Chris Makes - A Rocking Horse

I decided to make a better version of a cheap rocking horse I bought from Amazon for my niece. The original was made of particle board and cheap plywood. It also lacked a mane and tail. I decided to remake it using ambrosia maple with oak handles and, of course, adding a mane and tail using yarn. I did, however, make several mistakes along the way. First, I used the band saw where I didn't need to. If a cut needed to be straight, I should have done it on the table saw. Next, I made some poor joinery decisions. At first I wanted to completely avoid using screws and use dowels instead. I made this problem worse by using pine for the dowels. In the end, I discovered that screws are fine as long as you hide them with filler or plugs. Finally, I should have been more careful with my glue ups. Cleaning dry glue out of tiny spaces and joints is time consuming and can result in marring. In the end, the piece turned out great and my niece will love it. I learned a ton along the way and it will be something she keeps well beyond after she out grows it.