JANUARY 2017 - What's on your Workbench ?

Steve Sanford

Well-known member
All~

These are all Christmas commissions - each of which I got done just in time (things sort of got away from me in 2016). I did not post all of these photos earlier because 1) I did not want to spoil any holiday surprises and 2) I was too busy carving, painting and gunning to post. And, I did a few other things to prep for Christmas.

All are hollow wood gunners. The teals are Basswood and the Mallards and Pintails are Atlantic White Cedar. They are sealed with spar varnish and painted with latex/acrylics.

I mostly regret that I had neither the time nor the conditions - too much ice everywhere - to photograph these birds on the water, as gunning stool should be.

"We Three Teals" went to 3 different kids in Oregon. Dad of the Year Award ?


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This was my first Cinnamon.


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And my customary "biologically incorrect" BWT horns - inspired by the Minnesota Vikings.


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Luckily, these Pintails were not needed until New Years!




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All the best,

SJS

 
Steve - Excellent work, I wish I was one of the lucky recipients.

Your artistic talent for breathing life in wood, cork or foam never ceases to amaze me
 
Nice work Steve. Your birds are wonderful in their apparently simple lines and colors but we know it takes effort and practice to make it look so simple.

This actually should be in the December work bench thread or maybe November if that means when it was started, but the brown trout is getting shipped on Tuesday. It represents a big brown my son caught in Colorado. The flash shifts the colors in the wood. But the black walnut comes from trees on a farm we had in Maryland. The quarter sawn big-leaf maple (representing scale pattern) comes from Washington and was the tree my son had a tree house in when he was growing up. The Red C is cherry and Yellow Sun is alder stained yellow. The C and sun and white and dark stripes represent the flag of Colorado where my son lives now. So it connects the places he has spent the first 30 years of his life.

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And here is the fish.

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Basswood heads for a pair of canvasbacks; one tan cork and the other wood. I still have to do some finish work at the bill junction and set a pair of eyes with Apoxie Sculpt






 
Mr. Sanford, Excellent group of decoys. The trio of teal is especially nice. Some lucky kids....
It's been awhile since I've posted anything, mostly because it took me forever to paint this decoy. I'm finally calling it done.

 
Amazing work Steve, I think my mind has been set I definitely want to get a few ( or a dozen! ) blocks from you
 
I got a couple of projects finished. The first is Bull's twin brother.

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The second is a set of oars. I built my widgeon three years ago but never bought oars for it. I carried a canoe paddle with me for a pinch. I have been having motor issues this year so I bought a set of oars and figured I would just hunt areas that I could row. Unfortunately I didn't get them into service this year.

I started with a set of 7 ft spruce oars from Jamestown Distributors. They came with a nice shiny finish, so I started by sanding them down. I did not want to use pinned oar locks, I had a pair break on me once, so I bought a set of bronze feathering locks. I figured I should wrap the oar shafts to prevent wear from the oar locks. I looked at leather, but wasn't sure that was the way I wanted to go. I saw a post showing oars wrapped with nylon rope and thought that might be a little easier to maintain. I used 3/16" nylon rope to wrap the shaft and then put a Turk's Head to keep the oars from sliding out of the oar locks.

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After wrapping, I applied a coat of thinned epoxy and then two coats of FME.

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I am happy with the way they came out. I'm going to have to spend some time next summer getting used to the feathering oars. The one thing I still need to do is put white lines by the handles to indicate the blade. I'm thinking this will help in dim light to make sure the blades are in the correct position for rowing.

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Good morning, Darin~

Nice bird! - but the oars caught my attention....I'm a sucker for Turk's Heads.

I, too, plan to learn to feather oars this summer. Regarding the need for the white index marks: I am told they are unnecessary. When you let go of the oars and they are allowed to float freely, the blades lay flat on the water. So, I am guessing that the trick is to grab the oars the "right" way when you start to row.

I'll know more by the end of the summer, I hope.....

All the best,

SJS

 
Good morning, Darin~

Nice bird! - but the oars caught my attention....I'm a sucker for Turk's Heads.

I, too, plan to learn to feather oars this summer. Regarding the need for the white index marks: I am told they are unnecessary. When you let go of the oars and they are allowed to float freely, the blades lay flat on the water. So, I am guessing that the trick is to grab the oars the "right" way when you start to row.

I'll know more by the end of the summer, I hope.....

All the best,

SJS


[size 4]

You might like the reference line if you are using spoon blade or cupped oars. Otherwise unnecessary as noted previously.
 
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All~

Here's another. This is a Homer Sleeper. I coated it with epoxy + crushed walnut shells (fine grade). Because I am uneasy about the walnuts - it seems like the dense particles simply get glued to the decoy but do not absorb the epoxy - I painted the entire bird with the dark brown (Behr Espresso Beans) before the finish painting - as a sealer coat.


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And, here is proof that George Williams knows a thing or two about painting......



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(Is it just me - or is that Williams Drake gloating ? )


All the best,

SJS

 
Steve, perhaps, he looks that way because he is happily doing his job for the gentleman in Rhode Island who sent me the picture. His rig mates were not included in the shot.
Man, I thought the guys in R I only shot blacks, mergies and buffies.
Now I know where the fowl in the flyway are hanging out.
Thanks for posting.
 
George i drive all over lower new england for work. when i have extra time i look for birds. RI is absolutely dirty with birds the whole season. the difference between RI and CT is mind blowing.

i was there yesterday and was amazed at the scoter rafts off a certain beach....
 
Trying something a little different. I saw a 16" weathered board sitting there so I decided to try painting a brown trout on it.

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Tim
 
Very nice brownie painting, Joe!
OOps, that was Tim. Saw the pic re=posted under Joe's reply.
Mea Culpa!
 
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