onto the pony’s head around the ears and the mane with the small piece in the centre of the photo. I don’t know how some people can cut out the pieces and they fit perfectly. Never happens for me no matter how careful I am in the cutting stage.

Painted parts of the harness on the big horses head and shaping and fitting them all together. This took an age to get right. There were many times I didn’t think I would get this right. Very tricky.

I also worked on the horses feet area and the hairs around the feet. Managed to get these finished ok. This gave me a break from the difficult horses head that wasn’t falling into place how I wanted it to.

The head started to slowly come together. There was many times I spent hours doing this part and it didn’t feel like I was getting anywhere. This took me a long time to do. For some reason I just could not get some of the parts to fit together properly. I plodded on though and worked it out.

I’m glad I was patient and I got there in the end. The head looks nice and I just have the ribbons to do on the mane.

Another view showing the 3D effect of the piece.

Now I am onto another difficult part. For me anyway. Fitting the big head and yolk and the pony together. This boils down to the earlier problem I had with the pony matching up with the yolk area. It will take time but I will get it sorted.

I made a riser for the pony earlier but I didn’t think it was high enough so I am adding another one. I’m not keen on the riser being too high and visible from the sides but I want the pony to look in front of the big horse. So I don’t really have a choice unless I want to sand the big horse lower and I don’t want to do that as it’s got nice depth to it.

Well I’m off into the garage to do some more work on it.
It’s a slow process but I’m pleased how it’s coming along.

 

[AES]

The 3D effect you mentioned in the head close up looks really good. I like it! Please show again when finished.

 

[Silversam]

Here is the latest update to the work in progress.
I don’t know where the time goes,it passes so quickly. 3 weeks since the last update but it doesn’t feel that long.

I have been very busy at work so not had as much time as I would like to work on the Clydesdale but I have made some progress. I have worked on this project for so long that I shall miss it when it’s completed but still eager to get it finished.

I have now started to glue a lot of the larger pieces together on the big horse.

I use wood glue and clamps to join all these together being careful not to get any glue on the front surface as I found this can spoil the look of the wood when the final finish is applied.

Now I’ve come to a tricky part of fitting the little pony to the big horse and yolk area.

The fit wasn’t quite right due to a small error I made earlier in the build but with a lot of delicate cutting on the scrollsaw and a recut of one of the pieces I managed to get a really nice join.

The small pony looks good with the extra raiser I applied to the back of it and protrudes nicely from the large horse to give depth to the project.

Now I am happy with the fit but I am not glueing this together yet as it would make it too big to handle on the scrollsaw when I cut the lower sections of the ploughed field.

The depth can be seen more clearly in this image.

I then started to think about the lower part of the project with the ploughed field and horses legs. I was a little off with the pattern fit at this area. Only by a few millimetres but it means the pattern cuts would not fit properly so I had to do a work around to get them to fit.this took a while to work out and cut.

This is what I am working on at the moment now and it feels like it’s finally all coming together.
I glued one of the big horses legs to the little pony but I’m not adding the other leg yet until I have the bottom ploughed field part cut out and fitting properly.

I also made the ribbons for the big horses head and painted the red ones with acrylic paint but the white ones are white wood.

Not a lot more to do now to get to the finish. Once I get the ploughed field sorted then I will be glueing a lot more together and then I can think about making the backing board for it. I’m really pleased how it’s coming along and look forward to seeing it all fitted together.

I will post the finished photos later.

 

[AES]

It'slooking really good, thanks for the excellent pix. =D>

It's gonna be great when finished.

 

[digerman]

coming together fine the extra riser on the foal helps would it be better to complete the horses then add the ploughing one part at a time

 

[Silversam]

coming together fine the extra riser on the foal helps would it be better to complete the horses then add the ploughing one part at a time

The problem with doing it that way is the horses would be too big to hold on the scrollsaw. 20 inch X 20 inch. I like to get a nice tight fit on the pieces and use the scrollsaw to cut between the fit.
The plough bits between the small pony and legs would be easier to hold and cut on the scrollsaw. That’s my thinking anyway. Not saying it’s the right way. I’ve also not glued the back leg of the big horse yet for the same reason.

My scrollsaw is only a 14 inch and it would be over hanging.
Thanks for the input though. I appreciate it.
Andy

 

[Silversam]

Started to cut and fit the bottom ploughed field area. Done this with just the pony and feet area of the big horse so that it would be easier to handle and cut on my scrollsaw. I think I would have struggled if I had the big horse attached as well.

This area was a bit fiddly cutting around the leg area.
I also made it thinner towards the back end to give it some depth.

I then applied some Danish oil to the whole project. The white areas have gone a little yellow due to this but they do stand out from the dark wood nicely.

Next I started to make the backing board and cut it out on the scrollsaw. Then fine adjustments with the dremel sander attachment to the edges of the backing board to get a nice fit.

I then went around the edge of the backing board with a black felt tip pen. Gives it a better finish.
I’ve not had time to glue it to the backing board yet but that’s not a hard job. So it’s just a little bit more touching up with the Danish oil and then it should be finished.
It’s took me a long time but it’s been worth the effort. I think it’s looking good.
I won’t be in a rush to do another one of these soon lol I’m looking forward to doing something different now.

 

[AES]

VERY nice, well done. =D>

 

[digerman]

looking good well worth the time spent on it

 

[8squared]

Stunning piece of work for a first attempt.

 

[Silversam]

Thanks for the comments.
I have now given the project another coat of Danish oil and rubbed it down gently between coats with very fine wire wool. This smoothed the finish out really nice.

So here it is In it’s final resting place above the fireplace in our lounge.
The wife liked it so much that we took down a picture we have had there for ages. I was just going to put it up in the hallway but she says it deserves to be seen and admired.

I’m happy with the end result and I have really enjoyed making it.

 

[AES]

Your better half is spot on - it DOES deserve to be seen. Well done =D>

 

[Buckeye]

Thanks for the comments.
I have now given the project another coat of Danish oil and rubbed it down gently between coats with very fine wire wool. This smoothed the finish out really nice.

So here it is In it’s final resting place above the fireplace in our lounge.
The wife liked it so much that we took down a picture we have had there for ages. I was just going to put it up in the hallway but she says it deserves to be seen and admired.

I’m happy with the end result and I have really enjoyed making it.View attachment 6

Excellent! Thanks for sharing