Restoring the Roebuck Rocking Horse.

A Photo of the Finished Rocking Horse ready for Delivery. The Hair is a

little wind blown after a 400 Kilometer drive but it brushed out beautifully.

Hello. Thank You for purchasing My Book. I hope that You find it as enjoyable and informative to read as I did to write it.

Firstly, let Me say that the Skills and Tips which You learn here could easily be applied to any Brand of Rocking Horse You might purchase or own, not just the Roebuck. Most of this type and design of Rocking Horses are all basically built the same way and so the same rules of repairing them all will almost always apply. That is to say, to the extent that We will be repairing this one. Major Repairs such as missing Legs etc are not covered in this Book. That is specialist work and doing it wrongly could endanger any Child who may ride the Rocking Horse in the future. There are many specialists who can do major repair work for a reasonable cost and You should seek them out if needed. They are easily found with a Computer search. NOTE: This Book has not been divided into Chapters, because it is a straightforward progression of a Restoration from start to finish, in a particular sequence. It is probably best to firstly read through the entire Book, and then begin Your Restoration process. There are approximately 60 Photos and diagrams included in the Book, and then there is a Zip file included on the CD of almost 1000 Photos, (many of which may be doubled up, )and many which were intended for the Book but in the end were not used. Some of these additional Photos have Captions attached which You might find interesting. On the other hand You might think them a waste of space. :) Either way, they are Yours for better or worse. Throughout the Book I will often use Red text, Bold Print or even Bold Print with Italics to highlight a particular point or operation. Wherever You see this print You should pay particular attention to that instruction. Throughout this Book, I will sometimes refer to what I deem to be poor manufacturing skills and design in these Rocking Horses. This is totally My own opinion, and should not be taken too seriously. In fact, I am as much a lover of the Roebuck and all other Rocking Horses as anyone could be. It is just My personal opinion that overall the Rocking Horse really suffers from some poor design faults. They were after all designed as a Childs Toy and not as a Peice of Furniture or an Heirloom item. I have come up with some unique methods of re designing these faults which I have found to be both economical and simple to include in any Restoration. These methods if followed will make Your Rocking Horse a much safer and more enjoyable

Toy, or a much better looking point of interest in Your home. Whether You follow My advice or not is Your choice. You could just as easily repair any Rocking Horse using the original methods and Parts where they are available and still do a good Job of it whilst following much of the directions contained here. Repairing the Roebuck Rocking Horse can be a fun experience, or sometimes just a nightmare. The particular Horse in this Book was one of the Nightmare Jobs, and so makes an excellent subject for the Book. Why? Simply because during this restoration, I experienced just about every problem You could face without having to do any actual structural repairs to the Horse. You will read and learn about these problems here, and so be far better prepared when it comes to repairing Your own Horse. Note also that several of these problems stem from the poor original design of these Rocking Horses, and so really need to be addressed in Your repair, even if some of them are not immediately necessary. The lessons learnt here can make Your Rocking Horse Safer and actually better built than the original!. Following is a short list of some of those problems, but not all of them. 1: The Horse sat crookedly on the Frame. Consequently it would point slightly to the Right as it went back and forth on the Swingers. 2: One Leg of the Horse was actually shorter than the other Three. 3: The Swinging Hangers had worn an Oval shaped hole into the Side Rails, making them very loose. ( Note that this is the most common problem You will find on any Rocking Horse. ) 4: The Screws which held the Horse Legs to the Frame had come so badly loose and worn that they would no longer tighten up in their holes. 5: The long Bolts which run right through the Turned supports from Top to Bottom had at some stage been broken off at the Nuts and were barely holding the Frame together. The replacement Nuts they used were holding on by about 2 or 3 Turns of the Thread each. The Outer Hanger support Bolts and Nuts which hold the Hanger support to the Top of the Frame were smaller than the Inner ones. This is actually standard on most of these Horses, however it is unsightly and a very poor design. The inner Bolts ar 5/16 Inch whilst the outer are only 1/4 Inch! Also, the Standard Nuts which screw on from the Top of the Hanger Bracket are just plain ugly and need to be replaced on all these Horses. 6: The Horse over Its' lifetime had suffered many bangs and knocks which had put several larger dents and dings all over the Body. This is to be expected though. 7: The Oils in the Timber of the Horse Body were released after complete Sanding and it became impossible to get the new Paint to stick . You wont believe the problems this caused!! 8: The Repair Kit of Trims, Saddle etc. which I purchased contained several

Pieces which were the wrong size. In the end I hardly used any of them anyway as I really dislike the Plastic Trims used on the Roebucks. In fact, if not for time restraints I would not have used any of them. I would simply have purchased some Leather Strips and re done the whole thing. Because of some of the problems mentioned above, the Frame overall had become twisted and out of straight and at first glance it appeared that it may have to be re built from new timber but as it turned out the problems were quite easily overcome once the causes were established. One of the main things You must look for in any Restoration is the cause of any problem, before You start to pull things apart. The first thing to do when You have the Horse ready to commence work is to take Photos of it from every angle. This is so that You can easily recall where all the Bits go in relation to each other, and also to record the original markings, such as Black Patches and Spots etc. Take as many Photos as You feel necessary, and then transfer them to Your Computer or to a CD in case of accidentally deleting them from Your Camera. Trust Me, if You don’t transfer them the inevitable will always happen and they will be lost forever! Another good reason for taking Photos before commencing the Job is that You will later be able to look back on what You started with, and what You finished with. In other words, You will have a series of Before and After Photos showing Your achievement, which is always nice to have.

A few of My Photos although they appeared fine on the Camera would not

transfer to the Computer without some slight blurring. There are several original Photos included in the separate File on this CD.

So, let the Fun begin.......... The first Job You need to do after recording every aspect of the Horse on Camera is to completely strip all the Trimmings off Your Horse. Obtain a Container large enough to hold ALL the removed pieces, and DO NOT throw anything away, no matter how damaged or insignificant it appears to be. You may need to check it later against the New Trims to ensure that You have the correct pieces or You may even need to re use some peices. This happened to Me also on this particular Job. I was supplied the wrong Saddle Blankets, which was obvious as soon as I opened the package, and so immediately re-ordered the correct one, however I did not at that time realize that many of the Plastic Trims were too small for the Horse and could not be used. I discovered this problem only a few Hours before the Horse was due to be delivered, and so had to improvise quite a bit. I actually think the Horse turned out better without the bulk of the original Plastic Trims. Luckily, the Owner thought so too. It is important that You read through the Book completely before beginning Your Restoration. You need to decide which method will best suit Your requirements. The main points to consider are, will the Rocking Horse be used often by Your Children, or any other Children, or do You intend to display Your Horse as a fully Restored Antique. Next You should decide if You prefer to restore the Horse back to as near to the original appearance as possible, or if You prefer a Job similar to that which I have done on this Horse. I have restored several Rocking Horses, and have used both methods, depending on the Customers preferences or My own for a particular Horse. In other words, I am not suggesting that You should Restore Your Horse exactly as I have done this one. That choice is always Yours, and the Book is suitable as instruction for either method. The other thing You should always strive to acheive in any Restoration is to maintain certain aspects of Your Horse, which will always help in identifying and telling the correct Age of the Horse. The Colours and positioning of certain Trims, and also the Pattern of the Saddle Blanket in particular are definitive indicators and in a restoration to original specifications, these details should be retained. On My Horse, I retained the Saddle Blanket as the Tartan Pattern definitely proves the age and pedigree of the Horse. As for the Paint, and more particularly the Patches and Spots, there are so many variations today that it is difficult to know what was original and what was not. I do not place as high a level of importance on this point as many other Restorers might, but then again I have seen several variations even in their work. My advice is, do what best suits you at the time. :)

Now back to the Job...... To remove most of the plastic trims, a medium sized Flat Bladed Screwdriver is usually good enough. If You can obtain or make a Flat Bladed Forked Tool, similar to the Claws of a small Hammer this would be even better but is not necessary. A small Pry Bar is perfect and can be purchased at the Hardware Store very cheaply. Carefully maneuver the Blade under the Trim as close as possible to the Nails and gently pry them upwards. Don’t try to actually remove them with the Screwdriver, but just raise them enough to get the Claw Hammer Blade under them to easily pull them out. You will find that because many of the Nails will be old and rusted or just weak, the Head of the Nail may bend over and the Hammer Claws will not lift them. In this case, a pair of Long Nosed Pliers will usually do the job for you. Squeeze the Nail between the cutting edges of the Pliers, and then lever it out. Occasionally, even this method will not work and the Nail may break off or just be too hard to remove. Don’t worry. Just bang what’s left of it back into the Horse Body and move on. A few, or even a lot, of broken off Nails left in the Horse wont matter. Just be certain to bang them in so that they sit below the surface of the wood or they will damage Your Sander or Sandpaper when You Sand the Timber later. You should use a small Centre Punch for this Job, but a large sized Nail will do just as well. Just place it on top of the broken Nail and belt it down a little further so that it does not stand up above the surface. Be careful not to bang Your Fingers as well.

The main Tools etc. required. Note the Three different types and sizes of Masking Tape. Also note

the Packet of Stickers. These are Ideal for the Spots and can be purchased anywhere.

You will also see Two small Copper Pipe sections. You will find out later what they are for ☺☺☺☺

I have most often found this problem of broken Nails when removing the Mane as the Nails used there were always quite a bit larger. Also, as the Mane is attached to the Horse in a wet or damp condition, these Nails will always tend to have rusted out somewhat. The reason that the Mane is applied wet is that the Leather in the Mane when You purchase it will be very hard and stiff and can not be fitted in that state. It will need to be soaked in COLD water for a Day and then allowed to rest between folds of damp Newspaper or Towels probably for another 2 or 3 days. This makes the Leather soft and workable and must be done before You attempt to use it! There is no trick to removing the Trims and normally You do not need to be too careful except that You could easily gouge Holes into the Body with Your Screwdriver. This is not a major problem however as You will simply repair any damage with some Wood Filler Putty later. You should always work as carefully as You can however as You could also easily injure Yourself with the Screwdriver. If You wish to use the same Trims again then You must be extremely careful when removing them. Whilst removing the Trims, it is also a good idea to take a few more Photos, particularly where some of the Trims may overlap each other such as the Stirrup

Leathers. This will help greatly when You are reassembling Your Horse and You find that You don’t recall if the Straps went over or under the Saddle girths and some other situations also. When all the Trims have been removed, get the Camera out again and take several more shots of the Body from different angles. It is a lot easier to see exactly where all the Black Patches and Spots are now that it is stripped down, and also You will notice the different shades of White and Black where the Trims were fitted. It also helps to show where many of the Patches were applied. This all helps in reference later on, so be sure to do it now.

You can also easily see where all the Trims were fitted.

When restoring a Rocking Horse, I prefer to do the Horse at one stage and the Frame at another. This saves Me having too many loose items laying around for an extended time. So, for now, put the Frame aside and We will continue with the Horse. I am assuming here that Your Horse is complete and workable, and that it has no major damage such as Broken Legs or Head or missing ears etc. I am not covering such damage in this Book, except to say that if Your Horse is damaged in such a manner, then You should do what I would normally do. Give it to a specialist to repair that damage! Major repairs such as broken or missing Legs etc. need to be referred to a specialist repairer. Several of these specialists

can be found online with a quick search Now that Your Horse is stripped, it is time to prepare the Body for Painting, and also to repair any small dents and dings etc in the Timber. You will require a small container of Builders Wood Filler Putty, or even Auto Body Putty which I have used many times. They are almost exactly the same compound and do the same job. Do not use the tiny containers of Pre Stained Timber Putty, as these are meant only to fill in scratches and small damage and are definitely unsuitable for larger work.

On every Roebuck I have ever worked on, the Belly or under section has always been Factory Finished extremely roughly. Perhaps "roughly" is the wrong word to use. The underside of the Horse will often show many of the original shaping marks left by the Builder. This does give the impression of a rough finish. This is just the way it is, and as this area is out of sight it really didn’t matter to the Factory Builders. You must keep in mind that what You are working on was only ever meant to be a Childs Toy. The Rocking Horse was never meant or intended to become an Heirloom. In fact I doubt that the Builders ever imagined that any would last as long as some have. It is Your choice to either leave it as it is, or else to repair it and make it look as good as the rest of the Horse Body. It is My choice to actually leave the underside as original as possible, as this is Factory Finish and does a lot to prove the Pedigree of most Horses. Many People will actually check the Belly of a Horse before they purchase it to make sure that it is still in original condition! The same goes for the Frame. Although I am Sanding and completely re painting the Frame, aside from any major defects, I will leave many of the bumps and scrapes in the Timber. Again, this retains the “Patina” or age appearance of the Frame, and most People are anxious that this sort of wear and tear is preserved. In some cases, when I have had to make up New Frame sections, I will actually get a section of Chain or similar and belt the Timber around a bit to make it look like the rest of the Timber on the Frame. Nothing looks more fake than an old Frame with One or Two brand new sections added in to it. The Paintwork on the Frame will be, and look, brand new, but the appearance of age will be preserved. The smaller damage is Sanded over, NOT Sanded out. Do not overlook this as it will become very important should You wish to sell Your Horse later. Also, while on the subject of replacing Frame Timber. You can not and must not use the Pine Timber which is commonly sold at Hardware Stores. It is very weak, and also it is always the wrong size and thickness. You would have to purchase the Timber from a Timber Yard in order to get the right Wood and Sizes. Maintaining the appearance of Age is most important, however I do not follow the same rule when repairing the Horse Body. As all My Paintwork is Clear Coated with Polyurethane, the finish on the Horse is actually far better than New, and apart from the underside which I mentioned earlier, the Horse is fully repaired and Painted to a very high standard. Any defects which are left in the Body of the Horse will actually look terrible under the Polyurethane Clear Coating and to Me this is unacceptable. Now for the preparation for Paint, or mostly, the Sanding process. Always keep

in mind , any Job you do is only going to turn out as good as Your preparation will allow. Bad preparation means a Bad finished Job, every time! I prefer to completely remove all the old finish wherever possible as modern Paints can have a bad reaction to the old type Paint used on these Horses. In fact, many Horses originally were finished in what was called “Gesso” which is not a Paint as such but rather a combination of Glues and Pigments. Most of the refinishing was also done by hand and the finished article was very second rate. It was quite common Years ago to finish many items in Gesso although I don’t know why. It is also still available today mainly from Craft and Hobby Stores, however I prefer to use good quality Enamel Paint. ☺ The finish of a Rocking Horse using modern Paints and lacquers really gives it the “wow” factor and People do tend to sit up and take notice when they see the finished Rocking Horse. For the bulk of the Sanding, I use a Mouse Sander which is quite cheap to purchase and is absolutely the best Tool ever invented for Sanding! Sanding Pads for it are around $1.oo each and You would only need a few. I also have a Stick Sander which is handy for some of the more fiddly sections such as between the ears and under the Neck, however at around $120.oo they are not cheap and really more suited to someone who would be doing a lot of work.

