September workbench

[William Reinicke]

Almost posted this yesterday, as they were completed last evening in August, but then I didn’t want to take away from Kevin’s urn post. It was a nice piece to end the August workbench, so I guess I’ll start this months carvers workbench thread.

I am always trying to be weird with my decoys. From different positions to oddities in the spreads. You know what they say…. Build it and they will come. I’d love my shot at a leustic decoying into the spread one day.

Full bodies are next up and I only have a month to have them ready. Gotta hustle!

 

[Don Mintz]

they look great, that leucitic is pretty cool, makes me want to make a silver wood duck.

I have a theory about multiple poses and it's just a theory. I goose hunted a couple decades ago with a guy hunting with mostly silhouette decoys, he was explaining why they were so effective. He set them up 3 in a group facing the center, he said he believed the disappearing and reappearing of decoys as the birds circle gives an appearance of movement. I think the same with multiple poses, as birds start looking around at your decoys they don't see chinese tin soldiers all faced the same way, they see all kinds of activity. I do hunt rivers and current almost exclusively so motion isn't an issue with the reinikeels. I've always had river keels, but Williams design is a vast improvement.

The first decoy I ever made to hunt over was a white tail doe silhouette I made out of heavy card board. The deer silos were kind of a new thing, I had a big piece of cardboard and an airbrush. The very first day I had it out I killed a little buck with my bow at about 15 yards coming into my silo doe. He came across two fields about 300 yards to get to her. Then my dad wanted one and the neighbor wanted one. They both killed deer with those decoys, but the neighbor had the best experience. His buck came in and circled a bit and when he got directly behind the decoy he got real squirrely, kind of like where did she go. Once he got to where he could see the decoy again he settled down and caught an arrow. That decoy didn't just create movement, she disappeared and reappeared just like magic.

 

[Cody Foster]

It’ll never work. Doesn’t have an eye. Ha ha.

It is pretty cool! Did you paint it normal then hit it with white?

 

[William Reinicke]

It’ll never work. Doesn’t have an eye. Ha ha.

It is pretty cool! Did you paint it normal then hit it with white?

Lol it does. I haven’t scraped the paint off the glass eyes with an exacto blade yet, on any of the birds. I’ll get that done this weekend when I install the keels and stuff it in the bag.

It’s a completely custom approach. I started with much lighter flocking, I painted all custom mix colors. The browns I use on normal birds were more grays on this bird. Just took my time and color bend with the airbrush until I got it where I liked it. Generally I start with the heads as black paint and black flocking. This one I did black paint white flocking. The flanks, rump and tail, were almond paint and goose gray flocking. The back was rusty metal primer with goose gray flocking. Then I just manipulated to where it got with grays, almonds and whites.

 

[Kevin Puls]

I’m continuing with my journey in wood today. I’m lukewarm to it. It was fun to do some draw shaving. And I’m looking forward to finishing it. But I find the carving to be a little slower than I like. I suspect once I finish this one I’ll go back to cork.

I hollowed this one first and found a bad spot while carving that I have to pack with wood filler.

I’m going to lower the head and tuck it back a little more, then finish shaping with the bow sander. I’m marked up the high spots I need to sand a little and the angle of how I’m going to cut the neck.

I’ll note that this is the very first decoy body ive ever carved freehand with no pattern. I used the Ohio waterfowl stamp as inspiration. I only used a profile for the head. It’s sort of freeing to just let it go.