Splitting a block for hollowing?

J

jon

Active member
When you make the initial cut into a block of wood (in order to "halve" it for hollowing purposes), is there a rule for where the cut should be made?

Above, at, or below the waterline?

Perfectly in half?

Or does it really even matter?

Thank you!!

Jon
 
depends on the pattern. IMO. a flat bottomed decoy you should leave a 3/4 or 1" solid bottom board to put back onto the upper half. on a round bottom style I always try to split where it will be less problematic. like not on the centerline of the tail or a wing if it will be carved in detail later.
 
Jon~

For my round-bottomed birds, the seam is usually right below the tail (makes it handy for carving the undertail area, too). For flat-bottomed birds, it's wherever my bottom board comes up to. If my bottom board is more than an inch thick, I usually hollow it so its about 1/2" thick inside.

Waterline should not matter. Use a good marine epoxy - thickened with cabosil if necessary - and make sure there are no glue-starbved areas when you clamp it.

Hope this helps,

SJS
 
ssmart money is on two pieces of wood--Cut the pattern after you screw the two pieces togetherr--Preferably with the seam ABOVE waterline-Bandsaw, carve, sand then take apart and carve.
Ine problem with cutting the body AFTER carving from one piece is simply that you are going to have do do some more carving and sanding, since the two pieces will NOT fit together exactly, due to the dwablade's thickness. If it is not a problem, then just cut below tail, creating a hight wterline. Hmm, on second thought, if making a diver with a low tail, you might want to rethink the location of that cut.
 
What I usually do for flat bottom birds is I draw my pattern on the block and then the split line about 3/4 inch from the bottom. Then I figure where my screws will go and put them in, then take them out so when I put it back together it lines up. I make the split cut first then put the screws back in and cut the rest of the decoy out. once its carved but before final sanding I take it apart and hollow, but leave two post around the screw holes so when you glue it back together it always lines up and no need for clamping or stacking weight on it. Just make sure that you take a little wood off the ends of the posts to leave space for the glue to make a tighter seam.
 
Its cheaper to screw two planed blockes together and then bandsaw and carve.i prefer the seam under the tail because its less visible.
 
Another vote for start with 2 pieces. Also as mentioned, it shouldn't matter over or under the water line if you are gluing and sealing well. If your getting a leak, your process needs refinement.
 
What I usually do for flat bottom birds is I draw my pattern on the block and then the split line about 3/4 inch from the bottom. Then I figure where my screws will go and put them in, then take them out so when I put it back together it lines up. I make the split cut first then put the screws back in and cut the rest of the decoy out. once its carved but before final sanding I take it apart and hollow, but leave two post around the screw holes so when you glue it back together it always lines up and no need for clamping or stacking weight on it. Just make sure that you take a little wood off the ends of the posts to leave space for the glue to make a tighter seam.
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This is exactly what I do. Ive always had good results. I will add that I use an epoxy to glue them up and once the screws are in a check the seam for voids. If I find any I smear epoxy over it to fill the void. The voids are very rare though. Typically the epoxy is thick enough to be pressed out along the seam.
 
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