Carving A Cowboy's Horse-Part 4-The Stirrups!

Now for some real fun!! You might think this next step is difficult but it's really not. It is time consuming so plan on spending about 6-8 hours because you want to take your time and get a good result. There are lots of photos in the Gallery with explanations for each step so you should have no trouble.

After we get this done we'll give that poor fella a tail so he can keep the flies away!

Carving A Cowboy's Horse-Part 3-The Saddle

Decisions, decisions! We've now reached a point where we have to make a couple of decisions about just how we want our horse to be fitted out and whether we want him to stand alone or have a rider. As this is our first horse with saddle project I think it best to just have him stand alone without a rider. We can still put a rider in the final scene, he'll just be on the ground maybe getting ready to mount or doing some other ranch related activity. The next decision is just what type of saddle do we want on that cayuse's back. Well, as this is a working cowboy's horse we want a piece of tack that he would actually use. Personally, as I ride a "slick fork" type of saddle, and as this is pretty well a standard for the working wrangler and considering that this is my carving, I'm going for that one.



Here is a photo of a "Slick Fork" saddle. The reason it's called that is that it doesn't have any "swells". Just do a Google search for this type of saddle and you'll finds lots of reference material. If we were going to have a cowboy mounted on our horse we'd want to use this type as those swells would get in the way when fitting him into place. On this particular saddle you'll note the "Bucking Rolls" screwed down just behind the front of the saddle. If a rider needs some extra holding power he can add these as they will act in place of the missing swells. Plus, if we add them to our saddle it will give us the opportunity of doing a little extra detailing that really looks neat when done.

One important point... when we do this part of the project don't jump ahead of the last step. We have to add the stirrups before we can proceed further than the steps outlined in this post. If you go ahead and do the whole saddle without allowing for the stirrups you're going to have problems later on. Believe me, I've already learned this from past experience!

Carving a Cowboy's Horse! Part 2

Hope you haven't given up on me! I apologize again for taking so long to get a new post together. It's been really busy around here since we returned from our trip out west. Also, our Chuckwagon has been in demand so we've been hauling it around to various events. This weekend we're heading to Coffeyville, Kansas for the Dalton Defender Days celebration and then next weekend to another festival here in Oklahoma. I'm starting to get tired of all these Beans and Biscuits!

Anyway, as you can see by the photo, I have finished the legs, rounded the body just a little, especially the areas under the belly. I didn't hold back when applying the dark wood glue as I want it to squeeze out and fill any void along the join line. The pegs will hold the halves in place when you clamp so if you didn't use the peg method you're probably wishing you did by now. Just leave the excess glue dripping as if you wipe it you'll just have to carve it off. The beauty of the dark glue is that it's easily seen when dry. Two clamps on the body and one on the neck will do the job nicely.

Once we get the Chuckwagon back in the barn we'll get cranking on this project........promise!!!

What A Country!

As I said in the last post, we were heading for Montana. On the way we spent some time in the Grand Teton area. Like the title says, "What A Country!" I'd love to live in this area but if I did I would probably take it for granted after a while so it's probably best to only visit it every couple of years to remind myself that it's still there and as beautiful as ever. One thing we did note is that Jackson Hole is turning into another tourist trap. Reminded me of Branson, Missouri. Too bad.

We'll be back home in a week or so and I promise I'll get back to that horse project. However, right now we're on our way to the C.M.Russell Museum so that horse will just have to wait.

Carving a Cowboy's Horse-Part 1-The Body!

My friend Dave out in Arizona has been after me to finish up the horse project so I guess I'd better do it so it's safe to go out west.

First off, if you are not completely familiar with your bandsaw ...
DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS PROJECT!! We are going to be cutting a large piece of thick wood and stability while cutting will be an issue. A person familiar and experienced with his or her saw should have no problem but if you're not DON"T DO IT! I would hate to have someone get hurt. Now that I've probably scared you to the point of passing up on this project let's continue.

I use a Sears 12" bandsaw which has a cutting capacity of about 8-1/2" inches so I will have no problem. There is no reason you can't reduce the size of the drawing to accommodate a smaller saw. I use a 3/16" blade with 4 teeth per inch. This is called a skip-tooth blade as normally there would be about 8tpi. Working at the scale of this horse this blade will let me make just about every turn I need to and that skip-tooth blade really eats the wood. This is the only blade I ever use.

When I first started carving one of the obstacles I ran into when carving horses was the areas between the legs. Through little experimentation I came up with this method which just about does away with this problem completely. Being able to seperate the two halves gives you access to the inside of the leg and makes carving a snap. Also, it lessens the possibility of breaking off a leg. In this project the only fragile thing is the resting leg so watch out for that when you work around that area. Don't sand the area between the two halves as they now match perfectly due to the path of the blade. They are also nice and rough which will make a very strong glue joint. Properly glued no one will ever know that your horse had some major surgery.

Before I knew much about horses I always thought they had that one rear leg cocked in the ready position in case someone happened to walk too close behind them. That isn't the case at all. When they stand like that they're resting. Watch one long enough and he will shift his weight to the other leg. As the front legs support the majority of a horses weight he will shift the load back there from side to side as long as he's standing in one place.

I know, you're probably wondering where the tail is. Well, like the head, we will add it later. If we made it part of the main block it would become a problem and I don't like problems! We will attach it in such a way that it will be stronger than if it were part of the original block.

One more thing......This horse is larger in scale than the head we did earlier so if you want to use that head on this body you will have to reduce it accordingly. I'd suggest just doing a new head to match this one. You can hang that other one out the barn door.