Figure 3 The ideal Sanding Tools for any Job. From Left, The Stick Sander, The Circular Orbital

and the Mouse on the Right.

The Stick Sander uses a small Belt of Sandpaper and removes a lot of Paint and Timber very quickly. Some care must be excersized when using this Tool. I no longer use the Rectangular Orbital Sanders on ANY jobs at all because of the swirl patterns they leave in Timber. These swirl marks can actually be burned into the Timber by pushing too hard or for too long by an inexperienced user. They are then almost impossible to remove without going back to a rougher grade of Paper and starting again. The Mouse, and the Round Orbital Sanders are absolutely the best thing to happen to Sanding for many Years and give a flawless finish to any surface. The Round Orbital Sander was originally designed for the Auto Repair Industry to eliminate the problem of swirlmarks in the Primers. It was always an Air operated Tool until recent years when the Electric Models began appearing. It is a fantastic Machine, but like all Sanding Machines it will suffer at the hands of inexperienced users. A Sanding Machine takes the place of Sandpaper and Your Hands. When Hand Sanding most People will apply considerable pressure to the Sandpaper with their Hand. This is actually incorrect and does not help the Job at all. The Sandpaper itself does the Job and applying additional pressure does little to help. With a Sanding Machine, most People will transfer this Hand pressure to the Machine also thinking that this is how it should be done. Wrong!! Applying downwards force to any Sanding Machine will destroy it very quickly. This downward pressure will actually stop the Machines Orbital action and put pressure on the Electric Motor which will burn it out very quickly. The Machine was invented to take the place of Hand Sanding and it does the Job very well without any assistance from Your muscles. All You need to do is to keep a good grip and guide the Machine gently over the Sanding area. When the Machine appears to be no longer doing the Job then it is time to change the Sanding Sheet. Use it incorrectly and You could be changing the Machine instead. To obtain a perfect finish on Your Horse with Modern Paints, it is really necessary to completely remove all of the original Paint. You can only apply a perfect Paint Finish to a perfectly prepared object, whatever it may be. Preparation is absolutely the most important step in Painting. However, complete Sanding can also present problems such as those I had on this Horse, as the Oils in the Timber were released by the Thinners and Solvents in the New paint. This caused the New paint to Blister and flake off in several spots. This can be clearly seen in the Photos, and there was no permanent cure for the problem except to re Sand those areas and then to wait a Week or so and repaint them. Another thing that happened was that some of the Blistering did not appear until 2 Weeks after Painting, and so I had already re done some sections and then found that I still had more to do.

This problem could be overcome by using a Paint Sealer, which would cost around $40.oo however I have no confidence in these short cut products over a long term period and I was concerned that the Customer might have Paint problems Six Months down the track. So I persevered with it and eventually got all the Oils out of the Timber but only after 3 Months of waiting several Days for Paint to cure and then rubbing out the bad spots and re painting them. This may

seem a bit extreme, but I was being paid good money for the Job and I would not present a Customer with a Second rate finished Horse. The Paint Sealer would very likely have worked just fine, but it is a short cut method and not something I am keen on trying out on a paying Customers Horse. I would however reccomend that You use it if You experience any issues with Paint blistering. To begin Sanding Your Horse You should start with one of the Rougher grades of Paper, usually around 150 Grade and then move to 240 Grade as the bad spots begin to disappear. Sanding by Hand is fine but it can turn into a major job and it will go much quicker and easier with a Sanding Machine. All finish Sanding is done by Hand. As stated earlier, I use a Mouse Sander exclusively as they are just so good. The Pointed end at the front helps in getting into some tight places also. Once all the roughest areas have been sanded down to a suitable level, it is time to look at any damaged areas such as dents and dings or scratches which could not be Sanded out. Make sure that the areas are free of any Paint within the damaged section. If You can not get this Paint out with the Sandpaper, use a small flat bladed screwdriver or similar and scrape it out. Also be certain to Sand over all areas where the Nails were inserted. These areas will be filled with the Putty later just the same as any damaged areas will be. Your New Nails will probably not go back in exactly the same spots anyway so it is good to have a totally new and fresh surface to work with when You begin to assemble the Horse again. Again, if You do not prepare an area properly simply because in the end it is hidden under the Trim or the Mane, then You are doing a second rate Job. Once this is all done, it is time to mix up some Putty. Remember that the Puttying will be done in Two stages, so it is not important to get the First application perfect. The Second application will fill in all the all scratches and Pin Holes left by the Sanding of the First lot of Putty. Follow the directions on the Container for mixing the correct amounts of Putty and Hardener. Be careful not to mix more than You can use in about 10 Minutes as the Putty will begin to harden and then it can not be used. As most of the areas to be filled with Putty are quite small usually, I would not often mix more than a large Spoonful at a time. A lot of the Putty work will be filling in Nail Holes and similar, so a very small amount at a time is all that would normally be required. The Putty should flow onto the Job easily as You apply it. When it begins to harden, it will form small lumps or begin to roll over on itself as You are working it. If this happens, discard that lot and mix another. There are several Photos included of the Putty Stage and how it should appear as You work it around, and also of how it appears when it begins to go off

Putty and Hardener (RED) ready for mixing. Note the amount of Hardener

to the amount of Putty. This is referred to as the Mix Ratio on the Container.

Just remember to only mix small amounts until You get used to how much You can do in Ten Minute stretches. Also, do not try to make the Puttied areas perfect with the first application. Allow the Putty to stand above the repair by a good amount to give You room to Sand it down to the correct height and shape. Always attempt to follow the contours of the Body when Sanding. You do not want to develop flat spots as they will show up badly under the new paintwork. You will usually have to Sand it down and then apply a little more to fill a few small cracks which were missed or Air Bubble Holes which always form in Putty. You can purchase Putty Applicators from the Hardware or Auto Parts Store. A 50 mm width will be enough for most Jobs. If You like You can also quite easily apply the Putty with a piece of Cardboard, or any piece of Plastic with a straight edge. Application is far less important than the Sanding and finishing. The Putty when You apply it should be made to stand above the repaired area by a millimeter or Two. This gives You plenty of lee way for Sanding it down level with the surface. You should begin Sanding the Putty around 20 Minutes or so after application. You can wait longer if You have to, but remember that the longer you leave it the harder it becomes to Sand it down. Putty which is left to harden overnight sets like Concrete and becomes extremely difficult to work and Sand down, and You should avoid this. Excess Putty which is standing above the repair can be removed with 150 Paper, but dont go too far with this rougher grade. Switch to 240 grade as soon as You begin Sanding nearer to the actual repair.

This Putty has begun to Set during the application and is forming Lumps

and rolling up on itself. Discard it and mix some more.

Putty can also be used to fill the Joints. Note the Putty is standing well above the

surface. After 15 or 20 Minutes it is easily Sanded down. The "lumpy" areas can

be easily Sanded off with a rougher Paper such as 150 before going to a 240 grade

for the finishing off.

Use the 150 Grade paper to level these rougher areas of the Putty and then move to 240 Grade for finishing.

Even though all this will be hidden from sight, it is important to always do the best

Job that You can. Unfinished areas can lead to Paint problems later. Exposed Nails

will create Rust Spotting in the Paintwork which will spread with time.

Once the Putty has been sanded down, examine the area and determine if there still remain any cracks or Air Bubble holes to be filled in. These can easily be

filled by mixing another small batch and just wiping it gently across the area. Alternatively, You could use the pre mixed Wood Putty available in small containers, for filling pinholes and scratches. Another good product which You could try is Spray Putty in a Spray Can. It does a good job of filling in tiny scratches and Air Bubbles. Now when it comes time for Sanding this second application of Putty, I always go with Wet Sanding and a well worn Sheet of 240 wet and dry Paper. Here is a good Tip regarding Sandpaper. As You use the Sandpaper, it naturally begins to wear out and become less effective at its’ job. However, a well worn sheet of 240 Grade is absolutely perfect for finishing many areas in Wet Sanding! That is why I mentioned above that I would begin the Wet Sanding with a well worn sheet of 240 Paper. Another good Tip: I rarely use Dry Paper or Wood Sanding paper at all. The Wet and Dry Type of Paper is perfectly fine for Dry Sanding of Timber, and in fact will last quite a good deal longer. So, when You purchase Your Sandpaper, get the Wet and Dry type only. It is far easier and cheaper to use, and will do multiple jobs with each sheet Cut Your Sheets into 3 or 4 Strips across the Paper, and then fold these over 3 or 4 times to give You a small square to work with. As it wears out, unfold it and use a different section. For Wet Sanding, always keep Your used Paper in a Bucket of Water. It is surprising that You will always remember what grades You have in there, and how far worn they are. You will then always have just the right grade or level of wear needed for a particular area. Use this trick on every Sanding Job You do, whether on Timber or on Your Car!

Looks like rubbish doesn’t it? ..Do not throw out any Sandpaper.

It is far better when used than it is New sometimes!!

Also remember what was said earlier about allowing time for the Putty to harden just enough for Sanding, but never more than One Hour if possible. It just becomes too hard to work with after an Hour or so, but also, if You begin Sanding too early and the Putty has not dried sufficiently then it will almost instantly clog the Grit on the Sandpaper and make it useless. If You begin Sanding, and You find that the Putty is rolling up or coming out in small lumps, or anything else abnormal then You need to wait a while longer. You will also strike this problem if You have not added enough Hardener to the Putty when You mixed it. In such a case, You may well need to wait an Hour or more for the Putty to harden. In a severe case of incorrect mixture, the Putty may not harden at all and so will have to be scraped out and re done.

Sanding Disc clogged with Putty due to Sanding too soon or an incorrect Mix.

There are Photos above which roughly show the amounts of Putty to Hardener ratio. If You were to mix too much Hardener into Your Putty, then Your workable time could be reduced to just 5 minutes! Keep in mind that it will take One Minute just to mix it properly, and You can see that You would very quickly run out of time. On the other hand if You mix too little of the Hardener with the Putty the Drying time could be increased, but it is far more likely that the Putty would not actually dry at all. You can expect to make a mistake if You have not mixed Putty before, but do not worry. After a couple of tries it soon becomes easy to do it properly. Just remember that You do not have to get the ratio of Putty and Hardener “exactly right”. So, provided that You are not too far wrong the only thing that changes with different mixtures is the Drying time. It will either be a

little shorter or a little longer. You will know how quickly it is drying as You begin to apply it to the Timber ☺ You may find that You are able to easily use Your mixture for 10 Minutes or so before it goes off on the board, or it may go off in just a few minutes. By the way, always mix your Putty on a very smooth and flat Board, or a Sheet of Glass if possible. Next point…Clean all the unused Putty off the Board immediately. NEVER NEVER EVER mix new Putty on top of unused Putty which is still on Your Board!! NEVER!!! Why? The new putty will lift the old Putty off in lumps and transfer it into the new mix making it useless. Also, while You are at it, the same rule applies to the Putty Applicator. It must ALWAYS be completely cleaned of old Putty before using it again. Lastly, if there is any Putty on Your Job which had begun to form lumps or go off, remove it! Just before we leave this section, a quick note on mixing the Putty is called for. When You open the Containers of Putty and Hardener, You will notice that the Putty is Grey and the Hardener is bright Red. ( Oops.Usually that is ) As you mix them together, the combining of the Two Colours makes the mixture begin to turn Pink. You must mix the Two as quickly as possible, and be certain that they have completely mixed together. In other words, a nice even Colour with NO Red streaks!! You must mix it quickly as it begins to harden as soon as the Two compounds come together. When mixing Putty it should be folded over on itself and flattened out, then fold and flatten again. You can stir it but You must do so slowly. Brisk action in the mixing will cause the Putty to begin to harden too soon. The secret to a good Putty Job is to first sit back and have a look at how much work is going to be required, and then break it down into workable sections of about 10 Minutes each. Try to estimate how much Putty You can apply in Ten Minutes, and know exactly which section You are going to work on before You mix it . Once it is mixed, You will not have time to survey the Job and think about it. You have to apply that mix immediately. So, work it out then make Your mix up and apply it right away and You will have no problems. Puttying is Fun and easy and You really only have to be half right to do a decent Job of it. Most of what You apply will be Sanded off anyway! If You do it badly however, You will have bad dreams about it for a Year!

Now that all the Putty work has been done and Sanded down to a suitable finish, it is time to give the Horse an all over Wet Sanding. Wet Sanding is the best and easiest way to go. I begin Wet sanding with the 240 Wet and Dry Paper. This is always done by hand. Remember............. You can not use an Electric Sanding Machine with water. It will KILL You!!! Don’t be afraid to use a lot of Water in your sanding. It wont hurt the Timber as long as You are able to let it dry out properly, and preferably out in the Sun. You should continue the Wet Sanding until the surface feels like Glass under Your Fingers. It may be necessary or desirable to go from 240 Grade up to a 380 or even into the 400 Grade for a really nice finish.

