The sleigh & reindeer won Judges Commendation at the 2001 NWA Woodworkers Expo in Saratoga, NY.  

   The sleigh is constructed entirely from purpleheart wood with the exception 
    of the seat and floor, which are rosewood. 

    Rosewood seat and floor

    The sleigh measures 36"L x 16"W.

   The sides, front and back are rattan caning.  
    The cane is soaked before stretching for greater flexibility. 

    The caning is set into a 1/8" routed groove and held in place with glue and 
    a spline inserted into the groove.

No stains were used on the wood.  All colors are natural.  Three coats of wipe on polyurethane were applied as a finish, followed by two applications of BRIWAX which was hand rubbed to produce the final effect. 

Approximately 1200 hours were spent on the sleigh and reindeer project. 

A few years before making the full scale sleigh I made a mini version (below) from the same plan.