Our next venture was one of the more ambitious projects we have undertaken. We decided to bring one of Nate’s old ideas to life: a rocking “horse” in the shape of a dragon.

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Designing something to be fully functional, durable and safe for a small child, all while keeping with traditional techniques, proved to be an interesting challenge. The original concept for the head was quickly abandoned, as there was no way to make it kid-safe.

Instead we went for a traditional Celtic styled design with a rounded head, and used the “ears” as the handles.

To complete the dragon design, a tail with Celtic spirals was added to the back, extending down to wrap around the rear stretcher. As we aim for in all of our pieces, the tail not only adds to the appearance, but also to the function. It acts as additional bracing, as well as a counterweight to offset the weight of the head, allowing the dragon to sit completely level when not rocking.

We added a circle to the shape of the rockers to prevent the dragon from rocking far enough to tip over in either direction. The rockers sit out slightly to add stability and a place to put your feet while rocking. Two large dowels run between the legs on either side, acting as a footrest for smaller children, and providing additional rigidity.

The dragon is made from 1 1/2″ thick pine for the distinctive appearance of the grain and to keep overall weight down. All of the joinery is comprised of solid oak dowels for long lasting strength. As with the vast majority of our work, there is absolutely no metal used at all. Not a single screw, nail, bracket, or bolt was used, just traditional joinery techniques and long lasting wood glue. Altogether the dragon has almost 50 different oak dowels to join the various pieces together! In anticipation of the treatment most kids show all their toys, we built and reinforced the dragon to stand up to years and years of harsh treatment from kids of all sizes (and ages ).

Nate designed all of the artwork himself with an eye towards traditional Celtic style artwork. He then hand painted each piece in carbon india ink with a Japanese style caligraphy brush.

The dragon received a 3 part finish of: linseed oil, natural garnet shellac, and a food grade varnish to bring out the distinct grain and add long lasting protection. All 3 of the finishes are completely non-toxic, and safe enough to use for wooden bowls, cups, and utensils. Furthermore, every edge and corner has been given at least a half inch round-over, and the entire dragon has been sanded to 400 grit - to ensure that there are no hazards of any kind.

We strive to make each piece we create heirloom quality that can be passed down through generations. In the end we were very pleased with the Rocking Dragon, and I think we hit pretty darn close to that mark.