You will easily find any rough spots by rubbing Your fingers across the Timber when it is wet. I use a Bucket and a sponge for Wet Sanding, but You can just as easily use the Garden Hose. Just make sure that all the Nail Holes have been filled with putty, so that no Water can penetrate below the Timber surface, and use a Rag to block the Tail Hole so that You don’t accidentally fill the Horse with Water. After Wet Sanding, the Horse should be allowed to thoroughly dry out, preferably in direct warm Sunlight. For this reason, You should avoid Wet Sanding on a Cold and Damp Day. If You must do it in bad Weather conditions, it is a good idea to put the Horse into a room with a Heater on for a couple of Hours. Do not have the Heater close enough to the Horse to burn or buckle the Timber. You just want to warm the room up. The Horse will dry out fine in a warm and dry room. Aside from actually drying out, I like to leave the Horse in this stage of repair for about a Week before beginning the Painting. This just ensures that it has completely dried out and that no damp patches remain in the wood. This is actually a good time to move onto the Frame, which would normally take around a Week anyway if You work slowly. Repairing the Frame is covered later in this Book . Now that the Horse has completely dried out it is time to think about the Paintwork. The Number One thing to consider before You begin Painting is the Temperature of the area or Room You will be Painting in. It should be comfortably warm, and definitely not Cold. You should also make sure that the Horse is at the same temperature as the Room, so if You are bringing the Horse from another area into the Painting area or Room, allow it to sit for at least an

Hour to “acclimatize” to the room and warm up. The same rule actually applies to the Paints and Solvents You will be using. Allow all these materials to sit in the Room for an Hour or so before use. Never apply Paint to a COLD surface! Now a quick word about Safety in the Painting area. Paints and Solvents such as Mineral Turps and Thinners etc. are all extremely highly FLAMMABLE!!!! So are the Rags You use for cleaning up, and even the Brushes You may have been using. Also, the Fumes from these materials will cause a Fire or Explosion more readily than the actual Material itself. They can also have an adverse effect on Your health. The Room or Painting area should be well ventilated, but should not have any drafts or air blowing IN. Air should preferably be circulated by an Exhaust Fan if possible, so that the Air within the Painting area is kept more or less in a negative pressure state. You should obtain and wear a Painters Mask .You should not have air blowing into or around the Painting area or Room. Keep all Electrical Appliances and Extension Leads well away from all these Flammable items. Do NOT smoke in the Painting area. The Painting area should be absolutely Clean and Dust Free. Dust particles will be stirred up by Your movements around the Room, and when You finish they will settle on Your new Paintwork and turn a good Job bad very quickly. Also, well before Painting give the Room a Spray for Insects and Flies etc. which will also settle on Your Paint if they are around. Now for the Paintwork: You absolutely MUST use a Primer over the bare Timber and Putty before painting. I normally would recommend the standard Grey Primer which can be purchased in Spray Cans at any Hardware or Auto Parts Store. Although I do much of My Painting with Spray Guns and Compressor, there is a good reason why I use Spray Can Primers. This is explained shortly. After My experiences with this particular Horse, and the trouble of the Paint continually Bubbling and Cracking, I have to recommend that You use a Timber Primer and Sealer, even though I personally did not use one on this Job. This can be purchased from most Hardware Stores, but is around 3 times the cost of normal Grey Primer. I must say that it is normally fine to use a normal Primer, but am just making You aware that problems may crop up due to the oils in the Timber. I now think it is a solid investment and well worth the Money, even though I have never had a Paint problem before on any other Rocking Horse. Perhaps this one was just unusually full of Timber Oils, and the original Paint held the Oils in the Wood for all those years. Whatever the cause, I certainly won’t be caught out again. I have since used this type of Primer Sealer on another Job and so far, after several

Months, no Paint issues have come up. I will use a Wood Sealing Primer on every Job in the future! Now the good thing about Primer is that, even for the Novice Painter, it is virtually foolproof . What I mean is that You can make mistakes like Paint Runs and whatever, and when the Primer is dry You simply Sand it down to a smooth finish. If more Primer is needed, You simply spray it over the top and sand it down again. Again, use a well worn sheet of 240 or a new sheet of 360 or so Paper, and Wet Sand it to a smooth finish. Dry Sanding any Primer will scratch it badly with almost any grade of sandpaper. That’s all there is to it. Allow it 24 Hours to dry properly, and ensure that there has been no reaction with the previous Paint or the Timber. I have actually Painted many items within an Hour of Priming but this is generally not a good practice. Check the Job over and ensure a good coverage all over the Horse. If any areas require more Primer simply spray that area and after suitable drying time rub it down to the same finish as the rest of the Body.

The First Primer Coat. Notice it is patchy. Do not attempt to cover the entire Horse in

One Coat. As many as 3 Coats would be required for full coverage. Also remember to

do the underside first.

The Primer Coat is fully applied and finished.

This Horse has been Painted with Grey Spray Can Primer. The areas

which require heavier cover have been done first.

Now it is time to think about the Colour of Your Horse, and also how You are going to apply the Paint. You should remember that a “Dappled “ or Spotted

Horse is not White but an Off White to Grey Colour. This however is simply for realism and is a personal choice of Yours. White is easy but in reality it clashes dramatically with the Black patches and so tends to look very fake. The Patches are Black, and Black is Black no matter what. You can purchase standard Colours in Spray Cans, and they will do an excellent Job providing all goes well. The thing to remember with Spray Cans is…”A little at a time does the Job” Too much Paint and You will get Runs and Sags which can not be Sanded out for at least Two Days or more, as this is how long it will take this type of Paint to dry hard enough for Sanding down. The other thing to remember with Spray Cans is…Buy the best!! Only use top quality Spray Cans and never mix one brand with another. There are some nice Grey Colours available in Spray Cans, but don’t go too Grey! Look for one which is more White than Grey. Of course You could always go all out and Paint Your Horse Black all over. They look fantastic, but Black has to be pretty much a perfect paint job all over as it shows up defects badly. I prefer to use a Spray Gun and Compressor for all Jobs, and these can be purchased really cheaply online such as Ebay or at any Hardware Store. I purchase basic Gloss White and Gloss Black and for the Grey Horse Colour I mix around 10 to 15 percent of Black into the White. The Compressor is a small Single Cylinder Unit, and normally sells for around $100.oo at most Hardware or Auto Parts Stores.

My Spray Guns.

Take the time to Clean Your equipment thoroughly!

From Left, Small HVLP Detailing Gun, Centre, The Airbrush, Right, Large HVLP Gun.

HVLP stands for, High Volume Low Pressure. With the small Gun pictured, You could Paint all the Black Patches almost without Masking! The Volume of Paint and the Fan Pattern are infinitely adjustable from 100mm Wide down to almost a Pencil Line! An absolutely first class piece of equipment for any Spray Job. Remember also that much of what happens in Spray Painting depends on the actual Air Pressure coming to the Spray Gun. Too much air will create a lot of overspray which will settle onto everything in the Painting area. This overspray will appear as a fog around the Job while You are painting. The Compressor should have an Air Pressure regulator on it which You can use to adjust the pressure. Play around and practise on a scrap surface until You feel like the Paint is coming out correctly and evenly. The instructions on all New Spray Guns will give the reccomended Air pressures for different Paint types, such as Enamels, Laquers and Primers. Follow these directions if You have them. Also be certain that Your Compressor has an Air Regulator fitted or all this talk of Air Pressures was for nothing. :) The Spray Gun should be one of the Small HVLP type, which have a Plastic Paint Cup sitting on the Top of the Gun. ( See Photo above ) I have purchased a few of these on Ebay and paid around $50.oo each but You can get them even cheaper if You order direct from China. Remember that in the Cheaper Guns, You get exactly what You paid for. I have used Cheap Guns that were not worth the amount of Turps required to clean them! These Guns are great for this type of Job as You can adjust the Air and paint flow rates right down, and also the size of the Fan of Spray coming out the Nozzle. At the other end of the scale, with all adjustments opened right up You could Respray Your Car and do a fair Job. A lot of professional Painters will have a separate Spray Gun just for Primer. This allows them to set the Gun Nozzle and Spray Fan up for the Primer and leave these adjustments in place. If You have to use the same Gun for Primer and Paint then You will need to constantly be changing the Gun adjustments. Because it is so easy to apply Primer, I only use it in Spray Cans. It saves a lot of cleaning and changing things over. I also use Two Guns, one for the Black and one for the Grey. They are cheap enough to justify the purchase. If You are a novice to Spray Painting, You need not be too worried about messing it up. In fact, this is the best way to learn how Your Spray Equipment works properly. When You make a mistake, then You will normally learn a valuable lesson. When things go right the first time, then You really don’t learn much at all. ☺ The thing with either Spray Cans or a Spray Gun is to practice the Job before You start on Your Horse. Prepare a couple pieces of Timber the same as Your Horse, meaning Sanded and Primed and Sanded again ready for Paint. Alternatively You could practice on any items around the House which You want painted. Now Spray a section of this Timber and let it stand upright for about Five Minutes. This is time enough for the Paint to Run if it is going to, and time enough for the Second Coat if it doesn’t Run. ☺ When You feel confident in using the Spray Can or Gun, then You can move onto the Horse and begin

Painting. Hold the Spray Gun or Can around 20 to 30 CM from the Body and begin spraying at one end and continue in a STRAIGHT LINE to the other end, moving Your Arm sideways as You go. Let the trigger or nozzle go, and then start again and do another pass back in the opposite direction, slightly overlapping the First pass. Do not try to get full coverage in these passes. It is correct if You have a few patches and thin spots showing through. You will cover these soon enough on the 2nd Coat. You must keep the Spray Gun or Can pointed straight at the object being painted. Move Your Arm sideways , NOT Your wrist! If You move Your wrist then the Spray Pattern opens up and You will end up with a lot of Paint in the middle of the Job and very little at each side because Your wrist has described an “arc” in its’ travel.

By the way You can purchase a small Plastic Clip and Trigger thing from the Hardware Store which Clips onto a Spray Can and almost gives it the feel of a Spray Gun. It just makes it easier to use. One major problem with using Spray Cans is that after a few passes You would quite often get a build up of Paint on the Finger which is pressing the Nozzle down, and this build up will inevitably drip onto Your Paint Job or could end up as an unwanted Fingerprint somewhere on the Horse. Be aware of this.

Remember to Paint the underside of the Horse and the inner Legs first! To do this easily, turn the Horse upside down and support it so that it can not fall over. ( see picture below ) This Horse could in fact quite easily fall if I get careless. Be aware of what will happen if Yours falls. At the very least, it would certainly suffer broken leg/s. Now Your Horse Body is made up of many different sized sections. After painting the underneath, I prefer to paint the Front of the Face, the top of the Head and down the Mane first. Follow on down the centre line of the Rump. Next You should Paint under the Neck and Chin areas and down the Chest. If you leave these bits till last then You will have overspray all over the rest of the Body which is already painted and beginning to dry. �

A couple of Bricks under the Cantle works well but it is not very secure. Be aware of

where the Horse will fall if it happens, and ensure that it has a soft landing :)

Do not try this on a workbench a Metre off the floor!

When painting the Body You must follow the straight across and straight back rule, whether You are Painting the Head or the whole Body. Go across to the end and stop. Come back from the opposite side and stop. Stop means take Your Finger off the trigger and stop spraying! If You Spray back and forth without taking Your Finger off the Trigger or Nozzle, then You will have a build up of almost 3 times the amount of Paint at the ends as You have in the centre!! You will also have overspray flying all over the room. See the Diagram above. This is where You will get all the runs and sags. So remember, start at one side and move across then stop. Start again at that side and move back and stop again. You should also aim to start Your strokes or passes slightly off the Body and spray onto it as You pass along. This also avoids building up too much Paint at the ends. Do not worry if You miss a spot or the Paint seems too thin here and there. You can always add a little more on the 2nd Coat, but You can not take

any off if You add too much! Be careful when Spraying the inside Legs that You do not overspray them. Just take it slowly and build it up as You go. You need to wait around 5 Minutes before You start the 2nd Coat. This 2nd Coat is the “Colour” coat, or wet coat, and can be applied a little heavier if You feel confident. If You do not apply enough Paint however You will not get the Full Gloss effect and the Horse could turn out a little patchy. When the Second Coat is almost dry, it is time to add a 3rd Coat to finally fill any of those patchy areas.

Like most other Photos of Rocking Horses, mine also appears to be Painted White. Seeing these Photos without explanation would lead most People to beleive that the Horses are actually Painted White, but they are in fact Grey.

OK, now it is time to apply the Black Patches and the Spots. There are several methods of doing the Patches and Spots, and I will desribe a few here so that You can better choose the method most suited to Your taste as well as Your confidence and abilities. Most Restorers will have their own preferred methods and some turn out quite well, while others, in My eye, just dont quite cut it. You should be reasonably open minded about the different techiniques which can be used , and find out which one works best for You. In My own work I always strive to acheive a more realistic appearance than that which most Rocking Horses began their life with. These Days, People are far more critical of Your work than they probably need to be, or than they would have been several Years ago. This is because of the high standard of finish everyone has come to expect from most items. Remember that to most People, the "finish" is all that they see or understand. They will probably have no clue about the actual quality of a Job. It can be disheartening to have Your efforts criticised badly, particularly by someone who has no iea of the amount of work and effort

which went into producing it. In the Auto Repair industry, it is amazing that when You crash Your Car, the day You get it back all the "experts" come out of the woodwork and happily inform You that the repair is not up to standard! These critics generally have no idea about the Job or the quality, they just want to have an opinion and force it onto someone else. I will say just One thing on the subject of quality in Your work; If You are happy with the Job and You have done Your best, then You have done enough. Nobody can ever do more than that. Before commencing this step, it is absolutely critical that the Paint on the Horse is absolutely dry right through. For this reason, I usually wait at least 2 Days before starting on the Black. It would be better if You waited up to a full Week! Come to think of it, it would be better if I did too. The first step is to work out Your Pattern for the Spots and then to apply them. You will need a Packet of Round Price Stickers or similar, which can be purchased just about anywhere. Get the removable type! The permanent stick type will rip the paint off the Horse when You try to remove them. These Stickers should be about the size of a Ten cent Coin. I used a pack of Smiley Face Stickers which I purchased at the $2 Shop. Firstly work out the pattern for the Spots, and make a tiny pencil mark on the Body at the centre point of where each one will go. Now peel off one of the Price Stickers, and press it onto the Pencil Mark with just Your fingertip in the middle of the Sticker. DO NOT press the Sticker completely down onto the Body. If You do, then You may not be able to remove them later. Continue on and apply all the Stickers to Your Pattern, and then stand back and have a look and see if it is in balance or nice and even. The original spots are slightly offset from vertical and horizontal, and this is what You want to achieve. Many of the Roebucks had a Four Spot Pattern, and this is all You normally need to apply at each area. I will usually put a couple of extra spots a bit further out. These will normally be just touched lightly by the overspray and so give an impression of the Spots fading out into the Body. The effect has not shown up too well in the Photos but it is there.

Here You can see that the Four centre stickers have been laid out followed by another Four around the outside. The Paint in theory will extend outwards and just lightly touch

the outer stickers. This gives an appearance of spots blending into the Body.

This method of Painting the Spots and Patches really needs to be done with a Spray Gun, or more preferably, an Airbrush if possible. It is by far the quickest and easiest method. It is finished completely in just One step. A Spray Can could be used but they generally will apply far too much Paint into this confined area and will create a lot of overspray which will spread far and wide across the Body of the Horse. If You must use a Spray Can, practise spraying the spots on another surface a few times. Press the Nozzle in very short bursts and observe the results. If You are happy enough with the outcome go ahead and Paint the Horse. :) Now that You have the Stickers applied, just have a quick check and make sure that they have not slipped or become totally stuck down around their edges. They need to be firmly pressed down in the Centre only, with the edges sticking up just slightly off the Horses Body. This not only makes them much easier to

remove, but also gives the Spots a slightly blurred outline which is far more realistic. Now it is time to Spray the Black over them. This is a very important step, and a lot of care needs to be taken. What You need to do is to gently spray the Black just in the centre of the Four Stickers. This will give You a solid Black Colour in the middle and just lightly overspray the edges of the Stickers. Remember that the Black is meant to gently fade out as it gets to the outer edges of the Spots. You will probably get a lot of overspray out past the Stickers, but this will only be light and will be easily sanded out later. You may need to apply a few short bursts with the Gun to acheive the coverage You desire. Wait a few minutes in between each "burst" of spray.

