Miscellaneous Decoy Repairs

[Steve Sanford]

All~


Although I'll be hunting Long Island the next few days, holiday company has departed and the sub-zero temps will keep me comfortably occupied in my shop hereabouts.


View attachment Shop Door Handle in Snow - 1-17-22.JPG



I have a bunch of boats lined up, one gunning coffin, and a variety of decoys. This note is just a sampler of some I have begun.


These 3 Herters Model 72 Broadbill lost their bills in service. The lost piece was found for the Hen - so she got an easy repair, plugged with whittled White Pine and epoxy. The 2 Drakes need prosthetic bills. These are White Pine set in thickened epoxy.


View attachment Model 72 Broadbill - bill repairs.JPG

species

These 7 Herters Model 63 (the life-size model) puddlers came to me painted as Wigeon. I'm not sure what they will become - but they have been coated with fine sawdust + epoxy.


View attachment Model 63 Puddlers - WINMILL - coated bodies and heads.JPG



The previous owner branded the foam bodies - the first I've seen of this practice on Durlon. The flat bottoms make these some of Herters earlier molded decoys. I am not sure when they added the extruded keels - maybe the 1970s?


View attachment Model 63 Puddlers - WINMILL brand.jpg



This is an earlier Herters - 1940s or 1950s - the over-size, balsa-bodied Model Canada. Joe Daly knows of my affinity for these birds (my Dad had some when I was a young gunner) - and found this nice Drake for me.



View attachment Model Canada Mallard - Joe Daly - port profile before.JPG



The old bill repair was fairly solid, but....


View attachment Model Canada Mallard - head.JPG



All of the fasteners - one 6 penny box nail and 3 tacks - were all located toward the aft end of the loose piece- so could split through the thin wood.



View attachment Model Canada Mallard - bill repair.JPG



The box nail was tenacious - but surrendered to a variety of prying and pulling tools.


View attachment Model Canada Mallard - bill partially removed.JPG



The new White Pine bill is held with thickened epoxy and a galvanized shake nail that runs with the grain of the wood. He is now curing overnight by the stove. The new (larger) will be placed a bit aft of where the originals had been.



View attachment Model Canada Mallard - bill repair NEW.jpg



This corker - a traditional Long Island decoy made from a single slab of 2-inch "life-preserver cork" - was converted to a Hen Broadbill sometime during its hard working life.


View attachment Reg Smith Can - BEFORE.JPG



I am very happy with the result. My job was to return it to a Canvasback - but to keep (or re-create) the wear and wounds of a veteran. I will post some of the step-by-step when I have more time.


View attachment Reg Smith - stbd profile AFTER.JPG



All the best,


SJS

 

[Bill Burruss]

Nice work as always Steve!

 

[Vince Pagliaroli]

Steve,

I'm really liking that Can. The new head has style to compliment the cork body.

Two thumbs up.


Best regards
Vince

 

[Tom Whitehurst]

Very nice work on that can, imagine the stories it could tell!

 

[John N. Rabias]

Steve-always enjoy your posts!

 

[Steve Sanford]

Good morning, All~


Here is some more detail on the Canvasback. It was clearly marked by its owner:



View attachment Reg Smith Canvasback - brand.JPG



Here is the bottom before - with some hollows and other pieces of missing cork.



View attachment Reg Smith bottom BEFORE.JPG



The top of the head was missing and its bill was about off.


View attachment Reg Smith - head profile BEFORE.jpg



The existing bill could not be simply re-attached.


View attachment Reg Smith bill BEFORE.JPG



So - I began by cleaning up the head break.


View attachment Reg Smith - head sanded flat.JPG



Then I notched the jaw for a new bill.


View attachment Reg Smith - bill notched.JPG



With no original to work from, I imagined a Canvasback profile that would fit this head.


View attachment Reg Smith - Canvasback head pattern.JPG



The crown was easy to clamp - with thickened epoxy and a light bar clamp. I carved it the next day. The bill was reinforced with a galvanized shake nail - and plenty of thickened epoxy. The spring clamp was enough here.



