Hollowing Tan Cork

Michael B

Michael B

Active member
I'm going to give this a shot. Any advice from those with experience doing this? I'm worried about durability.

I was going to cut the decoy a little over an inch from the bottom, then hollow out "chambers" in the top half so as to leave some kind of internal support structure. Hope that makes sense. Thanks.

Mike
 
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I recently made a brant rig with 4" tan cork & 5/4 pine bottom boards. The cork was hollowed out to 1/2" with a drill press, which I have to admit worried me at first. They have held up fine however, even though my knucklehead retreiver insists on using them as a stool to see over the bow when we are running. No doubt they are more fragile than a cedar or pine body but so far so good.
 
You shouldnt have any problem if you leave enough wall thickness. For cork usually 1" works pretty well. I use the same forstner bits that I use for wood. Some fellas I know have taken to sealing the inside of the hollow as well. I have not done this in the past and have had no problems but I am sure it wont hurt if you want a little insurance.
 
[font=Tahoma, sans-serif]Hollowing Cork Bodies[/font]​


[font=Tahoma, sans-serif]When I hollow cork bodies I still attach the bottom board before I cut out the blank. I use small drops of hot glue to temporarily attach the board to the cork. That way I can pop off the board to do the hollowing process and then re-attach later and have it fit very close. It only takes a couple of very small drops of the glue to hold the BB in place for cutting and I usually put the drops in the middle area where I will be hollowing. I use a screw driver as a pry bar to pop off the board. You will have to repair that small pry spot but it is no big deal.[/font]


[font=Tahoma, sans-serif]If you do not want to use a bottom board you can you can simple cut the decoy in half length ways at or just above the water line. I do this after the decoy is close to final shape. Now this can be a problem running through the bandsaw as you do not have a flat surface to place against the saw table. To solve this problem I make sure that I save the sides from the top view cutouts and use that sides as a cradle. They should be the same shape as your decoy. Absolute care and caution should be exercised when doing this procedure. Once this is finished you are ready to hollow.[/font]

[font=Tahoma, sans-serif]Wall thickness will depend on use vs. durability. My guess would be that you do not want to go less than 3/4 inch or in that neighborhood. I attach the head by drilling a pilot hole down from the top after hollowing and then I can run a screw up from the bottom into the head. I use a large fender washer to seat the screw and reinforce.[/font]
[font=Tahoma, sans-serif]I like to coat the inside with either Jansen Cork sealer or spar varnish after hollowing as a precautionary step against water migrating into the inside. Two or more coats to the entire inside surface should work. The next step is optional if you feel you need to bulk up the hollowed area. I will sometimes fill the cavity with expanding insulation foam and after it has cured I I cut it off flush with the decoy body. This will not add any weight but will make for a solid body.[/font]


[font=Tahoma, sans-serif]Finally I glue the bottom board or cork bottom on using poly glue for the foaming aspects and then I double/triple seal the seam with spar or Cork sealer. I personally like to glue on the keels to avoid putting a screw into the bottom but if you do use screw make double sure that you have the screw holes sealed properly to prevent wicking of water into the cavity.[/font]


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http://www.theduckblind.com/
 
Willy have you found any difference in boyancy by hollowing the cork, IE to light and bouncing around or do they tend to ride a lot better on the water.
take care and God Bless
Eddie.
 
Hey Eddie....good to hear from you. My reasoning for the hollowing is to eliminate weight especially in a puddle duck rig that I carry into a farm pond. The hollowed decoys react just about the same way the standard plastic decoy does. My diver rig I keep solid cork because I don't have to carry them any farther than to the boat. I didn't mention it in the tutorial but I oft times will hollow the head also. Using my drill press and a forstner bit I hollow from the neck up into the head. You do have to get a little creative on attaching the head to the body but I have had good luck using a brad nailer and Titebond three Glue.

Willy
 
Thanks willy for your reply, when I have finished my workshop I intend to be making myself a new puddle duck rig all mallards and the main reason I asked this question is where I shoot here in the UK we have the river running out into the estuary ( The river Mersey near Liverpool ) and its tidal and I was thinking which would be the best way to go, to hollow them or leave them solid, I will be making them out of cork.
take care and God Bless
Eddie.
 
Not to sound like a smartass, but if you are going to go through all the work of hollowing it out, why cork? The first thing that comes to mind is durability. Am I missing something?
 
Pauly nice to see posting mate how do you feel, I would not consider that a smartass question when it comes to cork I am on a learning curve,
of all the decoys I have made they have been out of wood and to date I have not made any cork decoys, so some of these questions need to be awnserd for me as well. Mabe Willy may come up with the awnser to this one.
take care and God Bless
Eddie.
 
Why not cork........it's a fast and easy medium to carve and will still be lighter than wood when it's hollowed yet it can be very durable. And that was the object to get a lighter decoy. I sure would not want to lug a dozen or more solid cedar decoys to my pond. That would wreck my 70 year old body Paul, kinda like carving cedar has taken a toll one your body. That is my way of a lighter hand carved decoy and in the medium that I like to work in.

Willy
 
Thanks for your reply Willy that seems a good enough answer for me.
take care and God Bless
Eddie.
 
Thanks for all the replies. I think I'm ready to go.

Paul, to answer your question, these decoys are 7 years old. I'm making improvements, not starting fresh. I haven't tried carving wood, but would like to give that a shot as well.