Here the Spots have been painted with a Spray can. You can see the large amount of

overspray, and also some larger spots of black paint. This overspray can be blended into the Body by some wet sanding but be careful not to rub right through the Paint on the Body. (the grey) Using this method with a Spray Gun or Airbrush would give You a far

better Job, even to the point of perfection!

Now, before the next step, which is the removal of the Stickers, make certain that You have absolutely spotlessly clean Hands!!! If You have any Black Paint or even White Paint on Your Fingers, then You will transfer it in smudges to

the still wet Paint on the Horse, and it could ruin the Job.

OOPS!!! There are NO 2nd chances with this. Clean Your Hands NOW!!! ☺ Wait around an Half an Hour or so for the Paint to be dry enough, and with a very sharply pointed instrument such as a Craft knife or a Needle, gently lift an edge of a Sticker until you can grab it with Your Finger or Tweezers, and peel the Sticker off. If You wait until the Paint is dry then You will lift parts of the Paint off which has dried onto the Stickers. Do this with the remaining Stickers and stand back and have a look at the Job. What You should have is a heavy Black Spot in the middle, which gently fades out as it gets to the outer edges of the Spots. The edges of the Spots will be well defined in the middle, and a bit fainter at the outside edges. Also, by not pressing the Stickers completely down, the full edge of each Spot will be slightly blurred instead of having a very sharp outline. This gives a far more natural look. You will notice that there is probably a good amount of overspray all around the Patch You just painted. This may or may not bother You. If there is too much, then after about 2 Days of thorough drying out, You can Sand out the overspray by Hand, again using One of Your extremely well worn pieces of Sandpaper and the Wet Sanding method. You must use the Wet Sanding method for this Job! Be careful not to Sand so much that You begin to rub out the Grey. A little overspray is actually a good thing and helps to blend the Black and White areas together in a more natural way. Now if You are happy with the results of the first Patch and spots, You can go ahead and finish the rest off. If You are not happy or have made a mistake, then You will have to give the area a light sanding and start again. You may even have to re spray the Grey in that area too. The best thing You can do before trying to Spray the Spots is to have a couple of practice shots on a rounded surface such as a 20 Litre drum or even just on a board. If You are using Spray Cans, then these Spots can be extremely difficult to do well.

Just remember to spray the Black as lightly as You can, and stay as close to the Centre of the 4 Spots as You can but keep the Spray Can well back from the Horse Body. At times when using a Spray Can I have actually sprayed the Paint onto the Horse through a funnel (like a trumpet) made from Cardboard! It works very well if the Funnel is held slightly off the Body of the Horse.

Something else I have used successfully is Suction Caps to do the Spots. The Paint

Solvents will ruin them so they can only be used once.

There is another method of applying the Spots and Black Patches which is described after the following Photos. You may find that method easier for Spray Can application. If You are using a Spray Gun, it is so much easier because You can control how much Paint is coming out of the Nozzle and so can use an almost infinitely adjustable spray pattern and build it up if needed. The only real disadvantage of using Spray Cans is that You have no control at all over how much Paint is sprayed. You press the nozzle and it comes out at the pressure that it is packed into the Can. For this reason, spray the Patches in short bursts only and build them up slowly until You are happy with them. If You have not done so already, You can now spray the Black Patches under the Legs, or the Armpits. These will also have a few Spots each so just follow the same procedure. Then You can move onto the Neck area and do those. Once all the Spots and Black Patches are done, You can Spray the Top of the

Head, The Nose, The Knees and the Hooves. These are all Solid Black and easily Painted. On every Horse I do, I will also Spray Paint the Cantle in Black as well. This is the raised section of timber immediately behind the Saddle which usually is covered by a peice of the Plastic Trim. It gives a nice touch to the overall Job. It will require careful Masking off so as not to overspray the whole Horse. :) You can see the effect in the First or Cover Photo of the finished Horse. A very minor detail, but it is the small details which make all the difference to most Jobs.

The Head and Nose Painted. The Red sections are easily and best

painted by Hand using a Small Artist Brush. Same for the Teeth later on.

Here You can see the total Head detailing on the finished Horse.

Another method of Painting the Patches and Spots is described further on in the Book.: Now it is time to do some of the detailing work to the Legs and Head. You will need a good quality Masking Tape, probably a couple of Rolls in 25 and 50 MM sizes. If You are using a Spray Gun, You could do the Knees without Masking Tape as the Paint will blend in and look more natural. All the other areas should be Masked with Tape to give a good sharp edge. The best way to go about it is to Mask off everything that needs to be Painted, and then completely cover the rest of the Horse Body in Newspaper and tape it down. If You don’t then You will end up with Black overspray all over Your Horse, and there will be far too much to Sand off. The whole Job will be ruined so spend the time and do it right. It is so much easier to Paint this way as You don’t have to worry about getting Paint in areas where it shouldn’t go. Make sure that the Masking Tape is pressed down firmly all around its edges or Paint will creep under it and ruin the Job too.

Masking Tape these days is of very poor quality, and there is a special Blue Painters Tape which is far superior but it also costs Twice as much. However it could save You Hours and Hours of re painting so it is a good idea to use the Blue tape if You can. I use quite a bit of it, but I must say that I do so under protest! Isn’t it funny how Masking Tape was always fine for the past 40 Years, and then the same Company invented a New tape that costs twice as much, and now the old Masking Tape that everybody used quite successfully for 40 Years is no good? Am I being too cynical here? They have taken a perfectly good product and reduced Its’ original quality in order to basically force People into purchasing the new Product at double {or more} the Cost. Now here is a Tip You will not find in any other Book...;) Quite often when doing Custom Paintwork, I will need to bend the Tape around a sharp curve or other shape. With Masking Tape this just is not possible. In such cases, I will often use a good quality Electrical Tape. You can easily bend this Tape to any shape, but You need to be careful about NOT stretching it and ensure that it is completely stuck down all over. Apply Masking Tape and Paper over this Tape to cover the areas not being painted and then Spray the Colour as normal. The thing when using Electrical Tape is that once the Paint has been applied, the Tape should be removed within a few Minutes or the Paint will actually melt into the Tape and bond it to the Job. Although I have not reccomended it in this Book, I use Electrical Tape when taping up the Hooves in particular as Masking Tape needs to be cut a couple of times to get the correct lines around the Legs. The Electrical Tape is also the only way I can guarantee that My Taped lines will have a perfect edge, every time! It is Your choice to use Electrical Tape or not, but remember that I have not reccomended that You do so. :) In any Job You do, You must constantly be aware that there could always be a better way to do it. It may be unconventional, but that just makes it more fun and exciting, so never be afraid to try it or listen to others who may try to tell You that it will not work. The thrill of having a new idea, then putting it into practise in Your work and being pleased with the results is a feeling which not many People get to experience in their Lifetime. Personally, I hate convention so I get to experience this feeling frequently, but sometimes too frequently for My own good. Anyway, back to the Painting; You need to be as accurate as possible in ensuring that the Hooves and Knees are an equal size on all Legs. There is no actual measurement as far as I am aware. All that I ever heard or read was that the Knee sections are approximately Three Fingers wide. I usually just ignore this rule anyway and do them to whatever I feel looks good. I will also extend the Painting of the Knees up the back of the Front Legs and into the Armpits, and up the front of the Rear Legs into those Armpits. Refer to the Photos to see

exactly how this looks. It gives a more even and natural flow to the Colours and I think it just looks good. To Paint the Hooves, run the Masking Tape around the Legs just above the level of the cut out on the inside of the Leg where it joins to the Frame. As You come around the Hoof the Tape will want to veer downwards because the Leg changes shape and size at the Front. Do not twist the Masking Tape or try to “bend” it to keep the line straight. Just cut it off and run another piece of Tape around to join the first so that You keep the straight line, but try to keep the rounded edge where the Tapes cross. By the way, when Masking, every time You tear off the Tape to finish a section, bend a corner of the Tape around and stick it to itself. This helps a great deal when You are removing the Tape as it is very hard to find the ends to start taking it off. You should remove the Tape within an Hour after Painting, as if You leave it till the Paint dries out then the edges of the Tape will lift up some of the Paint and leave some awful marks. Remember that the Paint on the Tape will still be tacky, so be careful not to get too much on Your Fingers or You will soon find that you are putting fingerprints all over Your fresh Paint Job. Also remember that Masking Tape left out in the Sun for too long becomes absolutely IMPOSSIBLE to remove. Bits of it will stick to the Job and will have to be Sanded off. In theory, NO Masking Tape should ever remain on Your Job for more than One Hour!! Also always remove Masking Tape by pulling it away from the painted area, and not towards it. For example, when You have painted the Hooves, You would remove the Tape by gently pulling it up towards the Horse Body, not down towards the floor. This keeps Your Hands and the used Tape and Paper away from the freshly painted surface. To Paint the Knees, I always prefer to do it freehand or without Masking Tape. You must however Mask off everything else on the Horse including the other Legs, and only paint one knee section at a time. If You are not comfortable with this freehand painting, then following is a description of a Stencil You can easily make, which is also used to paint the top of the Head.

Using a Roll of Masking Tape, Lay out several strips on a very clean surface, slightly overlapping each strip on top of the other. It needs to be around 4 inches or 100mm wide when finished. Now You need to carefully tear this fully in half lengthwise, so that You end up with Two Strips of Tape with a ragged edge where they were torn in half. See the Photo above. Take one of these Strips and run it around the Leg at the bottom of where You want the Knee Patch. Ensure that the ragged edge faces upwards for the bottom strips. Now take the other Strip and lay it around the Leg in the position where You want the Top of the Knee Patch to be. The ragged edge should face downwards on the Top strips. It is a good idea to make up Ten of these Strips so that all Four Legs and the Top of the Head can all be painted in one go. For the Top of Head Patch, run a Strip from the front of the face directly above the eyebrows around to a point approximately 30 cm or so back along the Neck. Now run another Strip along the opposite side of the Head in the same position so that it meets the first strip at the centre of the Neck. The ragged edges should face Upwards for the Head Patch. Make sure that all the ragged edges are fully pressed down and sticking properly. You can also at this stage Tape off the Nose and Paint that as well. You do not need to use a ragged edge method as the Nose paint is partly covered by the final Trim. Now take some Newspaper and completely mask off

the entire Horse Body, Face and Legs from these areas. You can now simply spray the whole lot one after the other. Be careful not to spray too heavily along the ragged edges as the Paint could easily penetrate under the Tape. The ragged edges of the Tape gives a far more realistic appearance than having sharp edged lines around the legs and head such as You will see on many other retorations. You can easily see the effect of this ragged edged stencilling in the Photo of the Horse Head a few pages back. Wait around 15 to 20 minutes for the Paint to begin drying and carefully remove all the Paper and Tape. Be very careful again not to get dirty fingerprints onto the Horse Body while removing this Tape. On the subject of altering the basic design of the original Paint and Patches, I am totally open to discussion. To My mind, many of these Horses had slightly different Paintwork anyway, mainly because of the poor practices used in those Days. There was little quality control, and much of the work was performed by hand and was actually quite rough in the finished article. To Me, the value of the Rocking Horse lies in the fact that whatever is done to it, it is, and always will be, an original Roebuck, or whatever other Brand You may have. I also usually change quite a lot of the trimmings and use Leather instead, as the original Plastic strips just look cheap and nasty. The original idea of them mostly was only to cover up the Joints in the Timber, and to look bright and glossy to attract the buyers Children. Also, the Black Patches and Spots on Shoulders and Rump are there just because these are High Wear areas and they add a little thickness to the Paint. In My opinion, it is very easy to actually improve the look and quality of these Rocking Horses by the addition of a few genuine Leather Accessories and some minor Paint modifications. I also usually purchase a much better quality Mane and Tail as the replacements supplied in the Restoration Kits are quite pathetic to look at. You have Two options here. You can purchase a Full Restoration Kit, and replace all those original gaudy Plastic Strips with brand new gaudy Plastic strips, or You can purchase a few genuine Leather strips and make up Your own Kit as I do. You can also purchase a nice Leather Look saddle for not very much Money and they look great. The Saddle I used on this Horse actually came off a cheap $20 stuffed toy from a Market Stall! A genuine Restoration Kit with all the Plastic Junk in it costs around $180.oo. To My mind, it is about $160.oo too dear. I can Trim out a Horse in all Leather for around $250.oo including a Full Mane and Tail and guarantee that it will look fantastic. To decide for Yourself, just check the Photos of My finished Horse against Photos of a Horse with the original trims. I,m not trying to say that Mine is better or looks better, but I think it does. It is entirely a personal opinion of mine as it will be of Yours ☺ Many People will prefer to maintain the original appearance of the Horse and that is fine. In this modern Day I simply prefer to attempt to actually improve on the appearance and the overall finish of the Horse where I can. I liken it to doing up an old Car. You can change the Seats and put on Mag Wheels and a New paint Job, but underneath it all It is still the same Old car. If it

is a Vintage Car then it will still retain its’ value to most genuine purchasers. As I said though, whichever way You go it does not alter the fact that the Horse itself is the Genuine Antique item and worth every bit as much in any Trim. If any prospective purchaser trys to tell You that Your Horse is worth less Money because You have altered the Trims, then You should find another Buyer. Now back to the Painting again ☺. It is vitally important when You are Painting the Knees, Hooves, Head and Nose that ALL other areas are Masked off and completely covered. The reason for this is that old bugbear of the Spraypainter; Overspray! Overspray will get in everywhere if You do not prevent it. It will even find its’ way under the Newspaper You have used for Masking if You have not completely Taped down ALL the loose edges.

OOPS!!!!! It still happens to Me occasionally too :)

It is really heartbreaking to look at a finished Paint Job, and think to Yourself…”That looks great” only to find when You strip off the Tape and Paper, Overspray has found a way in, or in some cases, many ways in. It will also bleed through the edges of the Masking Tape itself and leave a fuzzy line instead of the nice crisp straight line You were aiming for if You leave the Tape on for too long!. Just as disheartening will be all the dirty fingerprints You will leave if You did not wash Your Hands before removing the Masking Tape. These can be either very basic mistakes, or the very basic rules of a good paint Job.

