DECEMBER - What's on your work bench?

What a great month......like presents on the Website everytime I open it....


From Steve's Pintail at the beginning to Bob's Pickleheads for the Blind Box to anchor, (at least to date), and all the other neat stuff in between, (love those wire legs on Jode's Heron)......since we still have a couple of weeks we'll hopefully continue to outdo every other month so far.......KEEP EM COMING....


Steve.....your note on SJS....my initials are SLS so while I don't share your talent I can at least say I share that with you......BTW your card holders are sooo cool...not cool enough to make me wish I still needed one to come out of retirement for but still really neat......maybe I need to resurrect my old "HAVE GUN WILL TRAVEL" Business Cards.....


Steve
 
That goose head is teaching me a few dozen things about carving a great decoy head.
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The detail and attention Bob puts into a head are top-notch, both in effort expended and outcome achieved, right down to the "wrinkles"! Just keep in mind that your head stock should have the grain running vertically through it. If you purchase it from a vendor, be sure to specificy this...or, you will likely be required to sink a finishing nail in the finished bills to insure that they hold-up- a lesson I recently learned.
 
Great work from everyone this month. I've been working on a few things for Christmas presents for my family. Finishing up a brook trout mounted on an antique sign. Will post that when it's finished. Here's a green wing drake finished up.

Now to work on the shop itself. Have to start cleaning up my new old power tools I acquired, build a new bench, and install the wood stove.


 
"Just keep in mind that your head stock should have the grain running vertically through it. If you purchase it from a vendor, be sure to specificy this...or, you will likely be required to sink a finishing nail in the finished bills to insure that they hold-up- a lesson I recently learned."

??? - Don't really understand what you're trying to convey here, Rick. I assume you're talking about the end grain orientation in the odd board from a quarter sawn log, but you may really confuse some of the rookie carvers with a statement like that. Rare that you're going to pick up a block big enough for head stock with that problem.Anyway, to clarify:
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ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS!!! lay out your head pattern with the horizontal (straight) run of the surface of your block.......or you really will have problems with the bill breaking.
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SLS~

Most retirees won't need a holder for their cards - whether fowl-shaped or not - but I have found it handy to have "calling cards" in my wallet - so I can give others my contact info without having to quickly scrawl it onto an old ATM receipt with a blunt pencil. It's one of those 19th C ideas that still has utility - as in: Have gun, will travel. I just use my home printer on the business card stock from Staples.

Happy Holidays!

SJS
 
Thanks for the clarification! I don't think this is rare, since a decoy carving supply vendor recently shipped me basswood head stock pre-cut to dimensions that would only allow head cut-out with the grain running horizontally through the bill. When I asked him why he sells headstock to decoys carvers with a woodgrain orientation that maximizes the probability of bill breakage down the road, I was told that I should pre-specify how I wanted the woodgrain orientation, since he sells headstock pieces with both wood grain orientations.
 
Like Mark, I used a down day yesterday (5 inches of rain) to build a workbench for my new shop. This will be more of a mechanical, vehicle maintenance shop than woodworking or decoy shop. So it's built to support a V8 short block. Still thinking about how to finish it.

I also turned a clam stick. This will likely require some explanation to those not from the PNW, but during winter low low tides we go razor clamming. So like tonight there is a negative tide (-1.3 feet). Half the human inhabitants of western Washington heads to the beach in the wind and rain and darkness to go harvest really sweet razor clams. As you can imagine looking for clam shows (a small hole or divot in the sand) below high tide in the wind and rain can be difficult. Especially like Friday night when there was a high surf advisory. We had 20 foot rollers coming in and about every 4 or 5 minutes you'd find yourself knee deep in surf when you were on wet sand 50 yards from the surf. Back to the clam stick. If you thump the wet sand occasionally you will see the siphon hole of the clams collapse indicating the presence of a clam. It takes a solid thump to cause this to happen. I used a 50+ year white ash baseball bat blank to make my thumping stick. There is a long story behind the lathe and white ash blanks but both came from Kezar Falls, Maine many years ago. The Turks Head with wrist strap is a homage to Steve Sanford.

 
... So it's built to support a V8 short block. Still thinking about how to finish it. ...
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My goto finish for workbench tops is a homemade wiping varnish. 1/3 varnish, 1/3 thinner (Mineral spirits or turpentine), and 1/3 oil (boiled linseed or tung oil).

Flood it onto the surface, let it sit for 10-15 minutes then wipe off the excess. let it dry for a bit and repeat at least three times. Then follow up with a heavy coat of paste wax.

It's so easy to apply you can't screw it up. It provides plenty of protection from basic use. you can pop up dried glue with a chisel. Plus, it's easy to repair if you really want. just remove he wax with an MS wipe, give it a light sanding and flood on a couple more coats. Then again, it's a workbench so you really only need basic protection. you do work on, not serve dinner. it shouldn't really look too nice in the end. It should look used.
 
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Brad~

Interesting info about your clamming traditions. When I saw that club - even with your fine marlinspike seamanship on that Turk's Head - I was a bit fearful that there would be more "self defense" in securing/subduing those bivalves.

Merry Christmas!

SJS
 
Brad~

Interesting info about your clamming traditions. When I saw that club - even with your fine marlinspike seamanship on that Turk's Head - I was a bit fearful that there would be more "self defense" in securing/subduing those bivalves.

Merry Christmas!

SJS
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Doug, sounds like a good finish for the workbench surface.

I am chuckling Steve. I was wondering who was going to comment about needing a baseball bat to subdue the clams
 
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Holy cow, I don't think I'd like to meet up with one of those clams on a dark wintery night! LOL!

I'll stick with docile+calm oysters you can subdue with a culling hammer. ;.)

Neat history and technique!
 
In your best Sea Chanty rhythm....


CLAMMMZZZO BOYs....CLAMZOooohhh


CLAMZOOOOHHHH ME BOYsssss CLAMMMMMZOHHHHhhhh....


With all respect and reverence to the inimitable Arlo Guthrie's EPIC Poem re: Man Eating NorthWest Clams.....


Good to see someone taking up where Arlo left off....one can never be too diligent when it comes to "killer clams" and while the Clam Bat is a good start I'd suggest you add a "clampoon" to your arsenal as quickly as possible....once you as thusly armed let me know and I'll trade you a Gator hunt here for a WetCoast Clam hunt.....


Keeping the Northwests Beaches safe one bludgeoned Clam at a time......LOVE IT.....


Steve
 
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I figured Steve would post a picture of a geoduck (pronounced gueyduck).
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They might require a bat and a clampoon. Maybe you have blueprints for a clampoon that you can share Steve.
 
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