View attachment Reg Smith - bill glued up.JPG



Stay tuned......




























View attachment Reg Smith bottom BEFORE.JPG

 

[Steve Sanford]

Canvasback continued.....


The bottom and "chines" were filled with cork particles and thickened epoxy. I sprinkled fine sawdust over any exposed epoxy.



View attachment Reg Smith bottom filled.JPG



I left the chine fillings proud so I would expose clean cork when faired. The cork is original "life jacket cork" - from pre-WW II.



View attachment Reg Smith - body filled.JPG



Finishing the bird was fun. I used lots of tricks and experiments to make it look old - but not abused.


View attachment Reg Smith - AFTER stbd profile.JPG



To change it from a Broadbill to a Can, I had to extend the White midsection much closer to each Black end.


View attachment Reg Smith - oblique AFTER.JPG



I work to get the right texture and finish on the paint.


View attachment Reg Smith - head oblique.JPG



My Secret Process will remain unrevealed.....


View attachment Reg Smith - stbd profile AFTER.JPG



The final portrait - showing the port side profile.


View attachment Reg Smith AFTER - port profile.jpg



All the best,


SJS

 

[Joe Daly]

Todd Smith is related to Reg Smith. I think Reg was Todd's grandfather. Todd brought a Reg Smith canvasback to LIDCA that was repainted as a blackduck. He said that once canvasbacks got rare on Long Island the solution was to repaint to blackducks.

Joe

 

[Steve Sanford]

Thanks, Joe!


Now I'm wondering if I got the head shape anywhere near the original....


Maybe Todd will know. I'll get in touch.


All the best,


SJS

 

[Eric Patterson]

Steve

I'm starting to think no decoy is too far gone for you. Nice work as always. Oh, when I saw the first picture of the bluebills with the new bills and rubber bands around their necks I thought, jeez, even decoys have to wear masks these days

Eric

 

[Steve Sanford]

Good morning, All~


Progress continues on numerous fronts. The Herter's Model Canada Mallard I have been working on is just one of seven. As I had mentioned, my Dad had 7 - probably purchased circa 1946, right after he got home from WW II. So, I thought I would insert a little background/context here.


Here is the Herter's Catalog description from 1955 (you'll want to CLICK to enlarge to read the text):



View attachment 1955 - page 11 Model Canada.jpg



Here I am already hooked by decoys, duckboats and duck shooting.....with a "Black Mallard" repainted by my Dad. Note that nice long bill on the bird (mine grew out much later).



View attachment Herters Model Canada - SJS w Black Duck 1958.jpg



Here is what I have now - enough to replace my Dad's stolen rig. I will be rehabbing all seven.


View attachment Herters Model Canadas - all seven on hearth.JPG



Back to the Drake Mallard...I recarved the new bill.


View attachment Model Canada - new bill half-carved.jpg



Everything has been sanded and marked for priming with flat oils. The eye holes have been bored a bit aft of the originals.


View attachment Mallard - carved and marked.jpg



This bird had strips of lead nailed into the balsa body as ballast. I pried them out carefully, using a piece of scrap Mahogany to protect the soft balsa from the tack remover. The brass screw eye fastens the head.


View attachment Mallard - prying off lead keel A.jpg



Lots of balsa came out along with the 6 penny box nails.


View attachment Mallard - keel removed - damage done.JPG



Epoxy thickened with fairing compound filled all the voids. I will likely add new lead ballast once I try them out on salt water.


The bills on the Model 72 Broadbill and this Mallard got sealed with straight epoxy.



View attachment Mallard and Broadbill - epoxy work.JPG



Here's the Drake all primed. The White areas have been top-coated with flat latex. I had to replace its new left eye because the first new one had a flaw. No sense going to all this work and then seeing a blemish each time I gun over it....



