Alaskan winter

[Ronald Bock]

Took a long break from the duckboat page. Been carving alot each winter. A couple years ago I started collaborative work with my daughter. I carve and she paints. Her paint jobs are incredible.
This winter she just finished a harlequin. I am rounding out a bunch of goldeneyes for her next painting project. After that will be some wigeon.
It's fun working with my daughter.

 

[Dani]

Welcome back! Your daughter definitely has done a great job with her paint job

 

[Ronald Bock]

Welcome back! Your daughter definitely has done a great job with her paint job

She is a talented painter. She's getting better with carving too.

 

[Don Mintz]

She's a great artist, my son painted decoys for me for several years. I miss having him in the shop everyday. That blue wing is a stunner, what a talent your daughter is.

 

[Ronald Bock]

Snowing hard outside. Finished the day by priming 2 common and one Barrows goldeneyes.
Im also refinishing my daughter's 50 year old model 1200. The stock was in need of a new finish. It's on it's 6th coat of oil. Turning out great. Should be good for another 50.

 

[Don Mintz]

What kind of oil are you using on the shotgun stock. I use Birchwood Casey Tru Oil on my landing nets. I usually put on 8 coats and an additional coat each year to cover dings. My son was a fly fishing guide for 4 years and had the boat nets out nearly every day for 5 months a season, never an issue.

 

[Ronald Bock]

What kind of oil are you using on the shotgun stock. I use Birchwood Casey Tru Oil on my landing nets. I usually put on 8 coats and an additional coat each year to cover dings. My son was a fly fishing guide for 4 years and had the boat nets out nearly every day for 5 months a season, never an issue.

I used Watco Danish oil in dark walnut. After the first three coats I began vigorously buffing the oiled finish (just like polishing shoes in basic training). At the end of 8 coats it turned out beautiful. That oil will last much longer than varnish.

 

[Capt Rich Geminski]

Took a long break from the duckboat page. Been carving alot each winter. A couple years ago I started collaborative work with my daughter. I carve and she paints. Her paint jobs are incredible.
This winter she just finished a harlequin. I am rounding out a bunch of goldeneyes for her next painting project. After that will be some wigeon.
It's fun working with my daughter.

Ron, where are you located in Alaska? Have a buddy in Eagle River. He now winters in south carolina. Never hunted there, but fished there...

 

[Don Mintz]

my dad used danish oil almost exclusively on the wood work he made. I had a friend in kansas that always used tru oil, so that's what I used on this landing net. The wood came from the family farm, my dad traded a few black walnut trees to a mobile saw mill that used a vacuum kiln on his wood. The raw lumber stayed in the basement of the house for a decade, then my brother and dad took it to the university wood shop where my dad was the head of the industrial education department and proceeded to joint and plane all of it. When my dad passed in 2017 I brought a few boards back to Idaho and made several landing nets, a couple of drift boat nets and several wade nets. I took several boards that had white wood in them and it made a nice contrast in the bent wood laminations. It was a fun project.

 

[Ronald Bock]

Ron, where are you located in Alaska? Have a buddy in Eagle River. He now winters in south carolina. Never hunted there, but fished there...

Fairbanks/North Pole in interior AK.

 

[Ronald Bock]

Sealed and Gessoed the common goldeneyes (2) and sent them to my daughter for painting. Got the Barrows all sealed. I'll send him home with her this weekend. She's gonna be busy painting.
Starting to sand on a bufflehead as well. It's a diver kind of winter.

 

[Don Mintz]

very nice work on those, barrows are one of my favorite divers and they do love to land with their own kind.

I have a friend in North Pole, no not Santa.

It's not a diver kind of winter here. I haven't seen a single one. We went fly fishing at one of our duck spots on Tuesday and saw no ducks at all. But it was warm, 44 or so, didn't even get ice in the guides on the rod. I don't know where the ducks are, but they aren't where I'm at.

 

[Ronald Bock]

Finished up the American Goldeneye. It's on a shelf next to my daughter's first goldeneye from 25 years ago.
Got base coats on the Barrows and the bufflehead. I'll be working on the Barrows all weekend. My daughter wants to do the Buffy.

 

[Don Mintz]

They are looking good. Barrows are one of my favorite ducks. I'm anxious to see them finished.

 

[Ronald Bock]

 

[Don Mintz]

excellent work.

 

[Ronald Bock]

More projects. One drake pintail and six wigeon in the works. It's a long cold winter here in North Pole. Yesterday was the shortest day of the year (2 hours of daylight). Days will slowly start getting longer. By June it will be 24 hour daylight.

 

[Ronald Bock]

excellent work.

Thank you. I butcher the wood and she slings on the paint. Ha ha.

 

[Ronald Bock]

The Buffy my daughter finished last weekend. The Barrows was this week. The commons (2) will be next week. We're putting along pretty good after work and on weekends.

 

[Don Mintz]

that bufflehead is beautiful.