March Whats on your workbench?

[Roy Weatherby]

starting on a wigeon for a ducks unlimited donation bird

 

[Chris Finch]

lookin good and kudos for the starwars reference

 

[Stef]

[font=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica]Doug Muldowney

Very good malard ...

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[Chuck J]

Got out and worked on some lanyards to send to Kevin Layne for a youth waterfowl day:

Had been holding out on some inprogress pictures before the Ohio show...here is some attempt to catch up:

Next up, a whole pile o'coot stool!

 

[Steve Sanford]

Chuck~

Great birds!

I only tried canvas once - a Brant about 20 years ago. Are you sealing the canvas with varnish? Oil paint? Gesso?

I like the way you fill out the breast with cork.

Is the "pile o' coot" coming soon the freshwater, "crowbill" variety - or Scoters?.....

I'll be looking for them!

SJS

 

[Chuck J]

Steve,

Of late, I've been sealing the canvas with thinned latex kilz. Soaks in and tightens up the cloth, enamel paints do this well too, but I like the latex to paint in the basement without the stink. I then basecoat with latex house paint and finish with a combination of the house paint and artist acrylics. The frames are presealed with spar.

Here are some brant I did last year:

The coot will be the "freshwater" variety

Best
Chuck

 

[Steve Sanford]

Thanks, Chuck

That's a great-looking bunch of Brant. The leaning forward posture is so typical - they always seem to be swimming into the current of the falling tide.

I'll have to dig out a coot (freshwater) I carved in, I think, 1980. Neat birds - but we have very few here in New York - I saw lots more the times I worked in Wisconsin and Saskatchewan.

SJS

 

[RC D]

Here is my first Oldsquaw. Simple gunning paint. I wish I could paint better but I think these birds look great with a simplistic paint. I used part of a Rubbermaid tote for the tail. A little heat and some bend and it stayed just as planned.

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I bought some glass cabochons that I painted myself. It was around $2.00 for 200 of them. A pencil tip for the white spec, a cut Q-tip for the center and then just paint the color over that.

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[SCOTT SALZER]

I like the tails. I just used zip ties and broke 2 sets before I even finished carving I think I will give the 5 gallon bucket a try next.

 

[Steve Sanford]

Great looking 'Squaw!

The paint is perfect - this species is great for what I can a "diagrammatic" paint job: simple patches of pure color and hard edges. Joseph Lincoln would be proud. Also, the head shape is great.

All the best,

SJS

 

[A Michael Chase]

Chuck: Do you try to get a water/air tight seal between your bottom board and the canvas or should it float just based on the buoyancy of the components?

I ask this because I assumed the latter but one of my canvas Canada Goose decoys is taking on water near the tail and it pours out from that seam when I pick it up. I sized the canvas with gesso then painted with Rustoleum oil paint. My construction methods are similar to yours in that I use a solid tail insert and a cork breast head shelf.

This decoy is already constructed and is scheduled to be given away as a door prize Tuesday night at a Christian Waterfowlers Association meeting. I've been calling it a "hunting decoy" and would hate for the winner watch his prize sink the first time he hunts it. Any advice you might have is appreciated.

Mike

 

[Chuck J]

Chuck: Do you try to get a water/air tight seal between your bottom board and the canvas or should it float just based on the buoyancy of the components?

Mike

Yes and yes...Yes, all decoys I have made to date, I try and get them water tight. I have used many different approaches, but lately have sealed/bonded the fabric to the wood with either a diluted wood glue(applied with a syringe after the final band of fabric) or caulk(applied under the band). With either method, when priming and painting, I goop the paint heavy over the seam to hopefully get extra protection. I had a few deeks a couple years back take on a little water, after I noted this I changed my methods to the above. The compromised deeks I positioned to let the water drip back out of the seam, then sealed with epoxy through a syringe.

With the exception of decoys weighted for competition, I try and keep them light and when done properly, the waterline is at or just below the top surface of the bottom board. If you can achieve this, you can make a 'self-bailer' with the canvas folded back under the tail, so any water that found it's way in through seams or shot holes would find it's way out too. When I get to making these, I will prime the inside of the canvas when I prime the outside by pouring the primer in, rolling it around, then pouring it back out and into the bucket. My thoughts would be to preserve the canvas from rot by priming from both sides.

Try some marine or (if not readily available) exterior caulk and see if you can get that sealed up...but odds are, it won't see much water. In my experience people who get decoys at such things rarely hunt them, if ever.

There are A LOT of methods and thoughts on how to make canvas decoys and how to seal them...just like making regular decoys, there is no one right way, these are my thoughts, but I am still learning more with each decoy I make.

Chuck

 

[TimJ]

Chuck,
You better not have gotten blood on my decoy. That would just be icky.

Tim

 

[Chuck J]

Chuck,
You better not have gotten blood on my decoy. That would just be icky.

Tim

I was wondering when someone would comment...decoy seamstresses have feelings and bleed too...

 

[A Michael Chase]

Thanks for the insight Chuck. I've made several canvas decoys and I find something new with each one. I think this time I'll go with the calking. I'll post up a picture if I get a chance.

 

[Pat Gregory]

Steve - Precious pictures. I appreciate you spending time with and, including these young ones. Pat

 

[Nick Buda]

Wow has March ever been a productive month for everyone, lots of very impressive work posted. The bar is set very high. Now to bring the bar right down. Carved birds #4,5,6 for me (if you don't count canvas). Learned tons about painting on these. Looking forward to the next ones now so I can correct a lot on them. In the meantime these fill a big void in my rig.

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[Pat Gregory]

Nice widgeon Nick! I hope you get to gun over them with your dad.

I'm back in the shop. Did some BWT today after church. One migrating to Florida, the other two to Louisiana. Green wings next then, more bluebills.
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[Roy Weatherby]

the gadwalls are done. Just need pad weights and leather loops.

 

[milburn]

Chuck,Talking about leaks, did mine every give you problems in any way? Just curious......Rod