Build pictures of a different sort....

MLBob Furia

MLBob Furia

Well-known member
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Someone commented to me recently that one of the things he enjoys most about DHBP is the postings that include a photo record of how a project has progressed. The digital age has made that a bit easier for all of us when we try to remember to have the camera nearby.
Retirement has allowed that there are always birds in some stage of progress/ completion in one of my workshops.

Recently I started a decoy and attempted to try and remember to take pictures as I went along in the carving process. For the places where there are gaps in the record, you can access a pre-digital set of aticles that still exist on the Mighty Layout Boys site. It's a pretty good look at how the carving process progresses: http://www.mightylayoutboys.com/domino/mlb/MLB_resources.nsf/70a6f77f66efa18785256a0b00445878/f10d5b5ace522bd588256a850007e7c3?OpenDocument

Started with a new pattern drawing for a blackduck hen. Lots of guys save patterns on 1/4 " plywood cutouts; I find that drawing paper cutouts allows me to manipulate changes more easily. Ones worth saving can be stored compactly in file folders or manilla envelopes.

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Once the pattern was drawn, I cut a suitable sized block of cork that would accept the dimensions of the pattern, and a cedar bottom board was attached to it with clamps and glue.

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In order to correctly locate the board for the tail insert, I transferred the pattern outline to this completed block as soon as it had time to thoroughly dry. The tailboard insert slot was cut while the block was still square; then the tailboard itself (pine) was glued in and clamped prior to cutting out the body pattern with the bandsaw.

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While all this drying of glue took place, I transferred my head pattern to a block of clear basswood. did the head cutout and carved the head for the decoy. For me, this was a good way to insure I don't take the block out of the clamps before the glue had a few days to thoroughly harden.

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When the glue was dry, I bandsawed out the pattern, then re-drew a series of reference lines I always use to guide me as I shape the body block. It was here that I decided the final position for the head.

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Then the shaping of the body was done. When the body was almost complete, I attached the head - clamping and glueing once again before the neck joint was shaped. All this was followed by any light detail carving in areas I wanted to stand out in relief (usually primaries & tertial feathers). Lots of sanding followed.

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Next, I drilled holes for dowels up through the bottom boards and into the
wood of the tail insert and head. Hardwood dowels were then glued in so everything will be rock-solid and withstand abuse.

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Got to go cook burgers now. Will finish post a bit later.
 
Bob,

I was right with you up till you drew the reference lines on the sawed cutout. Then miraculously the transformation took place and "body curves" appeared in place of the reference lines. I got to learn to do that some day. :>) :>)

Actually I did work on a Canvasback myself today. I'm not ready to post photos yet but it is coming along well and I am pleased at this point in time. It just seems that it takes me tons more time to produce a decoy than what I see others taking. I try not to get [font=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica]discouraged, [/font]but sometimes my work flow gets interrupted because of time constants.

Anyway, thanks for this posting. Every bit of info always adds to my knowledge and you certainly give a fellow something to aspire to. Nice work and I especially like the dowels. It really reinforces the idea that you expect your decoys to be used and appreciated as a decoy as well as art.
 
Bob,

I was right with you up till you drew the reference lines on the sawed cutout. Then miraculously the transformation took place and "body curves" appeared in place of the reference lines. I got to learn to do that some day. :>) :>)
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Dave, I hear ya'. This really wasn't intended to be a step by step "how to" - just thought folks would be interested in seeing the progression of stages. However, I did realize that some folks would like the gaps filled in. That's why I put the link to the old MLB tutorials in the first post. If you look at that series (I think there's 5 or 6 parts). You'll find lots of practical info...including where the wood removal around all those reference lines needs to take place.


You know, you make an interesting point about the time constraints we have to overcome in order to pursue things we want to get better at. I think a lot of the newcomers to carving never realize how key that factor is. It's not found in any book, and it has to be reckoned with. .... I like to think that the time we want to spend getting better isn't largely profit-motive driven. In fact that may end up as a discouraging factor if it's our initial driver.


I've been hearing a lot lately about this book, Outliers - where the premise is that it takes 10,000 hours of practice/doing to really become exceptional at something. I have some musician friends whose level of skill simply astounds me, but this guy's thinking kind of puts it in perspective. I look at a guy like David Clark, and marvel at what he can do..... yet how many hours has Dave put in becoming a master of his craft??


