I told the story before but my wife came home to find a whole pronghorn skull in the microwave spinning in circles. She just sighed and told me I’m cleaning it. (I was having trouble pulling the horn sheath off, and yes it worked).
March Workbench
- Thread starter Kevin Puls
- Start date
The key is to cook for 10 minutes then dunk in icy water for ten minutes. Alternate until done. Huge pain in the but.
You can also let it sit out and rot until they loosen. I’m sure you know this but they are just dense hair sheaths on spikes.
It was unpleasant.
I've been working on these six geese for a long time. They should have been done prior to last fall, but we were just too busy last summer.
They were made to be keel less, but I have a removable keel just in case. With the flat keels on they weigh between 30 and 31 oz. There were 14 color changes and since they were so big I painted them one at a time, so 84 color changes, no wonder my friction receiver on my airbrush is worn out. I usually paint ducks three at a time, so less color changes.
They were made to be keel less, but I have a removable keel just in case. With the flat keels on they weigh between 30 and 31 oz. There were 14 color changes and since they were so big I painted them one at a time, so 84 color changes, no wonder my friction receiver on my airbrush is worn out. I usually paint ducks three at a time, so less color changes.
I definitely learned some things and would do some of it different if I end up going back one day. The kids like going and have been a few times but this was my first time participating in the activity.
Ever willing to take a short video of your airbrush methods?
I'm guessing you don't have facebook. There is a bit of Caleb painting with an airbrush on there, but It's fairly likely I can talk you through it here. I talked William through it and he's doing great. I had a video on airbrushing over flocking and my son lost the file. You can always go to private messages. Maybe we should just do an all things airbrushing topic. What kind of airbrush do you have? I'll see what I can figure out video wise.
It really is magic! Just when you think you figure things out, sometimes the airbrush wakes up on the wrong side of the bed and you fight it just a little. Some days you feel like a champion and it just flows so smoothly and you can lay down the most perfect fine lines or hit the bird with just perfect spray. Anyone wanting to get into airbrush, I recommend a quiet compressor. The one i started with would make me jump out of my skin every time it kicked on. The one I have now is whisper quiet when it kicks on. Im not sure Ill ever be on Don's level, and his ability to bend colors and his ability to make 3D imagery on a flat canvas will forever make me smile when I see his work. Im certainly in favor of an Airbrush thread.
Today I finally got to a small project I wish I did last summer. I made six “test keels”. They are weighted in a way that will be hidden. They represent the two most common sizes I make. Then I made three of each that represent the three most common lead nugget placements within the wood.
Because I tend to do foam body and pine heads, my decoys are not terribly predictable in weight balance needs. Now I can attach them with rubber bands for a test float then assign the size and pattern that works best.
Because I tend to do foam body and pine heads, my decoys are not terribly predictable in weight balance needs. Now I can attach them with rubber bands for a test float then assign the size and pattern that works best.
Attachments
It’s an inexpensive model from Michael’s. I’ll have to unearth it and look. Nothing fancy.
paasche vl5 or vl3 is what you want to play with. Not terribly expensive, 2 stage and it works REALLy well. Easy to take apart and clean. I keep all mine apart and soaking in mineral spirits. Takes me about a minute, per gun, to put it together and get it ready to shoot. The cleaner the gun, the better it works. Ive found this to be a super effective method in ensuring I dont have those fighting days with the gun.