Decoy eyes

Matt Vanderpan

Matt Vanderpan

Active member
Hey fellas I am wondring about eyes for decoy heads. Where do you get them, how do you set them and any likes or dislikes some of you have on the topic? I have found this thread by HUntinDave and MLBob

http://duckboats.net/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=14624;search_string=glass%20eyes;#14624

My question is I guess what is the diffeance between the eyes on wires and the flat back eyes? Do you guys use the same eyes taxidermists use on mounts?

Here is head #3

I still have a bit of excess to take off but I am really enjoying making these so far!!

Lil and I were talking last night how in a yr we'll laugh a yr from now at some of the things we did on the first couple heads.

Last night I used a chisel to hog out some of the extra wood.

here are a couple photos of Head #3

CoyHead004.jpg


CoyHead005.jpg

 
I get eyes from Willy at The Duck Blind when I am making a fancier bird and eyes from Tohican or Van Dyke's for beater birds. You need to orient your bills to go WITH the grain intead of against...a bump on the boat will snap that bill.
 
I'll see if I can take some pics of setting an eye and post them. My PC just pooped the bed at home, so I am not sure when I would be able to get the photos up though.

Nate
 
difference?, more money, I don't know. your making gunners correct? no need to spend $3-5 a pair, go to Van dykes or tohickon websites

van dykes-standard pupil, think the number is T1sp
tohickon -flat back 112's

either place should be about a $1.20 a pair

I make gunning birds, so I don't mess with eyelids are anything like that, so I keep is simple. For setting all I do is take a small spade bit, slightly bigger than the glass eye, measure where eyes should go and drill deep enough so the eye will set in a bit. take either plastic wood or epoxy sculpt fill the hole up, place eye in and squeeze so its sets down in a bit and is not bug eyed, scrape excess and fill the next the hole.

Along these lines, I was up visiting an old upper bay carver this weekend and I was asking him why so many antique Canvasback birds have yellow painted eyes instead of the proper red. He said he asked the same question of his grandfather, a carver, when he was young. The answer he got was "if the birds are that close to notice, they should be dead."

so its all up to you how straight forward or fancy you want to go, doesn't make much difference to the ducks on some things.
 
Can't go wrong with Willy at the Duck Blind. The eyes he sells are not only high quality, but very reasonably priced when you compare them to other options. Plus, Willy will always treat you right.

Starting out, it might be smart to buy what you can afford, but as you progress and if you stick with it, I think you'll find the difference is negligilble for a better looking eye.

I know all about "They'll be dead when they're close enough to see the eyes." but there aren't too many of us carving to please the birds. Truth is, the birds won't know if your decoys are wood , cork, or plastic either. So use what you can live with right where you are now in this whole carving thing.

Google Van Dykes if you're looking for cheaper grades.

noisywidgeon 008 (600 x 519).jpg
 
Gee whiz Bob, you used to bust my chops for using "Museum quality" eyes! heh heh heh.
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I have merely aquired that maturity and appreciation of the fine details that comes with age. Are you thinking about Au Train in October '08?
 
And, I went the other way..heh heh heh. Yes, I am planning to go. There are 10,000 little potholes up there I want to try.
 
Lee,

Here are a couple photos of the decoy head from the back. How should I have cut the head? I thought as long as you could follow the rings from the front to the back and not right to left things should be stable.

CoyHead002.jpg



Here is the left side

CoyHead006.jpg



The bottom left corner is the center of the log.

Thanks for the info guys!! Great wealth of info!!
 
That's some pretty grainey wood!. The left side looks like what you want,grain going out to the tip of the bill.The right side looked like the grain was going across the bill. That wood is from the center of the log, try to get some from out a ways. Those splits you are getting is caused by using heart wood. What are you getting for carving wood?
 
What are you getting for carving wood?
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The free stuff!!! I have a friend with a saw mill that gets all the trees that are cut down in town by the city and local tree services. We cut the logs into foot lengths with the chain saw and square it up with the splitting maul then block it out on the band saw.

Chris and I found a couple cedar logs that were very dry. That is what we have been chipping away at. We are still in the learning process so we are still doing a lot of things the hard way just because we don’t know any better!! We are having a TON of fun and will gobble up any info you guys are willing to share!!
 
What are you getting for carving wood?
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The free stuff!!! so we are still doing a lot of things the hard way
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Matt, Here's something you can do to smooth the learning curve: Drop a few bucks on a basswood block (doesn't have to be anywhere as big as the one pictured ). The reason I say this is that you'll have a much easier time getting your knife to work a good piece of clear wood that cuts like butter, than you will trying to carve rock-hard stuff, or cutting & sanding through sap rings. When the wood helps your knife and sandpaper work you'll get a much better idea of what your tools can do. bass 004 (600 x 355).jpg Free materials are great, but if they're not of carving quality, they're not much of a bargain. Invest in good materials and tools as your pocketbook allows. You'll be glad you did.
 
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What are you getting for carving wood?
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The free stuff!!! so we are still doing a lot of things the hard way
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Matt, Bob is right about getting better wood, but if you are set on doing things the hard way, split it down the middle, preferably where the cracks are already showing, then square it up.

This is how I get my head stock:

http://duckboats.net/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=17670;#17670

I get multi-year dried basswood from my dad, who cuts it out of his woodlot. I got the last couple dry blocks from him last fall:

basswood009.jpg


He cut a bunch more this winter for me.

Chuck
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Chuck, load up that Basswood and take it to a mill. Lori Huff may have a bunch left that Chuck had done. I have a bunch in my shop that Chuck and I traded. I gotta get my ass in gear and start whacking on it again.
 
I gotta get my ass in gear and start whacking on it again.
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You goto get that ass of yours in gear and over to Paully's. This week is still out for me, but next should be good. I have a goose ready for skin, thought I'd bring that along, Paul was interested in seeing it done.

Chuck
 
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