Decoys-Cork vs Wood

Ryan,
I assume you are referring to the old Victors-Animal Trap?
The theory was that the holes were to provide some suction and help the dekes ride better-Any other info out there? sure would like to hear more, too!
Lee, i am just reporting on the experiment i performed--was totally taken aback by the results, too---Lightening via hollowing certainly does make it eaier to make the deke self-right with a lot less weight--Just for the fun of it, give it a try also--see what the results are for yourself---Just make sure the original size and weight are pretty close

Hey, did you go up to La Pas to hunt? have a fellow up there from wyoming who is playing with some really oversize cans i made for him this past summer---NEVER AGAIN!! Woof, after reading, you got wood from BC, this locale is in Manitoba, eh?
 
I wish I could hunt up there. The mill is called Winton and with the lattitude they are at, the rings are close and the knots are few. They are a premium lumber mill and since I am a premium lumberyard, servicing premium contractors..I have to have the nicest wood around. I made a couple solid dekes from it but the spruce is too heavy and rides too low..they just lay around the shop now.
 
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Lee, while I'm glad you didn't end up a Darwin Award winner/casualty, I gotta say that the sploding teal story (now filed under "it seemed like a good idear at the time") has been good for giggles for those of us who, on occasion, catch ourselves using a similar thought process. Whenever I hear myself begin a thought with "Hey, I'll bet if I..." I force myself to go sit in a corner for 10 minutes before proceeding.
 
Dave, my ears were ringing for two days..the wife was in the house..90' away and asked me if I shot one of my guns. Man, it would have been a cool sight....if it happened to someone else! I find myself, talking myself, into stupid shit all the time. I need to knock that little devil me off my shoulder!
 
Since every one has an opinion, I'm going to give my $.02, even though I'm late. You don't say what type of decoys or water. I agree with Lee, and I like cork for divers and big water. High density tan cork is tough, solid , and impervious to temperature swings.

For puddle ducks I like the light weight of a hollowed decoy. However, when the inside of the decoy is either warmer or colder than the air temperature outside, they are prone to split.

Cork is much more expensive then wood, unless your buying wood from the wrong place. Wood decoys are more valuable then cork and increase in value at a much higher rate then cork. Both mediums are quite easy to shape.

Make a rig of both. Keep your corks as a base for your spread, and rotate wood decoys in an out of your spread each season. Mike
 
Cork is much more expensive then wood, unless your buying wood from the wrong place. Wood decoys are more valuable then cork and increase in value at a much higher rate then cork. Both mediums are quite easy to shape.
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By my estimate, cork is going for around $3 - $3.50 a board foot, which is pretty comparable to cedar.
What are you getting and where are you getting it that makes wood so much cheaper than cork?

I'm not trying to be argumentative here. I'm looking for a source for cheap lumber.

Thanks
 
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What I meant to ask in the above post is where in the world can you find wood at a price that it is much less than cork? I've never heard anyone say that and I've been wanting to start on some wood birds.
 
Not to answer for Mike..but he lives in Wisconsin and gets cedar logs, cuts them to length and uses a froh (sp) to square the block. He was coming past the lumberyard one day and stopped in to shoot the breeze and gave me a cedar stump about 2' long cause I asked him to bring me a piece of wood..be careful what you ask for! I tried squaring the thing up and couldn't even split it. The log was probably 14" in diameter and 2' long and weighed about 8 lbs..I got it home and the wife fell in love with it so it sitts next to the garage door next to her planter.
 
Kyle, I have found black cork for around $4.5 per decoy and tan cork around $6.50, but my wood ones are usually around $2.00. I get end cuts(cedar,pine,or basswood) from a flooring place that saws old barn beams for $.50 per decoy. I also pick up cypress from the old water towers quite cheap, before the furniture guys run the price up.

I don't know where you live, but I live in Wisconsin logging country and then are more then a dozen mills within 10 square miles. Also I split out a lot of my own bolts of pine or cedar. Recently I found that black willow when dry is comparable to white cedar, has less knots, and carves great.

If you are in my area I certainly can help you locate some wood. Mike
 
Hey, Mike.
Both Kyle and I are in Alabama and we just can't get cedar. Most of our cost is shipping. Most of what we can find is $2.00-$2.50 a bd. ft. at the mill, dried. Then we just about double it to get it down here.
How come you're paying so much for cork? I just took the 24x36x4" sheet size and put it into board feet and divided that into Willy's price per sheet. I guess you're accounting for waste when cutting it up. I'd love to try my hand at Cedar birds but for now, I've just got too much cork on hand.
Thanks for mentioning cypress. I didn't know that cypress was an option. I've got a buddy in La. that might be able to put me onto some. I'll look into it.
 
Bill, I also live in wood country. I haven't been carving decoys, but thinking about it. One wood of the size that I think would carve decent is popple, some places called cotton wood. A variety here is big tooth aspen. very much like bass wood. It would have to be sealed well or it would rot if left damp. They use it a lot for interior 2 by 4 in houses or solid wood paneling. It is a pretty white wood. The paper mills use a lot of it in Wis. This would a really inexpensive wood and easy to obtain in the size for decoys, After logging, the loggers leave large pieces at the landings because they are to short. A chain saw and you are in business. I have a Cedar swamp behind the house but most of it is to small for decoys.
 
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