Christine Whittenbury, from Redwood Park in South Australia, wrote to Scott Cam asking how to build a simple, rocking horse suitable for a little child. Scott went one better, and came up with a fabulous rocking dinosaur!
Tools
- power or hand saw
- jigsaw
- drill
- spade bit (22mm)
- tape measure
- pencil
Materials
- laminated beam, 240mm x 45mm x 800mm (or use treated hoop pine, 240mm x 45mm, $17 per metre)
- treated pine, 240mm x 19mm x 2.6m (2.7m, $40)
- 15cm length 22mm dowel ($11.95)
- 12 x 52mm galvanised screws ($5 pkt)
- 16 x 40mm galvanised screws ($5 pkt)
- sandpaper (less than $5)
- woodworking glue (under $10)
Note: costs quoted above are approximate. Laminated beams must be preordered from timber yards and prices vary. Most timber yards will have hoop pine and treated pine in stock. 22mm hoop pine dowels must be ordered, otherwise use the standard 25mm with a 25mm spade bit.
Preparation
- Print out the leg and head templates provided on the fact sheet. The templates are 50% of actual size, so they will need to be photocopied to double size on A3 sheets.
- Place your prepared templates on the 240mm x 19mm x 2.6m treated pine, use a pencil to transfer the outline onto the timber, and then cut out the 4 legs and dinosaur head using a jigsaw.
- For the seat, cut a 47cm x 19cm section from the treated pine. Make side curves to accommodate the child