Check the last few Photos again! ☺☺☺☺

Detailing the Head area.

Finally when the entire Body is painted, You can move on to the Red sections of Ears, Nostrils, and Inside the Mouth. These are best done by hand with a small Artist Brush. They are not difficult, and if any Paint goes where it shouldn’t just wipe it off immediately with a clean cloth. I find it easier to actually wipe off any excess with a clean Finger and wipe the Finger on the Cloth. Next You should do the eyes, making sure that they will be outside the lines of any of the Trims which go over the Face. The original Eyes are hand painted and I think they look very ordinary, as well as being rather small. I use a large Upholstery Nail for the Pupil, and then simply paint in an outline of an Eye around it. Add a few strokes for Eyelashes and You’re done. You can also hand paint a small Black pupil into the centre of the Upholstery Nail, and for a nice touch add a tiny white speck slightly off centre. This gives the Horse a nice little twinkle in His eyes and looks great.

This is a very rough picture of the Eye detail which I drew onto a sheet of Cardboard as an example only. The final painting on the Horse was far better than this. :) It was drawn using a Felt Tipped Pen which is probably the easiest way to do the Eyes, even onto the

Horse itself. The Pupil is a Large Upholstery Nail.

These are the Upholstery Nails used for the Eyes. The Hacksaw Blade shows the

approximate size of Nail required.

Now, as promised earlier I will show You another method of painting the Black Patches and Spots. This method is particularly effective for Spray Can application. Take a Roll of 50 MM Masking Tape, and tear off lengths of around 20 CM each. As You tear each one off, lay it lightly onto a very clean board and then with each following strip of Tape, overlap the one before by about half a strip, just as described for the Leg and Head Stencils. The best thing for this Job is to lay the Tape out on a sheet of Glass if possible. Your Tape absolutely MUST NOT pick up any dirt!

Do this with about 5 Strips, and You will end up with a more or less square patch of Masking Tape. Now, do the same thing again, overlapping each strip again by about half on top of the ones You just laid out. What You will end up with is a more or less square patch of several strips of Masking Tape all overlapping to form a patch which overall is around the thickness of 2 or 3 strips. Here is a Photo included to show You what I mean.

Stencil for the Patches. Note You must tear out the circular shape, NOT

cut it out with Scissors. This will give it a nice roughened outer edge

which is what You want.

Do not be too particular about tearing out a perfect circle. The rougher

the better actually!

Next, take a One Litre paint Tin, or anything which is about that size. Place it in the centre of the Tape square and trace a line around it onto the Tape, What You need to do now is to tear out the circular shape by hand. Do not cut it out with a knife or scissors, as You need to make the edge quite rough and uneven. When You have torn it out, place this circular centre piece carefully back onto the clean board as You will use it later. Now place the Patch with the hole torn out of it on the area of the Shoulders or Rump of the Horse where the Spots go. Check it against the small Pencil marks You made for the pattern of the Spots and make sure it is more or less centered around them. Now press it down firmly all over, and then Mask off the whole Body of the Horse with Newspaper and completely Tape it down so that NO overspray can contact the Horse anywhere. Now take Your Spray Can of Black, and holding it around 20 CM away lightly spray into the centre of the Patch. You need to try to get a good coverage of Paint in the Centre, and to have it fading a bit around the edges so don’t spray heavily or try to completely fill the area with Black paint. The lighter the better. Wait 10

Minutes after Spraying, and then remove all the Newspaper and then the masking tape patch. Be sure again that Your hands and Fingers are completely clean of any Black Paint. When You remove the Masking Tape Patch, You will be left with a Black Patch on the Horse with a nice ragged outer edge which gives the Black Patch a more natural appearance. If the Paint around this ragged edge seems to be too heavy, You can wet sand it down to an acceptable level after a few Days drying time. Now You need to get the Spots painted into this Patch. This step should be done at least 48 Hours later , or even longer, to ensure that the Black Patch has completely dried. Do not attempt to shortcut this time frame. It is vital that the Black Patch is TOTALLY dried through before attempting the Spots. Take the circular piece which You tore out of the Masking Tape Patch. You need to work out the Pattern for the spots and then draw it onto this circular piece. Now You need to tear out these Four Spots so that You are left with a circular piece of Masking Tape with 4 Holes in it. I have found a good way to make these holes is to use a 25mm Hole saw. Place the Hole saw onto the Tape and tap around it with a small hammer so that it leaves a dotted line. You can now carefully tear along this line to remove these pieces and You will now have a circular patch with 4 holes in it. The holes will also have a nicely roughened edge which looks far more natural. Stick this piece directly over the Black Patch You sprayed earlier on the Horse and press it down firmly around each of the holes. Because of the ragged edge, it will line up almost perfectly with the Black Patch You have sprayed on the Horse. If it is slightly out of line it wont matter. Now You once again need to Mask off the entire area, and then take Your can of White Spray and lightly spray over the 4 Holes. Stand back and have a look and ensure Yourself that the White has enough coverage to look OK when You remove the Patch. If it looks a bit pale or there is too much Black showing through the Spots give it another quick spray over. Just be careful not to spray too heavily or the Paint will build up around the edges of the holes and will look awful. Also, wait until any Paint on the Masking Patch has dried before You attempt to use it again for another Patch or You will have smudges everywhere! When You are happy enough with it, wait 10 or 15 minutes and then remove all the Masking paper and then carefully remove the circular patch. Make sure once again that You have no Paint on Your Fingers!. You should now have a reasonably effective looking Black Patch with the White Spots in it. If you think that the Black is too heavy around the edges you can carefully wet sand it after a couple of days to make it fade out a little. Go very slowly though as too much sanding could ruin the Patch and then You would have to start the whole process over again. Another method You could try is to place the small Price Stickers into the first Patch before You paint the Black. This is just as effective, and quite a bit quicker but the Spots do not have quite the same ragged appearance to them. Alternatively, cut out some Spots from the Masking Tape using the Hole saw method and place these instead of using the Price stickers. The best idea is to practise this method on scrap timber or other surface before trying it on the Horse.

Patch and Spots Painted with the Masking Tape Stencil method. It looks quite good but

You could Sand the edges very lightly just to blend the Black Patch into the Body.

Note the extra half Spots around the outside. These were done by

adding more torn out spots halfway over the Patch before Painting .

You could use Stickers in the Patch before You paint the Black , but when using a

Spray Can the Paint tends to go on a bit too heavily and makes the Stickers difficult

to remove. Trial and error is often the rule of thumb. If one method does not work

for You then simply try another.

Your Masking Tape Stencils can be used again to do another Patch, but please allow at least 2 full days for the Paint which is stuck to the Tape to dry out completely. If You don’t, then most of that Paint will transfer onto the Horse. This happens because this Paint will slowly bleed through the Tape while it is sitting after You remove it from the first patch. As it bleeds through to the sticky side, the adhesive on the Tape will actually prevent the Paint from drying out for some time so be patient and wait. Also, before You use it the Second time just press down the edges onto a Sheet of White paper and see if any Paint comes off. If it does, then do not re-use them. You should not use these Patches more than twice anyway, as the Paint just wont dry out and they become very messy to handle. Also be sure to put them aside on a spotlessly clean surface when not in use or they will pick up dirt and dust which will get stuck on Your paintwork. It is far easier to make up separate Stencils for each Patch. It

just uses up a lot more Tape but in the end it will ensure a better job with far less problems likely to come up. Make a few of these Patches up at Night while watching TV or something. Now for the Armpit Patches which are also Black. Make up another Patch as before, and then mark out and tear out the centre. Place this centre peice aside. Now cut the outer patch in half from one side to the other so that You will end up with 2 Half Moon Patches of Tape. Apply these to the Armpits of the Horse and press the edges down very firmly. Again, Mask off the rest of the Horse, including under the Belly, and Spray the Two Armpit areas on that side of the Horse. Make up another patch and repeat the operation on the other side. Use the same methods for the Patch on the Neck where the Mane ends, and any other of the original patches which You wish to imitate. This completes all the Black Patches, and if done reasonably correctly they should look quite presentable. Use the same method to apply a few Spots to these areas also.

The Circular Patch Stencil torn in half is used to do the Armpit areas.

Sorry about the lousy Photo. It was the only one I had. ����

Shoulder Patch and Armpit Patch and Spots applied with the Tape Stencils.

Rump and Rear Armpit Patches using the same stencils. Some careful Wet Sanding

when completely dry will help to blend in the outer edges of the Patches.

There is still another method of Painting the Spots into the Patches which I should mention. This is referred to as "Stippling". Stippling is done, quite naturally, with a "Stippling Brush" A Stippling Brush can be purchased at any Craft or Hardware Store. It is a rather thick brush, normally around the thickness of a Finger and the Hairs are cut in a straight line. The Brush and the Hairs are circular and the Hairs also flair outwards slightly at the end. The Brush at the end of the Hairs where it contacts the work surface would be from Half an Inch to One Inch diameter depending on the size purchased. The Paint is applied by lightly coating the tips of the Brush Hairs with Paint and then gently "dabbing" it onto the surface. The best way to pick up the Paint with this Brush is to pour a little Paint onto another surface. such as the lid of the Paint Can and then dab the Brush onto this. You must not "load up" a Stippling Brush with too much Paint. After dabbing the brush onto the surface which holds the Paint, dab it a couple of times onto another surface to check the pattern and that the Brush is not too wet or overloaded with Paint. When You are happy with the pattern and the amount of Paint being deposited, gently dab the brush a few times onto the Horse in the exact position in which You want the Spot. It would normally take a few "dabs" to get it just right. You can also enlarge the Spot slightly by moving the Brush around as You dab. Stippling is a very effective method of applying the Spots, and generally is also quite simple to do, but to My mind it does not lend itself to application on a Spray painted surface. It isn't that the technique will not work on a Spray painted surface. In fact, it works very well. The reason I do not use this

method is that Stippling leaves a fairly roughened finish which can not be covered by the Clear Coat. You can attempt to Sand it down to a fairly smooth appearance, but in My experience by the time the surface has become smooth enough to Clear Coat it, much of the Paint will have been Sanded away. If You can live with a slightly imperfect surface, then Stippling is probably the easiest way to paint in the Spots. You could even go a bit radical and Paint Black Spots directly onto the Grey Body! Try something different. :) Oh My goodness...I can just imagine the faces of those Purist Restorers

right now :)

An even better paint Job of the Patches and Spots can be achieved by the use of an Air Brush. These can be purchased as cheaply as around $25.oo for a small Hobby Kit Gun, and will do a good Job. If You don’t own a Compressor, purchase a Kit which has a Tyre Valve adaptor it it. Take the Spare Tyre from Your Car and make sure it is fully pumped up, and screw the adaptor onto it. You now have a Compressor, or rather a source of Compressed Air! Even better, it costs nothing!! This will quite easily run an Airbrush for an Hour or more . If the Air runs out just Pump the Tyre up again. You will easily know when the Air is getting low as the Air Brush will begin spitting and spluttering or the Spray Pattern will change in some way. Stop Painting immediately. Pump the Tyre up again before proceeding or this could cause large lumps of paint to be sprayed out onto the Job. After painting with the Airbrush, any mistakes are easily sanded out and re done as the Paint is really thinly applied with an Airbrush. The only real drawback is that using the Airbrush could make the work patchy or streaky, and so You would need to Spray a Clear Coat over the top when finished. With a really good Airbrush, You could do all this work without even Masking up as they give You infinite control over the amount of Paint being sprayed, and also the area being painted. You can even go down so fine as to do Hair Lines with a good Airbrush, and it could be used to Paint the Spots and Patches in freehand with no Masking Tape! An Airbrush of this quality would cost at least $160.oo minimum. Mine cost $260.oo, but I use it constantly on all types of work so I can justify the expense.

This is a different Horse where the Patches and Spots are almost finished. Note however that I Painted the Knee Patches on too much of an angle. This is wrong and I should have

been paying better attention. I repainted them later but it was a silly mistake.

Cleaning Up.

You must remember to thoroughly clean out Your Spray Gun when You finish Painting for the Day. This is a relatively simple Job, but You will require about ¼ of a paint cup of Thinners or Turps. Many People I have found are very stingy when it comes to using good Solvents for cleaning up. Trust Me, it is absolutely necessary. You should not throw out this cleaning solvent, but keep it aside in a dedicated container as it can be used over several times for many purposes. To clean Your Spray Gun, put around ¼ of the Gun Cup of Thinners or Turps into the Cup and spray it out the Nozzle just like Painting. At this stage of Your new Painting career, I actually hope that You are no longer using Turps but have progressed to General Purpose Thinners instead. :) As You are spraying, place a rag firmly over the Nozzle and spray into it. This creates a back pressure and will force solvent and paint back up into the Gun Cup. Now spray out through the Nozzle again for a short time. When the Solvent coming out the Nozzle is relatively clean and free of Paint, Tip the remaining Solvent from The Gun Cup into a Container. Now unscrew the rear adjustment knob and remove the Spring and Needle. You may require a pair of Pliers to pull the Needle out . Always handle the Needle very carefully. If You bend it or damage the Tip it will be destroyed permanently. Next, unscrew the Nozzle from the Front of the Gun. Place all these Parts into Your cleaning container and wash them thoroughly in

the cleaning solvent. If You have one, use a Pipe Cleaner to push into the Needle aperture in the Gun and clean it out with a gentle back and forth rubbing. Lastly, remove the Spray Gun Paint Cup and the Cap which simply screws on and off. Place this and its’ Lid into Your cleaning Container. Replace the cleaning container lid and shake it up vigorously to dislodge the Paint from inside the Cup. Remove all The cleaned Parts and wipe them down with a clean Rag dampened with more clean Solvent. Assemble the Spray Gun and place a small amount of CLEAN Solvent into the Cup and spray it out again and this should have Your Gun thoroughly clean and ready for the next Job. By the way, if the Spray Gun has paint all over the Outside surface of the Gun itself, You should place the Body of the Gun completely into the cleaning container and give it a good shake. You wont hurt the Gun, but if Your Gun has old Paint stuck all over it from previous Jobs it is not a pleasant thing to work with. If Your Gun has escaped the cleaning process for some time, then You may need to disassemble the Body of the Gun completely to make it work again. This is not a fun job, and will probably require replacing Seals and O Rings, so do not allow old paint to sit in Your Gun for more than a day . Cleaning the Spray Gun can be a boring and tedious operation, however You will notice the difference when it comes time to change Colours or just to start a new Job in a Month or so. Spray Guns are actually ruined and made useless by not cleaning them. They are just too involved to dismantle and clean properly if they have been left too long dirty. If You have been Painting with an Airbrush, then it is Ten times as important to thoroughly clean the Equipmet immediately. It is also about 10 times more delicate than the Spray Gun and needs to be handled accordingly.