Mike
 
Mike thanks for posting this thread I have learned alot from it.
take care and God Bless
Eddie.
 
Like I mentioned. I am not trying to be a smartass. I in no way meant to slight using cork. I in no way meant to be argumentative or disrespectful. I have carved a lot of cork decoys in the past and I know guys (as we all do) who make real nice cork decoys. I don't sell either wood or cork save for a few times a year to raise a few bucks to keep the institute going so I am of the opinion whatever works for you go for it. Personally, for what I'm after in a decoy and the way I carve, and the way I use them, I prefer to work in wood.

The main reason I ask "why hollow cork" is when guys bring up the merits of cork, hollowing seems to negate many of them. Some of the pro cork arguments for cork are that it rides the water like a duck due to its weight and doesn't bob like a hollow wood decoy, soaks up shot and doesn't leak, and quick to make.


This is similar to the argument that the natural finished texture of cork helps make it easier to grab a wet decoy and have a softer look and then going through all the work to make it baby butt smooth before painting.

It seems like its just a lot of work to end up removing pros and being left with the cons (in my opinion).

Also for what its worth, the damage to my hands is a result of a lifetime spent doing backbreaking labor for 60 hours a week.


Respectfully,

Paul
 
Interesting post. I just made my first pair of hollow high density cork birds and look forward to seeing how durable they are.

For the most part, the "floats like a duck" comment regarding cork, was talking about black cork. The longevity of a well made black cork decoy in my opinion is equal to, if not a little better than hollow wood.

I know hollow wood is is the holy grail of decoys, but the critter doesn't hold up for the long run. This comment while perhaps controversial needs to be qualified with the way I use decoys. There is no bags, no TLC, they ride in barrels and bang off the side of boats sometimes when the long lines are picked up in a hurry during rising seas. (Note: this goes for my decoys as well as a number of more famous makers whose decoys I have tried. Even Mueller's new book states that wood decoys were made to hold up for several seasons. That is a short life under fire!)

High density is the toughest, long lasting decoy material, I have ever seen.
With no familiarity with solid decoys, the HD cork has one achilles heel....the connection with the bottom board. As decoys go back and forth between freezing and thawing every few days through a large portion of the season, the contrast of materials is stressed, but well sealed, it will give long service.

I hope the hollow HD cork holds up, as weight in magnum decoys can get extensive.
 
A few years ago I put together a rig of HD mallards and some teal. The mallards I hollowed using a forstners bit and then used a drimel to get into some of the curves of the bodies. Then the cavities were filled with foam, bottom board glued on. pad weights glued and screwed to the bottom. These decoys ride the water more bird like than plastics, but aren't the same heavy as solid HD. Still, if that farm was very big and the pond on the back side and said farmer wouldn't let me drive gear to the pond, then not many of these decoys would make the hike. Teal would go instead.

I have several black cork decoys that are pushing 20 seasons now and they are still more than servicable. I dare say there are a lot of guys on this site who use and would endorse black cork. The thing about black cork aside from the mess of working with the raw material is to seal it very well and try and fill in most of the larger holes it can have.
 
Some of the pro cork arguments for cork are that it rides the water like a duck due to its weight
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Paul I do not consider you a smartass.......My point was just simply that I hollowed out my some of my decoys for a lighter weight for easier transportation to the farm pond that I hunt. The area is surronded by trees and there are not to many large waves or big winds that I have to worry about but with a slight breeze my lighter decoys move very natural. That would probably be true if they were plastic, foam, hollowed cork or hollowed wood in this hunting situation. As always when I offer up my perspective on carving decoys I am offering "A way" not the "Only way" so I do not mind your questions.

Willy
 
I hollow all of my cork decoys. I do a fair amount of walking. I have a hen gadwall that weighs 13 oz. and self rights. I have a teal that weighs 4oz and another that weighs 8 oz. I have never had a problem with durability with these decoys. I gun them hard and have for years. I say go for it.
 
I have five of the original six hollow cork Wigeon that Alan Eastman carved for me, plus three of the four teal that were part of that rig......some big fat assed idiot stepped on the one Wigeon that isn't in the rig anymore and that same dumbutt "misplaced" the missing Teal...all of the others are finishing up their 10th season of use....BTW the one that was "stepped" on would have caused the same damage to a any hollow decoy unless it was concrete....even so its reparable and THAT REMINDS ME Derek do you still have it?

Those birds are "small" for walk ins and use with the Barnegat.....I also have several of Jason Russell's hollow cork birds..they go on all trips not just where weight is a factor....I've not had one fail yet and I don't see any difference in performance on the water.....

Hollow cork....good stuff....

Steve
 
View attachment 2009_0909decoyssep090014.JPGWell I have never hollowed out HD cork and am wondering why one would want to do that? I understand you want to eliminate weight, but that is some expensive material to be tearing the "guts" out of it. Black cork is much lighter and if you really want the smooth finish, you can make a glue/sawdust paste or wood putty it up. The smooth version will still be lighter than the HD and MUCH less expensive. I added a pic of a black cork that my son made a couple years back at a waterfowl clinic. It's been filled, with wood filler and sanded. It gives a smoother finish like a HD deke, but cheaper and lighter. A carver can put a lot more detail into the HD, but with all that detail and time and money, I can't see wanting to "carry" my spread for long distances for fear of damage. Great material to work with, just pricey. My .02 dc
 
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