Here's a review I found on-line:

"Earlier this week I picked up Malcolm Gladwell’s new book, Outliers: The Story of Success
ir
,and all I have to say is wow. I cannot put it down. For those who aren’t familiar with Gladwell, he also penned the books The Tipping Point and Blink, which also happen to be two amazing reads. In Outliers, the premise is simple: Why do some people succeed far more than others? Gladwell argues that (this is taken directly from the inside flap) if we want to understand how some people thrive, we should spend more time looking around them — at such things as their family, their birthplace, or even their birth date (my note: Read what I wrote in the first MLB article about my art influences and growing up in the household of a portrait artist). The story of success is more complex — and a lot more interesting — than it initially appears.


Gladwell dedicates an entire chapter to what he calls the “10,000 Hour Rule.” In that chapter he asks a very simple question: is there such a thing as innate talent? Which is to say, are there some people out there who are just naturally gifted and just float by effortlessly to the top of their chosen field/hobby/sport/what-have-you? The obvious answer is, yes. However, in typical Gladwell fashion, he digs a little deeper.



Gladwell points out that the problem with this view (natural talent) is that the closer psychologists look at the careers of the gifted, the smaller the role innate talent seems to play and the bigger role preparation seems to play. Gladwell notes:

“The idea that excellence at performing a complex task requires a critical minimum level of practice surfaces again and again in studies of expertise. In fact, researchers have settled on what they believe is the magic number for true expertise: ten thousand hours.”​
What separates elite violinists from “good” violinists to those who only end up music teachers? Practice. 10,000 hours to be exact. Why is Bill Gates able to take baths in hundred dollar bills? He spent hours upon hours (hello, 10,000) honing his computer programming skills as a high school student. "

.....I want to read this one.
 
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When the decoy and keel had completely dried, I did a float/self-right test to determine: 1- If the bird has the proper "attitude" for the species while on the water 2- If it will self-right itself when placed in the water upside down. I do this while temporarily attaching the keel with duct tape (Some prefer to use heavy rubber bands).

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This bird floated perfectly, and the shape of the pattern + the weight of the hardwood keel were enough to cause it to self-right with no need for additional weight.

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If that hadn't been the case, I'd be melting and pouring some lead inserts.
( Go back to the picture of the pintail on the bench in the first post... that bird now has two 1" slugs of poured lead in holes bored in either side of the front of its bottom board so it will assume the proper tail high - breast down attitude in the water).

Now that the water testing is complete, the keel is permanently attached.

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That's where I'm at right now. Time to move into the painting shop and start on the part I must admit I enjoy the most. Will post the progression of how I am painting this decoy as I get further along.
 
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Hey...all the color leaked out of your camera!!

Cool pictures Bob.

Take care,

Ed L.
 
Great stuff Bob! I appreciate your heart for sharing and instruction. Hope you and your family are well. God bless all! Pat
 
[font=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica] Hey...all the color leaked out of your camera!!
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Well DUH Ed,,,,,,,,,,,, Bob hasn't painted it yet. The color is yet to come!! Ha
 
Bob,

I wasn't really asking or referring to an actual step by step. (I have read the tutorials on the MLB page and they are great). My statement was more a reflection on my struggle to go from reference lines to body curves smoothly and with ease. I will admit that it does seem to get just a little, even if it is just a little, bit easier the more I do. As you pointed out tho, I loose half of what I had previously learned the first time around, during the lull between carving sessions.

Ten thousand hours huh? Dang, I'll be pushing up daisies by then. I should have started sooner. :>) About the only thing I have that much practice doing is,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, oh wait, my wife won't let me talk about that.

Once again, thanks for sharing your expertise. My goal is to be able to hunt over blocks I can enjoy just watching and to pass a decoy or two on to my grand-kids which they might feel worth hanging on to.
 
Bob
What a great progression in stages to see, thanks for sharing it, what type of paints will you be using oils or acrylics.
Take and God Bless
Eddie and Amber
Its all about Building that Bond.
 
Wow - 10,000 is a pile of hours. It really gives me a perspective on why I may always be a jack of all trades and master of none. Still I can't seem to gain the focus to eliminate any of my many hobbies. It is still easier to add new things than to drop the old.

I think my daughter is well on her way to becoming an exceptional artist. She is doing her first commissioned portrait this summer. I don't think she is completely given over to art as a career, I think she sees it as a very slow an unpredictable way of making money.

My carving is coming along some, but I'm still many thousands of hours short. I guess we shouldn't be so anxious to get carvings done. I'm sure that I gain more than twice the experience that other guys get doing just one decoy. It may be 10 to 100 times more experience than some who seem to crank out decoys like nobody's business.
 
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