This is as far as You need to dismantle a Gun for everyday Cleaning. Top Row: Cup and Cap. Second Row, Nozzle, Needle, Spring, Needle Adjustment Knob. If a Gun is left too long without Cleaning then further dismantling would be required. Easier to throw it away than create that problem ;)

Well now Your Horse Body is finally finished and hopefully looking great. If You happen to have any problems with any of the processes described in this Book, please feel free to email Me at the email address provided at the end of the Book. I will do everything possible to help with any issues You are not comfortable with.

Now it is time to move onto the Frame.

As You are dismantling the Frame, make sure that You mark everything in the order it comes off as being front and back, and left and right. Many of the Frame Parts will be worn and this wear needs to be taken into account before attempting any repairs. If Pieces were put back on the wrong side or back to front, even though they appear the same, the wear on the Frame would transfer to the opposite side or end. That is, if You did not Repair the damage before You

put it back together ☺ Note that when You put it back together the wear and tear should have been repaired anyway, but You must know where each piece came from on the Frame so that You can work out why it was worn in that particular area, and also what other Parts would have been affected by it.

. The first Job You might think would be to simply pull it apart. Wrong!!! The first thing You should do is to thoroughly examine the Frame for any damage. It is preferable if You make these checks with the Horse still mounted to the Frame. Take note of anything You find. Shake it around, push it sideways, check for any movement in any direction aside from the normal back and forth swing. Next, stand directly behind the Frame and push the swinging bars back and forwards. Make sure that they run straight and true and in line with the upper and lower bars.

They quite likely will not. Take note of which direction it runs out in, either to the Right or to the Left. It may swing slightly to one side only when moving forwards. Also note that it could be running out on the rearward swing, so if it looks ok then move to the other end and repeat the swinging test. If it does indeed have some run out, You need to check the Vertical round supports and ensure that they are not loose. If they appear to be tight enough, take a small Spanner and slightly loosen the Top Nut just enough so that You can twist the Vertical Posts around. They may be difficult to move as they generally have 2 small nails inserted through the underside of the Lower Frame Bar. If possible, give the Post at the end which is running out a ¼ turn and try the test again. Note if it is better or perhaps worse. If it is worse, turn it the other way and check again. If it is better but not quite enough just turn it until it is in the right position. Note that You will need to re do this adjustment when it comes time to put it all back together. Right now You are just running a check.

Here You can see that the Posts do not line up when placed side by side. Some rotation will

bring them into alignment when they go back onto the Frame.

Note the wider gap at the Top. This happens when the Posts wear out around the Lower edges.

If Your Posts do not line up when placed side by side, rotate one slightly and see if it makes a

difference. What happens to these Round Posts is that over time they may come loose and then develop a slight sideways tilt. This in turn places wear on the base of the Post. If the Post is later tightened up in a worn position, then it will from that time onwards always have a slight lean to one side. That will in turn begin to wear out the Swinging Hanger Bearing, the Top Rail and the Side rails! Everything is connected and all wear and tear can always be traced to the original problem.

Looks like somebody knew what they were doing. :) You do not need to be concerned with repairing this until the time You

reassemble the Frame. Then all You need to do is to Bolt the Posts in and rotate them until You achieve a straight Swinging position. You could attempt to cut down the worn end of the Post, but unless it is really badly worn down on one side, to the extent that there is a gap showing when it is tightened, then it is not worth the risk of damaging the Post further. Once You put it all back together in a straight position, it will stay there as long as the Bolts and Nuts are tight. A small gap can be filled in with Liquid Nails or even Putty to neaten it up. If a Post is so badly worn that the bottom has a definite rounded off appearance, then it is probably going to require some cutting to square it up again. The best availableTool for the Job is probably a Hand Saw. This is assuming that You do not own a Bandsaw. Whichever Tool You use however You must be absolutely certain that You will cut the Post true and square. If You don’t then You will completely ruin it. The next thing to consider is that if You cut One Post, then You will also have to cut the same amount off the other Post so that they remain the same height. You should not need or attempt to cut off any more than around 10mm or so. Any more than this and the Horse will begin to swing erratically and could even hit the Floor and cause damage.

Ok, now You can go ahead and dismantle the Frame completely. You should have an area set aside to place all the Frame sections as they are taken off. Doing this will enable You to place everything in order and also to orient the peices to Front and Back and Left and Right. For instance You might place them on a Bench or even on the Floor, facing towards a wall. You should decide if You will place them as Front to the Wall, or Rear to the Wall and then

follow that rule with each peice. On the inside surface of each Side Rail, mark them as Left and Right, and Front and Rear and Top and Bottom. This is to ensure that they go back exactly the same way they came off. It is quite possible that the Swinging Hangers could be bent or even a slightly different length or shape. Sometimes, as on My Horse here, the Legs are different lengths, and so the Swingers should have been "adjusted" to fit. By "adjusted", I simply mean.bent until they fit properly. If they do not go back the same way they came off then You will have no end of trouble trying to make them fit, even with the new bushings in place! Just do it right the first time and You will only need to do it Once. :) It is equally important in many cases to also mark the Top and Bottom Frame Bars as Front and Rear. Although on most restorations it is not necessary, just go ahead and do it while You're holding the Pencil. Now that the Frame is pulled apart, the first thing to do is to ensure that there is NO GREASE around the positions of the Hanger Brackets. Give these areas a thorough cleaning with a Rag and Turpentine. If You leave any Grease or Oil on the Frame then it will be spread out during Sanding and will be impossible to Paint later. Also, anything else that You Sand with that Sandpaper will equally be ruined! Now the Sanding of the Frame is usually a totally different operation to that of Sanding the Horse body. Generally, the Body of the Horse should be Sanded to perfection in order to look its' best. However, the Frame should retain as much of the originality and character as possible. This maintains the "Patina" or aged appearance of the Rocking Horse overall. You would normally find that the Frame over the Years has taken a beating and will have many dents and scratches all over it. The most severe of these may require some puttying, but generally, I am happy to lightly Sand over most of the marks just to achieve a nice smooth finish around their edges. It is not necessary to completely Sand the Frame back to bare Timber, although You can do so if You wish to. In most cases, I will sometimes Hand Paint the Frame as this also helps to maintain a lot of the originality. You can of course also Spray Paint the Frame if You want to. It is entirely a personal choice. I find that a few Brush marks add a little extra to the Patina, and providing You are careful about not leaving Hairs in the Paint, then it usually turns out just fine. I must admit though that these days I would usually just Spray Paint the Frame as I have the equipment handy. Now it is time to think about making the New Bushings for the Top Hanger. You will require a short length of standard Hot Water System Copper Pipe. Many People will have a peice or two of this Pipe laying around the Home or the Shed, but if not then it is easily purchased at any Hardware Store. Why use Copper Pipe? In place of the Copper Pipe, You could just as easily use a Metal Bushing or even Bronze if You wanted to. The only reasons that I use Copper is that' for the purposes of this Book, it is very easily obtained by anyone at any Hardware

Store, and I know that it fits the Swingers perfectly.. You quite likely may even have a peice laying around the Home. People will tell You that Copper Pipe is not suitable as a Bushing material, and in normal circumstances this is quite true. However, the action of the Rocking Horse is quite gentle and is never sustained for long periods, and with a little bit of Grease it will last the lifetime of any Rocking Horse. The Bushing is more likely to wear out due to some other issue with the Frame than it will from the action of the Horse. Consider the action of a Bushing in a Mechanical Engine. The Bushing would support a Shaft which rotates at a constant high speed and would have some severe stresses applied to it. A Copper Bushing under those circumstances would not last a Day, but in the Rocking Horse no such forces exist or ever will exist. You could just as easily use a Metal Bushing or even Bronze. The choice is Yours to use whatever You feel fit for Your Job. :) As I said, this is a typical Home restoration and I like to use items generally found around the Home. The "action" of the Horse can also be controlled with this Bushing in place. By tightening or loosening the Top Bracket Nuts a little, You can make the Horse swing faster or slower. This is beneficial particularly to the very Young Riders. The first thing to do is to take a length of the Copper Pipe and cut it to the width of the Top Frame Bar. Next, cut this peice in half lengthwise. It can be cut either by using a Hacksaw, or an Angle Grinder with a soft metal cutting disc. A standard Grinding Disc is far to thick and will not do this Job. Be aware of the Safety issues when using an Angle Grinder. Goggles MUST be worn at all times, and Gloves as well if possible. Also always be aware of where You will put the Grinder down in between cuts. A still rotating Angle Grinder is a dangerous thing and all care should be taken in placing it back onto the workbench. Also be extremely careful not to bump the Disc against any object or surface when putting the Tool down or picking it up. It is very easy to crack the Disc when doing this, and the next time You use it the Disc will fly apart and will cause a serious injury if a peice hits You or someone else nearby. When cutting with the Grinder, always attempt to find the angle where the Sparks are travelling away from Your face and body. Also try as much as possible to work with the Tool slightly to one side of You rather than directly in front of You. When an accident happens with this Tool, it happens instantly! There is no chance of getting out of the way.

A shot of the Copper Pipe used for the Bushings.

This Pipe is used primarily because it is commonly found around most Homes. Nearly everyone has a bit laying around. The Copper is fine for the Low Stress Bushings on a

Rocking Horse, and will outlive You and I. If You have sharp Eyes, then You would have noticed that one of these Pipe sections is

bent. That is because that is the peice I cut off, not the peice I used. :)

Now that You have Your Pipe cut in half, or as near to equal halves as You could get it, check the Two halves against each other for size. It is very likely that Your cut will not be precise, and so one half may be slightly larger than the other. They may also not be a perfectly straight cut. You must now take the LARGER half and file or grind it down to the same size as the other. Next You will need to File the edges of both peices so that they are nice and smooth with no ragged bits sticking out. Now take Your Round File or Rasp and begin cutting the Groove into the Top Frame Bar to accept the Copper Bushing. Work slowly and check it for fit frequently. It will only need to be a few millimetres deep. If You remove too much wood with the File, You can not put it back. When You are checking the fit, You must also assemble the Top Hanger Bracket and the Swinging Hanger into the Frame Bar to be certain that it will swing freely when tightened down. The Hanger Bracket must fit flush with the Top Bar when bolted down. It has to be a reasonably tight fit with no Gaps under it . Once You are satisfied with this one, move onto the other Bracket and repeat the process. Again, check the fit frequently as You work. When You fit the Bushings to the Top Bar, You should apply a little Liquid Nails or similar to prevent the Bushing from rotating on the Timber during use. This is not generlly a problem though and is not critical to the Job, but just a good idea.

Cut the Copper Pipe in half so that You end up with Two sections like this one.

It will then need to be filed down again somewhat to fit inside the Swinging Hanger Bracket.

The following series of Photos were all taken using a different Bracket and Swinger, but the same principles apply to all. The Copper Pipe used in these Photos is cut short to enable easier reference to its position in the Hanger. The Pipe that You cut will be the full width of the Bracket. Next, take the Hanger Bracket, and holding it upside down in one hand place the swinger into the bracket.

Checking the Bushing for fit. It has slipped sideways a little in the Photo.

Take a look at the width of the groove in the hanger bracket where the swinger is sitting and work out roughly how wide Your Copper half Pipe needs to be to fit neatly over the Hanger so that it contacts the Bracket. It will probably only require around half of the peice of Pipe that You have just cut, so now You need to File or grind the half Pipe down to the size required.

Checking the Half Pipe for fit in the Hanger Bracket. With the swinger iserted it should all

be a good tight fit.

Check it frequently as You are grinding it down. When it is a good firm fit, then observe how far below the Bracket the Pipe section is extending. This is the size of the groove which needs to be filed into the Top Frame Bar. It would normally be just a few Millimeters or so. The original design of these Horses could quite easily have incorporated a Full Round Bushing onto the Swingers which would have ensured an almost infinite life. However we must work wth what we have. :)

The Pipe should extend slightly below the level of the Hanger Bracket when done. The Bracket here is shown upside down. This is roughly how deep the Groove in the Frame Bar should be Filed out. Note that only a half width Bushing peice is shown in the Photos. This enables You to see more readily where it sits in relation to the other parts. Your

Bushing will extend from one side of the Bracket to the other.

Now take Your Round File or Rasp and begin cutting the Groove into the Top Frame Bar to accept the Copper Bushing. Work slowly and check it for fit frequently. Make absolutely certain that the Groove remains th same depth right across its' width as You file the Frame Bar. Check it frequently. If You remove too much wood with the File, You can not put it back.

Here is a sample of how to prepare the Top Frame Bar for a New Bushing. You can see how the Groove has been Filed into the Timber.

Note that the Timber being used is for demonstration only and IS NOT the Frame Bar. This Timber more easily shows the contrast between the Timber and the Filed out groove. Note the Tools required, Round or "Rat Tail" Files or Rasps. You need to slowly file a

groove into the Frame Bar directly under the original Metal Strip. Keep checking until the Groove is just deep enough to almost fully accept the Half round Copper Pipe and that the Swinging Hanger and the Top Bracket will all bolt on without binding. If You file out too much or too big a groove, then Your Swinging Hanger will not tighten up enough over the Swingers. Note also that the Copper Pipe does not need to be an exact "half " cut. It could even be as small as a 1/4 round and still work just as well. DO NOT Oil or Grease

the Bushing until all Paintwork is finished later.

When You are checking the fit, You must also assemble the Top Hanger Bracket and the Swinging Hanger onto the Frame Bar to be certain that it will swing freely when fairly tight and that it becomes harder to swing as it is tightened down fully. Note that in the final assembly it will be greased and so will swing even more freely.

Assemble the Swinger and Bracket completely onto the Frame Bar and screw it down when checking the fit. Here You can see the assembly sequence. The Half Pipe is sitting in the groove filed into the Bar. Next the Swinger sits into the half pipe and then the Bracket goes on top. Tighten it down firmly but not fully when checking the fit.

Tightening the Bracket fully down should apply extra pressure to the swinger so that the action of the Horse can be slowed down or made faster.