So, let's get started. Actually, you're going to have to work without me as the wife and I are heading to Montana for some Rocky Mountain Trail Riding. We'll be back in a week or so. I'll have my laptop with me so if you run into a real problem just drop me a comment and I'll climb down off my cayuse long enough to answer your question. Good luck!

Lots of photos in the Gallery.

"Darn, I Dropped The Remote!"

Even though it's Labor Day I spent the time down at the shop finishing up this little repeat. I did one similar to this several years ago. I had this horse setting on my workbench and couldn't match him up with a cowboy so thought of doing this scene again. It's a copy of a painting by Fred Harmon, the artist who drew Red Ryder called "Waiting on the Boss!" Of course I added a few things to flesh it out a bit and bring it up to date. I have no doubt whatsoever that somewhere down there south of the Oklahoma-Texas there is a outhouse that has a satellite hookup. Unfortunately for the fellow occupied inside it looks like his viewing will be limited cause I can just imagine where that remote fell and I bet he goes down to WalMart and buys a new one before searching too far inside that little room!

More photos in the Gallery.

Yellow Bird & Little Beaver

Took a while to finally get the varnish on this one. Lots of paint not to mention the beading. In the past I just ran a beaded strip over the top and down the sides of the papoose but this time I decided to try and bead the whole thing. Turned out pretty well I think. If you've ever seen the real cradleboards you will marvel as I do the care and artistry that goes into making one. You can just look and see just how much the Native Americans treasured their children.
-
I was worried that the highly patterned blanket, the beaded moccasins, pants, cradleboard and all the other decorations might be too much but after looking at it a while and seeing the reactions and reading the comments I guess it wasn't. I really love doing Native Americans.
-
Willie Lone Eagle was still hanging around the shop when I finished this one and placing them together really makes a nice group. Hopefully, whoever takes them home will take them all together. Would hate to see the family break up!
-
As always, comments are appreciated.

Carving the Cradleboard

With the figure finished we can now do the Cradleboard. As I'm here in Oklahoma I've decided to do one from a tribe that was resident here.....Kiowa. Here's where a little research will really help you out. With the Net it should be no problem for you to track down photos of cradleboards as there are lots of them out there. I haven't decided on just how much beading I will do on this one so I haven't added it on yet.

-

The photos are pretty clear as to what I did to do this part of the project. I used a 1- 3/8" Forstner bit to drill the hole into the block. You want to drill it deep enough for the head insert to fit naturally. Once you get the hole drilled take a 1/8" bit and drill on through so you can insert something to push out the head as you carve and fit it. Otherwise it will get stuck in there. Make the insert about 1/2" thick so you have plenty to work with. Make it the same size as the hole and then carve it to fit easily into the hole but not so much that there is a lot of space around it. To make the frame I just slabbed off some thin strips of basswood, carved them to remove the saw marks, and epoxied them together, leaving a lot of excess wood to cut away after every thing hardened up.

-

The cradleboard is mounted to the body with a couple of 1/8" dowels but I don't glue the frame to the bag or body until we get it painted.

Squaw With Papoose

As it's been a while since we did a complete project I thought this would be a good one if you want to follow along . It will be quite a colorful carving when done and will require you to do some research. At least I hope you do the research, that's half the fun of doing this type of carving. I'm not going into the actual carving of this except for the head as we've covered carving in other posts. I will devote some time to doing the Papoose as it will require a little construction.
-
The photo giving the pattern can be blown up to give you the correct sizes using the 10" length of the side profile a a guide. The Papoose blank should be at least 1- 3/8" thick.
-
You will note from the associated photos that I do a lot of roughing out on my bandsaw. DON'T DO IT!!! It's a very dangerous shortcut that only a fool would use. I guess because my wife is always telling me that I'm a "fool" I think I can get away with it!! One of these days I'll pay the piper!
-
Once the body was completely carved I burnt in the creases and also the blanket pattern. I used a design called "Circle of Life" out of the latest Pendleton Blanket catalog. Here's the link: http://www.pendleton-usa.com/jump.jsp?itemID=157&itemType=CATEGORY&path=1%2C2%2C6%2C41%2C157 , If you want to use something else that's fine. Just remember....with all the folds and overlays in the blanket you'll have to adjust your pattern to reflect this.

After I carved the head I determined the head position on the body, and then carved, fitted and epoxied the braids into place. Do this one side at a time, that's the easiest way. And remember this very important rule of attaching parts: Always leave enough excess wood on the two pieces to allow you to carve the attachment to look like it's part of the main piece and not just something glued on. Sure, you can try and carve the braids and the head a one piece but I can tell you that you'll never get the head to fit down into the body with those braids in the way. You could also carve the head, braids and body as one piece but it would just not look as good as it will the way we will do it. I use Tuf-Carve epoxy to attach things. It's strong, can be carved and is close in basswood in color. Here's the link in case you want to buy some. It goes a long way so get the smallest amount you can. http://www.freemansupply.com/TUFCarv.htm

More photos in the Gallery section.

Brushpopper Bill

Here's a bust I just completed carving. He's going to Chicago to occupy the top spot on a Bottle-Stopper Christmas tree that another artist is constructing. This guy collects bottlestoppers from all over the world and then assembles these fantastic constructions involving hundreds of different stoppers. This new one will be all Cowboys with old Bill being the "King of the Cowboys"! I'll try and post a photo once it's finished.

Here's old Bill all decked out for the Saturday Night Dance over at the Bandstand. He's got a new prospect all lined up and thought he'd better put on his best shirt to make a good impression. I hope he combed out all those biscuit crumbs from that hairbrush above his lip!!

Move photos after the jump and comments always welcome!