View attachment Herterts Model Canada Mallard Drake - profile mid-process.JPG



One bit of extra work I will do will be to "correct" the bills on 2 or 3 of these decoys. Most of these decoys seem to taper the bill at the factory - and some are just too short. The bill on that Hen would be OK on a Pileated Woodpecker - but I want each of these birds to have a duck-like bill - parallel-sided and with a rounded tip. So - even though the bills are not broken, I will likely perform some rhinoplasty on a few. I guess this makes it "elective surgery"....



View attachment Model Canada Mallards - tapered bills.JPG



Stay tuned....


SJS

 

[Steve Sanford]

This Black Duck was the first Model Canada I found - and restored.


View attachment Model Canada Black - from Schuyler Watts after SJS rehab.JPG



I repaired its bill - but did not make it as long as I should have. I think he'll be painted as a Hen (for the shorter bill).



View attachment Model Canada Black - face closeup.JPG



Here's the bottom - sealed and finish painted - needing only a ballast keel.


View attachment Model Canada Black - bottom.jpg



The Hen was given to me by Joe Daly 2 years ago. It came with the lowered head and notch beneath the wingtips. This one I rehabbed with a full rig in mind. I am shooting for a pair of Mallards and 5 Black Ducks altogether.


View attachment Model Canada Mallard Hen FULL.JPG



She got new eyes and Satin Spar Varnish on her bill.


View attachment Model Canada Mallard Hen head closeup.JPG



I like to take a couple of minutes to fake the iridescence on each speculum.






I like the notch - but will not replicate it on the other decoys, which are in good factory condition.






One more update: The Model 72 Broadbill Drakes are ready-to-hunt. One needed the tail filled first.






Both got fresh paint all around - and will rejoin their rig-mates in a few weeks.







All the best,


SJS

 

[Rod VanZile]

I think Mr Strohmeier downwinded the other three rigs in his Herter's testimonial.

Incredible work as always.

RVZ

 

[Steve Sanford]

Thanks, Rod~


I think Mr. Strohmeier and Mr. Herter were birds of a feather!


I "fixed" (lengthened and broadened) 2 more bills on the Model Canadas yesterday. This one needed both a better bill and to have its head reacquainted with its neck. As clamping heads can be challenging, I frequently saw a custom chock so a bar clamp can pull straight down (to beneath the bench).


The spring clamp is sufficient for the bill - which is indexed with a brass brad to keep it from slipping during the cure.







All the best,


SJS

 

[Steve Sanford]

Here is a Progress Report....some of which has been reported in the Work Bench posts.


These Herter's Model 72 Broadbill got new wooden bills and fresh paint. They are once again ready-to-hunt.









These Herter's Model Canadas are also done. I may add ballast keels if I think I'll be using them on coastal waters.







Most of these LL Bean Deluxe Oversize Blacks needed just some minor patches.





One bird had more serious divots - and needs "dutchmen" glued in to fill the cavities.







Here are the easier 5 - primed with flat oil and curing by the stove.






Here is the re-carved bill - and new eyes - on one of the Model Canadas. All the bills get sealed with straight epoxy first. Then the whole bird gets sealed with Satin Spar Varnish.






Here's another head - primed with duckboat paint. The body will get primed with Rustoleum - Flat Brown + Flat Black - in about a 3:1 ratio.






Here's everything enjoying the stove. It's been near zero outside of late.







The last 2 bills have been replaced.






I re-carved them this morning - and just sealed them with epoxy before I came in from the shop.






All the best,


SJS

 

[MIKE-SID]

It is fascinating for me to follow the progress of your repairs and species reassignment of the decoys. This is way above my pay grade. I had one artistic bone in my body, and I broke it when I was 30. [laugh]

 

[Vince Pagliaroli]

Very few are born with it.

Ya gotta work like hell, everyday (mind & body), and never give up.

THEN things happen.

For some they are OK, others Good, and very few Great. Time tells the tale...

ART = Communication. Thatz what matters.