In the Photo above You can see that the Groove has been filed too deeply and the Hanger Bracket will now not touch the Swinger at all. This has been done deliberately to show what happens if You file out too much of a groove. You must be careful to work slowly and check the Hanger for fit frequently. The Hanger Bracket must fit flush and square with the Top Bar when bolted down. It has to be a reasonably tight fit with no Gaps under it . Once You are satisfied with this one, move onto the other Bracket and repeat the process. Again, check the fit frequently as You work. When You fit the Bushings to the Top Bar, You could apply a little Liquid Nails or similar to the Bar to prevent the Bushing from rotating on the Timber during use. This is not generally a problem though and is not critical to the Job, but just a good idea. What You have done is to replace the old Metal Strip with a nice curved seat for the Swiinging Hanger to sit into. The end result is that You quite probably only required 1/4 Round of the Copper Pipe, but it is better to always start with too much than to cut the Pipe too small. --

Next You can begin work on the Side Rail Bushings. These are much easier to make as they are full round pipe sections and only need to be cut to the right length. Place the Copper Pipe across the top edge of the Side Rail and mark the length of the peice required. Now simply place it in Your Vice and cut 4 Lengths the same size. Take You round File and carefully remove any rough edges left by the cutting. That is all there is to actually making the Bushes. The next step can be a little tricky and some care needs to be taken. Identify the correct sized Drill Bit to accept the outside diameter of the Copper Bushings tightly. To do this, select a Drill Bit which appears or is measured to be the same size as the outside diameter of the Copper Pipe. Now using this Drill Bit, drill a hole into a scrap peice of Timber. Take the Copper Bushing and check it in this hole for a good tight fit. It needs to be tight enough that it will require a bit of hammering to get it all the way into the hole. If it is too loose, then come down one Drill size and try again. Alternatively, if it is too tight or will not fit then You need to increase the Drill size. Note that if You can not find the perfect Drill Bit, You may need to purchase or use a Metric Size instead. This will very slightly increase or decrease the Hole size. When this Bush is driven into the Side Rail it needs to be tight enough to remain in position during use and not tend to move outwards or inwards in the Rail. As a last resort, use Liquid Nails sparingly to keep it in place if necessary. Now, using the Drill Bit which You have identified as being the right size, carefully Drill out the existing Holes in the Side Rails to accept these Bushings. It is absolutely critical at this point that You drill exactly through the centre of the existing Rail Holes and that the Drill is perfectly Square and Plumb to the existing hole. Now drive the Bushings into each of these holes until they are flush with the outside edge of the Rail. These Side Rail Holes could have become elongated through wear and tear, so that when You insert the Bushing there could be a gap showing around the Bush, particularly at each side. Note that many Rocking Horses will tend to have some sideways movement along the swinger ends where they pass through the Side rails. You can counteract this movement to some degree by making the Bushes slightly longer and allow them to extend inwards along the Swinger ends towards the bend in the swingers. If You do this, then some care needs to be taken to ensure that there are no sharp edges around the Bushing end because it will be exposed and moving. You might want to fit some type of a Sock around the bend in the Swinger to cover the Bushing end. Refer to the Diagram Below.

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It is perfectly acceptable to fill these gaps as the Holes would only be worn at their outside edges. This happens because the Swinging Hanger is being rocked back and forth within the Hole and so only wears out the outer edge. The centre generally remains quite solid. If

Your Rails are so badly worn that they will not accept the Drill Bit and the Copper Pipe, they must be replaced. Remember that You absolutely MUST use Hardwood for this. Never use the Pine Timber which is sold at most Hardware Stores. Ask for Hardwood!!!!!

The next thing You need to check is that the Swinging Hangers are actually square and true at the bottom where they bend. If they are bent slightly up or down at this point, place them in a Vice and apply whatever force is required to straighten them.

Picture 1 Shows a badly out of shape Hanger. Picture 2 Shows a Hanger in good shape. Picture 3 shows a Hanger with incorrect end angles.

Also be aware that a Hanger could have been be bent in a certain way to compensate for a shorter Leg on one side of the Horse or some other problem. Check this before adjusting the Hangers. To check, simply place the Horse on a flat surface and ensure that all Four Legs are touching the ground. You should also check that all the Rail Holes are in the Centre of the Rails and have not been Drilled or worn to an off centre position. Another check is to place the Rails side by side and check that the Holes all line up. If they do not, then turn one rail over and try again. You may also have one Rail pointing in the wrong direction. In todays age of modern machinery and Laser accuracy in cutting, such defects in

manufacture are not generally possible. Things were different 60 to 100 Years ago. You will be surprised at what You find, if You look. If You do not look then You may only be surprised at what You end up with.

Here You can see that My Horse has one short Leg. The Swinging Hanger was slightly bent to compensate. If I had not noticed I would have straightened the Hanger and then it would not have fitted properly again. It doesnt look too bad in this Photo but it is almost half an Inch Short!

I had intended to repair this damage with Putty but I just sanded it down smooth and Painted it. It is hardly noticeable on the Horse. Just a bit narrower at the Toe. With Putty You will always run the risk of it falling out one day.

All that remains now is to sand the Frame and paint it. As mentioned earlier, You should not be too fussy about Sanding all the blemishes out of the Frame, unless You particularly want to. The problem with a completely Sanded down Frame is that the whole Rocking Horse could end up looking brand new, which normally is not what People want. The appearance You want is of an Old Frame with New Paint. I always prefer to completely re do the Horse itself though as any marks really look bad under the modern paints used. If You have any very bad marks or scratches on Your Frame, You can Sand most of the damage out with a fairly rough grade Paper. 150 is good but dont go too far with it. Just get the roughness out of the marks and scratches, and then move on to 240 Paper. When it becomes fairly smooth, You can finish it off by wet sanding with the 240 Paper all over the Frame. This will give a good base for the Paint to stick to. If You are Spray Painting the Frame then You must first add a couple coats of Primer. The normal Grey Primer in Spray Cans does an excellent job and is simple to use. This will save You the trouble of cleaning the Primer out of Your Spray Gun. For Primer, I add the first coat fairly lightly, and do not attempt to cover everything. After 10 Minutes I will add a Second heavy coat which pretty well covers the Frame fully. Allow this a couple of Hours to dry, and then check for any dust or insects etc. which may have landed on it. Just rub a hand lightly across the surface and You will soon know how good the

Primer job is. If it has dust or other particles settled into it, WET SAND it with the 240 Paper. Go lightly. You just need to sand enough to remove any dust etc, and no more, but You should lightly wet sand the entire Frame. If You happen to Sand right through the Primer, then that area will require another coat. Otherwise , let it Dry for 24 Hours and then it is time for the Colour Coat. While You are waiting for the Frame to dry out, You could use this time to Paint the Hardware. This usually only means the Top Hanger Brackets , the Swinging Hangers and possibly the Stirrups. These should have been removed from the Frame by now. You need to completely strip all the old Paint from them. They are not big so it is a fairly easy Job with the 150 Paper. Once all the old Paint is gone, finish them with a wet sanding with the 240 Paper and they are ready to Paint. Apply a couple of good coats of Primer. Allow it to dry and check for any marks or scratches in the Brackets and Swingers. Wet sand the Primer after 24 Hours and touch up any areas where You may have sanded through to the Metal or any scratches etc. Once this is dry, go ahead and apply the Colour. I paint all mine with Black Gloss, but some People like Red Stirrups. These small peices can be fiddly and You need to ensure that You spray them from all angles, i.e front, back, top and underneath. It is very easy to miss a small section completely and nothing looks worse so check them all over in between Primer and Colour Coats. You might also need to paint the Stirrups, and this can easily be done without removing them from the Straps. Most Stirrups are Buckled on and easily removed for Painting, but some are not .Just Tape up everything that isnt getting Painted and proceed as with the Hangers. :) Always remember when Painting that the end Job is totally dependant on the preparation. If You have poor preparation, then You can not possibly finish with a good paint Job. Remember that EVERY mark and blemish will be magnified by the new Paint!!! In preparation for painting, follow this simple rule; When You think You are happy with the results of Your Sanding , go back and check it again. There simply is no other way to a good job. I have a favorite little expression regarding Paintwork. A Good Job and a Bad Job have Two things in common. They both took a long time, and they are both easy to spot. If You did a poor Job, or there was some aspect of the Job that You were not happy with, even though nobody may happen to pick it out, YOU yourself will always know what You did. It will haunt You! :) Remember that. :) Well, all that remains now is to put everything back together again. You need to be reasonably careful here also, unless You wait a couple of weeks, as the Paint is still fresh and soft and will scratch and rub off if peices are handled carelessly. Because of a deadline I was facing on this Job, My Horse was actually reassembled and Trimmed just One Hour after the final Paint Coat. I was

extremely nervous about causing damage to the Paint but it came through well. I Clear Coated this Horse on a Friday afternoon, finished the Trimming at 11.30 that same Friday night and delivered the Horse at 8 on Saturday Morning. The owner said He could still smell the new paint a week later. That is also why the only Photo I have of the finished Horse is the one where He is tied to the back of My Truck ready for Delivery. I could have easily included a Photo of another finished Horse, but this Book is specifically about this particular Horse. The Reassembly process. Firstly make certain that You have all the peices at hand and ready to go back on. Assemble the Lower Frame Bar with the Two cross bars and make certain that they are squared off properly. Now You can Contersink and screw the Two Cross Bars to the Lower Bar from underneath, using screws of a size that will NOT poke through the top surface of the Lower Bar. Here is a quick little Tip for countersinking Your Screws. If like most People these days You are using a cordless Drill with a Screwdriver Bit, apply the Bit to the spot where the Screw will go and bore a small hole WITH the Screwdriver Bit. To make it a little bigger in diameter just wobble the Drill around a little. This should be just right to countersink most small to medium screws and saves a lot of time. It also will not harm the Screwdriver Bit. Now go ahead and drive the screw in and the head will be just below the Timber surface. :) Now that the Lower Bar is assembled, You need to attach the Vertical Posts. Insert the Long Bolt, with the Lower Nut and washer attached through the Lower Frame Bar from underneath. Make sure that the Thread of the long Bolt is not protruding below the level of the bottom of the Frame Bar. To ensure this, only tighten the Lower Nut until the Threads are just level with the bottom of the Nut. Do Not forget the washer!! Next, take Your Round Posts and place them over the Long Bolts from the Top, making sure that You replace them as Front and Rear, because You marked them that way didnt You? ( winks) Dont stress...It wont really matter if you didnt. It just helps in solving any problems which might pop up. Next step is to install the Top Frame bar. Carefully pass it over the Long Bolts which should be sticking out above the Round Posts now. Straighten the Posts as the Bar falls into place and give it a tap to ensure it is fully seated against the tops of the Posts. You may already have the new Pipe Bushings in place on Your Top Bar. If not, fit them now and add a little Liquid Nails under them to hold them in position. Alternatively, You could countersink a small screw through the Bushing into the Frame Bar but this would have to be done very carefully so as not to split the Frame, or to leave any of the screw exposed to interfere with the Hangers. Now You should apply a light coating of Grease across the width of the inside of the Bushing. Do not use too much grease as it will be forced out later and could make a mess or get onto clothing. Now take the Swinging Hangers and fit them into the Bushings. Be certain that You fit them in the order they were removed, particularly if Your Frame or Horse had any irregularities in this area. You could also apply a light coat of Grease to these where they will contact the Hanger Brackets. Now take the Hanger Brackets, and apply a light coat of Grease to the inside Top surface

which contacts the top of the Swingers. Place the Brackets in position and ensure that everything looks and feels right, and then, using the Washers and Chrome Cap Nuts and Bolts, tighten them down until the swingers become slightly stiff to move. You will need to Drill out one of the Holes to accept the New Bolt as it is 5/16 size and the old one was only 1/4 Inch. Attempt to rock the Swingers sideways and check for any pivoting type of movement or any other irregularity. They should be nice and firm in the Brackets with little or no movement except back and forth. You also need to ensure that the Cap Nuts will become tight enough without having any threads left showing. This could actually force the Cap to be pushed off the Nut completely. DO NOT pack it up with more Washers to fill in any gap. This will allow the Hanger Bracket to pivot sideways in use. I normally replace the long bolts with sections of Threaded Rod which is available at all Hardware Stores. This Rod is easily cut to the exact length required and eliminates this problem. Note that to retain authenticity in the Hardware used, all Nuts and Bolts which You purchase must be in Imperial Mesurements. Not Metric! A 50 Year old Rocking Horse would never have had a 10mm Bolt or Nut fitted.

The simple addition of the Chrome Cap Nuts really sets off an otherwise rather plain Frame.

Now it is time to fit the Side Rails. Apply a little Grease to the inside of the Rail Bushings. Also You should lightly cover the Swinger Hanger ends with Grease. If You have made the longer type Bushings to extend inwards to the Swinger

Bends then now is the time to fit the small Socks to cover the gaps. Now carefully slide the Swingers into the Rail Bushings making sure that they slide in easily , they sit straight and the Bush is not forced out of the Rail. If one or two are difficult to insert, check that the Bushing is sitting straight in the Rail, or that the end of that swinger is not bent incorrectly. If the Bushing is not sitting parralel in the Rail, then that swinger end will need to be bent slightly to fit properly. Doing this however will have an adverse effect on the final action of the Rocking Horse. Next, take the Chrome Caps and fit them lightly onto the end of the Swingers. Now You neeed to find or make a suitable Tool to drive the Caps onto the Swingers and hopefully not damage them. A good Tool is a Socket which just fits over the top of the Cap and will rest on the rim . Pack the Socket with some Tissue Paper until it fits snugly over the Chrome Cap, and then give it a good whack with a Hammer or a peice of Timber. A good idea at this stage is to carefully remove the Paint from the last 1/2 Inch of the Swingers, as this can be enough to stop the Cap from seating fully. If You find it necessary to Hit the Cap several times to get it on, then there is a good chance that it will be dented or damaged which will spoil the appearance badly. Another idea which has occurred to Me recently is to do away with these Caps, and using a Tap and Die Set to make a Thread on the end of the Swingers and use a Chrome Cap Nut on these also. Doing this would also eliminate any problems of having the Side Rails slide inwards along the Swinger ends. It would also eliminate the possibility of needing a longer Bush and Sock. Maybe You will get to try this before I do! You could also go to the extreme of cutting a little off the ends of the Swingers, but if You get it wrong then You will ruin them. If You have purchased a New restoration Kit for Your Horse, the Chrome Caps will be included, and most Kits will also include a small wooden Tool for driving them onto the Swingers. OK, now it is finally time to mount the Horse back onto the Frame. You must ensure that the Frame is sitting on a good and solid surface, with no chance of falling or tipping over. It is a good idea to have an assistant help You with this step. The Horse will need to be supported while You are Drilling and attaching the Rails Bolts and Cap Nuts. If it falls, there is going to be damage...count on it! Lift the Horse and very carefully place the Four Legs onto the Side Rails. Use some Tissues under the Legs to prevent scratching the Paint. Hopefully You have marked all the Frame sections as right and left and front and rear and You have put them all back in the correct positions :) Working slowly and carefully so as not to damage the Paintwork, move the Horse along the Rails until all Four Screw Holes are lined up. If they will not line up, turn the Horse around so it faces the other end and try again. Chances are that this will fix the problem. If it does not, then You may have the Rails on the wrong sides or even upside down or one of them back to front! This is why they should have been clearly marked. It is absolutely critical that You fit the Horse exactly as it came off as there is just One Screw to each Leg and You can not re drill the Holes. Ok so

I am assuming that everything is now lined up and You are ready to Bolt the Horse to the Rails. You could simply go ahead and re use the original Screws, or You can follow My modifications and fit New Chrome Cap Nuts and Bolts here as well. It is a nice modification and it adds a lot to the appearance of the Horse, as well as adding a lot to the Safety also. I have found that quite often the original Screws have become so worn and loose that they will no longer tighten up fully. This is a major safety issue and must be addressed. You could simply increase the size of the Screws, but I dislike this idea for a couple of reasons. My remedy is to drill out the Mounting Holes and use a 1/4 Inch Bolt, Washers and Chrome Cap Nuts.

