carving black cork

G

George Mechelse

New member
Hi guys, going to be starting my first black cork decoys. Never carved on cork before. I do have lots of experience with tupelo, cedar and basswood. Wondering if any of you could pass along any tips on what the best methods for carving and sealing. I have a foredom and am aware of the Traditions cork sealer as a sealing option. Any help appreciated

George
 
I would seal them with something like mineral spirits thinned spar varnish, which will penetrate the decoy body deeper, prior setting-up and drying. Use at least two coats. You will want a very good carving dust evacuation system, along with an apron for black cork, which becomes charged when rasped-off, or via removal wit a Foredom tool. I use a cylinder head with a fine/medium tooth pattern with a light touch. It tends to pull fewer big chunks of cork off the block during rough shaping. You can still finesse some detail in with this head as well, as you close-in on a final shape for your bodies. Coarse grit sandpaper for final shaping.
 
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Ditto on the spar varnish, just seal it well! Some people use a slurry of spar and cork dust or saw dust to smear over the decoy and fill in some voids. See Grayson Chesser's "Making Decoys the Centuries Old Way." Those big voids can make sealing and painting tough if you aren't thorough, but I've never filled them.
Personally, I've never used my foredom on black cork. A rasp makes very quick work of it and in my opinion, you can feel the vulnerable spots in the cork that might break off better. Just don't go too hard. You'll figure out what's best for you on the first block.

Mike
 
Good morning, George~

I, too, am in the rasp camp (X-acto knife for the heads). In fact, the black cork is so coarse that I am very careful with my big coarse rasp and quickly switch to a smaller, finer rasp to avoid tearing out chunks of the cork. Actually, my first step is to attack the sawn-out blank with a bread knife - or even knock the "corners" off with the bandsaw.

Coarse (36-grit) sandpaper on a block is handy for final shaping, as are coarse rifflers if you want any detail - as for wing groups or the "rollout" on the sides. I "finish" sand with 80-grit.

I seal with spar varnish.

BTW: There's a lot to be said for gluing on a 1/4-inch AC plywood bottom board (protects the "chines" and provides a good base for a keel) and most birds benefit from a tail insert (plywood, lumber, heavy plastic).

Hope this helps!

SJS
 
Once again Steve is spot on!!Leave the foredom for the heads and stick with a rasp and course paper.
I have about 80 black cork divers and only one that got destroyed by water. Thin your first coat of spar and put it on heavy.
Good luck, John
 
Black Cork comes in many different densities from super crumbly to very tough.

I use a Rasp on all of them. Start with a Stanley Sur-Form, and finish work with better rasps, then the metal sanding insert that fits the Sur-Form.

For sealing the cork I save fine black cork dust, mix with Spar Varnish, and spackle the entire decoy. Let cure for 3-4 weeks. Then rasp and sand to the finish desired. Then I seal again with Spar Varnish.

From shorebirds to giant Canada's, black cork works just fine, if yer willing to take the time.

Good luck and you will be impressed with black cork dust & static electricity. The dust sticks to everything.

Oh, and WEAR A GOOD DUST MASK ALWAYS.
 
Can't go wrong with Vince's advice. Try and find the convex surface Surfoam rasp. In addition, you may want to whip yourself up a bow sander using a cut sanding belt for final shaping.
 
I use the term Foredom generically, I actually use air driven die grinders. I gave up on Foredoms with the constantly breaking cables. I guess I use them too hard.


Joe
 
George, my approach is a bit different . I am usually making a rig so i try to cut corners to speed things up. Obviously i am referring to gunners not mantel birds.
1.While the bird to be is still in block form i find and mark the center or keel line on the bottom. Using a spade bit i drill a hole about 1" deep then i glue a piece of dowel into the hole flush with the bottom. This is the rear anchor point for the keel.
2.After sanding and shaping i round the chine edges ,then seal the bottom and up the sides about an inch [above the waterline]with waterbase spar.
3. After drying i apply 3to1 epoxy a coat or two to protect the chine and bottom. I use no bottom board.
4. Finish as others have stated or continue with waterbase spar and or 3to1. I also cheat by using Autumn Wings heads or Homer heads.

This is the second year for these birds and they don't have a lot of water time on them but they seem to be holding up fine. Time will tell.
 
Regarding shaping black cork,
Depending on the density of the cork ,i you can buy 9/10 lb density is a much tighter grain with out any the big charcoal pieces in it . Either way i find it best to use a fine rasp for it makes for a much smother job does not take out large Big pieces falling out which which you then have to fill, & then finish off with 60 grit sandpaper .
Regarding the sealing ,depends on is it going to become a painted bird such as a mallard i use 50 percent thinned out spar varnish 2 coats.
If your going to just make black duck decoys you may want to try a method i have used successfully, refer to my November 9th posting under my name ,that shows the procedure i use to seal as well & is a very good looking natural black duck color. I would like to have a nickel for all i have shoot using that method with the black cork.
 
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