Finally got my Bowl Horse made this afternoon, it's made from the large log i collected last week, i peeled the bark off using a spud (thankfully a good sized piece of bark came away in one piece, so i have saved that to make another berry basket). I then augured three holes for the legs, making sure that the rear legs splay not only outwards but also have a reverse throw on them to counter act the force of the adze hitting the work piece, the front leg has a forward throw on it, again for stability.
Unlike many other bowl horses you see on the web, i decided to make mine three legged, for one very good reason, it's easier to stabilise three legs than four on rough ground. Once the legs had been fitted i marked out the bed (15 inches long) and cut both ends down, then simply split out the waste section with an axe and mallet, once this section had been removed i used a draw knife to smooth the work bed down.
Ive been wanting to make one these for a little while, although my adze block is comfortable to use, i have found it a bit limiting at times, so a bowl horse seemed the next logical progression to make, I've made this horse a little smaller than some of the ones you see dotted around on the Internet, again this is for a reason, the main one being, i don't have a great deal of space to store the thing, but it's still plenty big enough for any bowl I'm likely to make on it.
I used the horse briefly this afternoon (before the rain set in again) to make a shallow bowl from the piece i removed to make the bed, and once the section had been wedged in place, i could use my adze with both hands and get some power behind the cuts and the horse hardly moved, it's incredibly stable, despite having only three legs.
Ive not yet cut in the 20 degree cut out on the front of the horse that you quite often see, rain stopped play in that respect, so i still have that to add at some point, although i may not bother with it at all as, when i cleaned up the exterior surface of the shallow bowl i made this afternoon, I just wedged it in place and used a draw knife, seemed to work well enough.
As with so many things like this, i now have to use the thing and then make adaptations to the horse that suit my personal needs, rather than make it to a set plan, just because someone out there in Internet land says that the way it has to be done, if it works for me, then it has to be right, right? and lets face it, if i cock it up, it's not going to cost me anything, except a bit of effort to make another one.
Unlike many other bowl horses you see on the web, i decided to make mine three legged, for one very good reason, it's easier to stabilise three legs than four on rough ground. Once the legs had been fitted i marked out the bed (15 inches long) and cut both ends down, then simply split out the waste section with an axe and mallet, once this section had been removed i used a draw knife to smooth the work bed down.
Ive been wanting to make one these for a little while, although my adze block is comfortable to use, i have found it a bit limiting at times, so a bowl horse seemed the next logical progression to make, I've made this horse a little smaller than some of the ones you see dotted around on the Internet, again this is for a reason, the main one being, i don't have a great deal of space to store the thing, but it's still plenty big enough for any bowl I'm likely to make on it.
I used the horse briefly this afternoon (before the rain set in again) to make a shallow bowl from the piece i removed to make the bed, and once the section had been wedged in place, i could use my adze with both hands and get some power behind the cuts and the horse hardly moved, it's incredibly stable, despite having only three legs.
Ive not yet cut in the 20 degree cut out on the front of the horse that you quite often see, rain stopped play in that respect, so i still have that to add at some point, although i may not bother with it at all as, when i cleaned up the exterior surface of the shallow bowl i made this afternoon, I just wedged it in place and used a draw knife, seemed to work well enough.
As with so many things like this, i now have to use the thing and then make adaptations to the horse that suit my personal needs, rather than make it to a set plan, just because someone out there in Internet land says that the way it has to be done, if it works for me, then it has to be right, right? and lets face it, if i cock it up, it's not going to cost me anything, except a bit of effort to make another one.