The Chrome Cap Nuts and Bolts in position on the Legs and looking great. The simple things make all the difference. It is this attention to the small details which will separate Your work from the rest. Notice the Gloss of the Frame Paintwork? This is because it was Clear Cated with Polyurethane.

If You are intending to fit the Chrome Nuts and Bolts, You should already have them with You and ready to go. They will be the 1/4 Inch Bolts and Nuts. Now take a suitably sized Drill Bit and carefully Drill right through the existing holes in Rail and the Horse Hoof. Next, take One of the 1/4 Inch Bolts, and place a Washer onto it and slide it right through from the inside so that it comes out through the Hoof. Now place another Washer onto the outside and screw the Chrome Nut on and tighten it to a reasonable tightness. Note that if the Nut gets tight before all the threads are used, then the Bolt is actually too long and You will have to cut a few threads off it. Work carefully and think about everything

before You do it. You can cut threads off a Bolt but You can not put any back on again.

Tip: Before fitting the Bolts and Nuts, take the Chrome Cap Nut and screw it onto the Bolt in Your Hands. Count how many turns it takes to fully seat the Nut. Now when You are fitting it on the Horse, You can again count how many turns You need to tighten it. If it required 10 turns in your hand, but only 4 or 5 on the Horse then the Bolt is too short and should not be used. Get a longer Bolt. If You reach 10 turns and the Nut is not tight, then the Bolt is too long. Forcing the Nut another couple of turns to tighten it will force the Chrome Cap to be pushed right off the Nut. Remember that this particular point of the Horse is absolutely critical to the Safety factor when it is being ridden. The Chrome Nut needs to be fully tightened on the Bolt just a fraction before it begins to tighten against the Hoof. This is to ensure that the Nut does not turn with the motion of the Horse. A little dab of Grease under each Washer where it contacts the Timber is also a good idea. Give the Horse a couple of swings and ensure that everything looks and feels as it should. IMPORTANT!!!!! When Drilling out the Rails and Hooves, it is vitally important that You only work on One at a time. In other words, DO NOT Drill out all Four holes and then proceed to fit the Bolts and Nuts!! Why? Because if the Horse were to move slightly while You were Drilling, then Two or even Three of the Holes could end up in the wrong position. This would ruin the Rails!!! You may also find that not all Four Legs will sit perfectly level on the Rails at the same time. Just do One at a time, complete it and then do the next one. The final Job in Your Restoration will be replacing the Trims. This is a reasonably straightforward task and requires no explanation. The only point You really need to be aware of is to ensure that the Genuine Horse or Cow Hide Mane and Tail are properly prepared for fitting. When purchased, the Leather Hide will be as tough as Nails and have no flexibility whatsoever in it. To prepare it for working, it will need to be soaked in COLD water for One day, and then stored between a couple of Damp Towels or newspapers for another Day or so. This will soften up the Hide and make it nice and pliable. Many Roebucks had a small wooden extension fitted into the Tail Hole, and the tail was attached to this. If You have purchased a different brand or type of Tail, it will probably be tied off in a rounded end to fit into the Tail Hole itself. In this case You need to remove the original Tail Block. If You can not pull it out, then carefully Drill it through the centre and push what remains of it into the Body of the Horse. Refer to Your original Photos for correct replacement of all the Trims if You are using them. Be certain that the Colours are all identical to the originals, and that they go back in the correct positioning. Fit the Saddle Blanket and ensure that it is not facing back to front. On some replacement items it is difficult to tell at first glance. Next You should fit the Stirrups and Straps and Tack them in position across the Back of the Horse so that the Nails will be hidden beneath the Saddle.

Ensure that You line up the centre of the Stirrup Straps with the centre of the Horses back. If You are using an original type Saddle, it will need to have the Foam or other type Packing and shaping materials refitted underneath. Mine contained a peice of Foam, a couple of Pages from a Womens Weekly Magazine and some Straw! Who knows what they were thinking. Carefully align everything with the Saddle in place. Check that it hangs evenly on both sides and then commence Tacking it on along the level of the Base of the under packing first. Tack one side down first, and then when You move to the other side You can stretch it down just enough to remove any wrinkles or out of shape sections which it may have. Get this part right and the rest is easy. Again, follow the outlines which can be seen on Your original Photos, or even use the Photos of My Horse here as a guide, and carefully line up and then Tack on the Face Trimmings and Bridle. As You are fitting each section of the Plastic Trims, give them a light stretching to ensure that they will remain tight in use. This Plastic, or Vinyl, will stretch in hot weather and will look unsightly. It is also a source of fun for tiny fingers to get under it and lift it up. Well that should be the end of Your Restoration. I hope You are as pleased with Your Job as I was with mine. I am including Two Photos of Restored Roebucks which I found online. These are NOT My work, but are included to show some of the modifications to Paint and Trim which is normal on many Restorations.

This is a typical restoration where the Restorer has retained all of the original markings and Trims. However, Note the Patches and Spots and how they have been applied. This Job has been done using a very sharp edged Stencil, probably a Home made set of Metal Discs welded to a centre bar which is held against the Horse Body and Spray Painted around the stencil, and although it looks reasonable I find the sharp edges of the Spots spoil the whole effect somewhat. This is of course My opinion and not necessarily shared by You. The Spots on My own Horse appear to be quite sharp in the Photos also, but they actually are not. The Plastic Trims are certainly Colourful and attractive, but I prefer to leave most of them off and use quite a bit of genuine Leather. They are mostly only used to hide the Timber Joints in the Body. I prefer good workmanship rather than cover up methods and the fact that there are joints where the Legs attach to the Body is really not an issue which needs hiding in My opinion. Most Craftsmen are happy to celebrate their Timber Jointing skills. With modern techniques, these Joints where necessary can be quite successfully filled with a good quality Jointing Paste which will not crack over many years of use. The Black Patches and Spot Patterns were originally designed simply as wear areas and were used as a method to add extra layers of Paint to the areas which received the most wear and tear as Children got on and off the Horses. Realism in appearance was really secondary to practicality in use. :)

Here is another Restoration which has turned out very well. However You will notice a completely different pattern in the Spots. This Spot pattern is more

reminiscent of the “Lines” brand of Horses from England, but it does look quite good on this Roebuck. I would tend to have made the Spots a little darker to match the Leg and Head markings. You will also notice how the original Saddle fits, or should I say, does not fit , very well. This is typical of the Roebuck range and in My mind is not one of their better ideas. My kit had the same Saddle, and as You would have seen, I did not use it, along with most of the other Plastic Trims which are now enjoying retirement as Landfill somewhere. The trims around each Leg serve no other purpose than to hide the Leg Joints to the Body, and for this Restorer to have refitted those Trims and not most of the other peices, I would guess that this Horse is suffering badly from Leg Joint opening. Even if You intend to refit these Leg Straps, it is no excuse for not doing a quality repair to the Joints.. A couple of other points of interest are the Mane and Tail which are not original, and the Pattern of the Saddle Blanket which can be a good indicator of the Age of a Horse. The Saddle Blanket is one item of the Trim which should always match the original as this is one of the best methods of dating a Roebuck Horse. Also the Vertical Round Posts have a different pattern on many of the Roebucks. Note also that the Hanger Brackets use additional Bolts. This WAS a good idea in the Roebuck range. All these points are good indicators of the Age of a Horse and should always be retained in the final Restoration. I applaud the Restorer for flying in the face of tradition and making these alterations possibly just to suit His own taste. The only “complaint” I have is …..Still too much Plastic Trim!! Get rid of it. ☺ I hope that You have enjoyed My Book and that it was of some assistance to You in restoring Your Horse, or just as a source of information. Thank You again for Your support in purchasing the Book. Please feel free to contact Me with any questions or comments on the Book or for details about My other Books on My Own Horse and Bike which appear below. My email is emmo1951@gmail.com I really would like to hear Your comments and any progress or problems I may be able to assist with on Your Projects. Following are a few Pictures of One of My own design Rocking Horses and Rocking Motor Bikes. Take note of the Rocker design used. I prefer the traditional type Rockers as they lend themselves well to a lot of artistic flair in the finishing.

The Horse is fully carved including the Saddle and Blanket,and the Mane and Tail. All Timber is Stained. No Paint is used except for the 6 Clear Coats of Polyurethane on top. These Rockers are for testing only as each Horse is individually balanced to its' own Rockers on completion. New Rockers will be fitted later. This is quite possibly the strongest and best built Rocking Horse available today. The Horse and Base are attached using Six 150mm Timber Screws as well as Four 100mm Carriage Bolts. The Head and Legs are fitted into the Body with a shape similar to a Jig Saw peice and can never work loose or fall out. The Horse can be lifted by any of the Legs, the Tail or the Head and will not break. The entire Body is completely solid timber right through and can never come apart. It is also easily the safest Horse to ride. Rubber Footrests attached to the Horse Base mean that this Horse can even be ridden in a standing position with perfect safety! The reins are for show only and are Tacked to the Body. The Rider holds on to a wooden Handle which passes through the Neck area. On swing framed Horses, the Mane is usually the first casualty as the Rider has nothing else to hold onto. With His Galloping stance and gorgeous smiling Pony face He is one of the most attractive and more realistic appearing Horses currently available. Carving detail in the Legs has not been done on this one but it is a normal feature on all My Horses these days.

This Photo shows some of the detail in the Carving. You can tell by the Grain of the Timber that there is nothing added on. Even the Girth Straps

will be carved into the Body as can be seen in the following Photo.

A close up view of the Finished Rockers. Work on the Horse is finished and ready for the Wood Staining. This style of Rocker gives a good opportunity for adding some Artwork to the sides also. Note also how the body of the Horse extends beyond the mounting base on each side.

He even gets carved Horse Shoes.

Now some Pics of My Rocking Bikes. I hope You enjoy them.

The basic design remains the same. I changed the Handlebars from the Curved style to Straight as the Curved ones were just too difficult to carve in Hardwood. The Triple Gauges are Carved from a single Block of Wood,

and the Eagle Tank Badge is also fully hand carved. Note that this Bike was Clear Coated with Estapol. That is why the Timber has a Yellow tinge. This is always a problem with this brand of Clear. I

now use Polyurethane Clear exclusively on every Job.

Work in progress.

This Carving is a lot easier to do than You might think. You can find out

how in My other Books. :)

Here You can see the beginnings of My New design Rocking Stand. I had also set up a Bike as a Display in a Bike Shop with a set of Car Windshield Wiper Mechanisms which Rocked the Bike continually while on display and ran on a 12 Volt Battery . This setup was also strong enough to rock the

Bike with a small child sitting on it. The Brake Pedal and Gear Shift Pedals are moveable and give the Kids something extra to play with. I have also designed Clutch and Handbrake Levers for the Handlebars which actually work a Caliper on the Front Wheel and a Clutch lever on the Gearbox, ALL fully Hand Carved from Timber. There is also a fully functional Key and Ignition Switch, also carved from Timber. However the Cost and time involved meant that it was just too much work to do on every Bike. I have on one Bike used Metal Hand Levers from a small pushbike and successfully mounted them on the Handlebars. Under the Tank is a compartment which holds the Pedigree Papers and Serial Numbers for each Bike. No Two Bikes or Horses are EVER built exactly the same. Serial Numbers are stamped into the bottom of every Bike and Horse and a Certificate of Ownership is given to each

purchaser.

The Seat Trim is Leather Studded and the Genuine Rubber Tyres are from a Mountain Bike. The Wheels are dished and also fully carved. The Tail

Lamp is also carved into the Rear Guard, not tacked on later. Other Carved Parts include the Carburettor, the Oil Tank , Battery , Muffler, Rear Shocks and Gear and Brake Pedals. Even the Numbers on the Speedo and Tacho are carved in and then stained a contrasting Colour. The Triple Headlamp/ Spotlamp setup is carved from a single block of Timber. The Instrument

Panel and Gauges are also carved from a single peiceof Timber. The Pedals use a hidden Spring Mechanism to return them to the correct position, and along with the Front Axle Bolts and Nuts, are the only Metal

Parts on the Bike. There is No Paint at all used anywhere on the Bike except fot 6 Coats of Polyurethane Clear Gloss. All Timber is Wood Stained. Total Hours to complete a Bike would be around 60 and around 80 for a Horse. I hope You enjoyed seeing them. You can learn all about how to build them in My other Books. Please feel free to contact me with any enquiries. emmo1951@gmail.com Regards, Paul Emerson. NSW Australia (c) 2012. All content in this Book and all Photographs and diagrams are the property of the Author with the exceptions of the final Two Phtographs of Restored Roebuck Horses which were found with an Online Computer search. The identities of the Owners/restorers of these Two Horses is unknown, as they were not published on the Site I found. However I thank these people for making their work available publicly Online. Any comments attached to these Photographs are my personal opinions and are not meant to offend anyone. The accuracy of any Statements made within this Book regarding any Brand or type of Rocking Horse can not be guaranteed to be 100% accurate due to the increasing amount of confusing historical information available from several sources. Permission to reproduce all of or any part of this Book including any Diagrams and Photographs may be obtained by contacting the Author through the email address supplied. No other permissions are granted to any Person or Business or Publishing Company. Interested parties may contact the Author at any time through the email address above. Further contact details will be given or made available only upon email request. (c) 2012 Australia