Those of you who carve Black Cork...

Zach Houvener

Zach Houvener

Active member
or BSC as some would say...Im wanting to put together a rig of bobtail black cork divers as well as save a little money and weight on the materials. I've read a little bit about how you need to "piller" the head so it doesnt crack on the neck seam. Can anyone who has carved the stuff shed a little more light? Or better yet a picture or two?

Also, what tools do you guys usually shape it with? Round of with drawknifes, finish with rasps? In not going to be taking the foredom to it at all. Thanks, I've only carved tan cork, and recently been doing all pine, cedar, jelutong but my stash has run out...

any help is greatly apperciated

Zach

Also, some pintails Ive been working on,not completely done, but...
P1000915.jpg


Hollow Jelutong, oils
 
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black cork is very dirty, I started out with it when in college and would not recomend it as your friends might think its weird that you have black dust stuck to everything. something about the static charge of the stuff makes it a bear dust collection or not.

it is also very crumbly and the finer the rasp the better, power tools might be the ticket but i dont know cause i didnt have any at the time.
once again, think twice about the black cork. but it is light...
 
Zach-
I am now on my last two sheets of black cork and can’t wait until it is GONE. The stuff takes a certain level of patience and cooperation (from the cork) to do anything with it. Through trial, error and a few on the site I did learn a few tricks that may help. Not in any particular order:
  • The crap crumbles, so use fine rasps (sureform) and very sharp knives
  • The dust is legendary for getting everywhere. Anti static aerosol sprayed on the table and floor can help a bit. Better yet a big sucking dust collector will help. Best bet, a big field on a windy day.
  • Use the band saw to rough it down to the best-closest shape you can get it. This will eliminate much of the dust and worry through the crumbling process of files and sandpaper.
  • 60 - 80 grit sandpaper is your friend for detailed parts. Sandpaper on a block or dowel is good for details as well.
  • Mount the heads on a ½ inch to ¾ inch dowel the goes through the body to the bottom. Glue all the way down.
  • Bottom boards will help save the bottoms from “chunking off” pieces when dropped.
  • Seal with gym floor poly or a more elastomeric type sealer if you can. I would avoid a brittle hard shell sealer.
  • Not all black cork is the same, my shipments happened to be much more “crumbly” than others have talked about.
  • If you take the time – black cork makes a pretty cool bird.
 
I made a dozen Cans ten years ago out of it, without bottom boards and with just a long lag screw up thru the keel and into the head. I haven't had a head come loose nor have I had any 'chunking' of any part of the decoy. I also put in tail boards. Used Gorilla glue for all the gluing and that too is still holding just fine.

I used a big, course bastard rasp for most of the shaping and sanded after that. You don't need to baby it.

Make sure you seal it very well, several times, so it gets down into the pores.

The dust IS legendary but if you use a course rasp the particles will be bigger for the most part and won't float around as bad.

Try it, it's not nearly as bad as some would have you believe.
 
I'm not familiar with the term "Black Cork", is this the same stuff as refrigeration/ insulation cork??
 
From what I've heard the cork from 10 years ago was a lot easier to work with (tighter and more dense). I bought mine 2 years ago and had a couple of experienced carvers look it over. The black cork I bought was crumbly crap compared to the "good stuff from 8-10" years ago. I bought mine from two well known cork sources we all know. Considering the complex and ups and down of cork in general, its a wonder if it is ever close to the same product from year to year. I cant think of many ag crops outside of cork that have such a long term from plant to market.
 
I does appear to vary quite a bit. 25-30 years ago I bought some from Chesapeake Cork, who I believe is out of business now. That cork was definately crumbly though those decoys are still around. I need to reseal them as they get water logged fairly quickly.

I haven't seen any in recent years that was as bad as the stuff I got from Chesapeake, not saying it isn't out there.
 
George,

Yes, sort of. It looks like refrigeration cork and is processed the same way to the best of my knowledge. If you can still find refr. cork it will likely be very crumbly and not as dense as what we like to use for decoys.
 
I've read a little bit about how you need to "piller" the head so it doesnt crack on the neck seam. Can anyone who has carved the stuff shed a little more light? Or better yet a picture or two?


Zach

I know exactly what you're talking about. Did it on all the birds of a black cork blackduck rig I had years ago. Give me a little time to go through the "archives" and I'll post instructions on "pillaring" as drawn up for me by the late Buckeye Joe Wooster himself.
Click to expand...
 
OK Zach, I found it. Ever see that movie "National Treasure" ? Well, these letters from Wooster that I collected over the years fall into the category of rare documents. This one is about 30 years old, and was his response to my telling him I was thinking of doing a rig of oversize, black-cork blackducks.

They were monsters, and served us well for many years. Some collector from MI bought the whole lot of them from me at a decoy show. Some I traded, and the only one left is on a sign I made for the house.

Here's what you're talking about. Never had a head break loose on any bird of the 22 in that rig.

View attachment Black cork decoys (594 x 600) (446 x 450).jpg

View attachment Black cork decoys (594 x 600) (446 x 450).jpg
 
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not only as regards carving but writing as well....how neat that you have his letters....

Interestingly I do almost exactly the same thing myself EXCEPT that I don't use a bottom board on most of my black cork birds.....(I would on something that large but for the normal sized stuff I just haven't found it to be necessary PLUS it takes away the wt. advnatage of Black Cork)...

Without the bottom board I just make sure that the post runs through both the poedestal and the keel and that locks everything up tight....

One other thing I learned about black cork is to not try to hide the neck seam....don't bed it in like on tan cork or wood.....get it as tight as you can without any faring and then as the cork moves a little over the years you won't break that out......not as smooth and slick looking but better in the long run.....

On bobtails I also run a 1" dowel into the butt for about 6" .....make sure your keel screws into the dowel at the rear and the post in the front and you won't have any issues with the birds integrity......and you never see the dowel after its trimmed, sanded and painted.....

Steve
 
Black cork is my first love for decoy material. Unfortunately, it does not demand the prices you get for wood decoys, but most of my own rig is cork, both black and tan.

Other then high head cans or other big birds, I'm not sure the pillar technique is necessary. If the birds aren't to big or the head to high, you probably won't get that much stress on your necks.

Having said that Bob, I would like to see the pillaring post again, as I am about to put heads on 18 geese

Two suggestions:

-Spar varnish, not spar urethane, many consider as the best sealer for black cork. I have a friend hunting over 40 year old corks sealed this way.

-Fill in large holes as moisture, especially ice will work and stress the cork, causing the material to break down or absorb water. Elmer's Wood Filler (Indoor/Outdoor) has worked well for me.

Black cork is easy to make, but have good air flow. Fordums create way to much fine dust on black cork. Stick with a mid grade rasp. These decoys require a lot of "putsying" around, but they sure float nice!

_
 
Hey Zack, I'm with Pete as far as just using a deck screw to secure the head. I've had all my experience
with black cork(I get it free)and all the advice you got here is good. The cork I'm using is about 50 years
old. Some of it is crumbly and some is pretty solid. I use a bandsaw to shape and rough it in with a sure-form.
I put tail boards on all my birds with no bottom boards. I use the keel to tie everything together. I'll also second
using spar varnish and use three or four coats to seal them. If you keep them simple and don't try to get too fancy
with the neck joint they'll last a long time. I'll try to post some pictures tomorrow.
I do all my shapeing on a board over a garbage can and 90% of the dust goes in for me.
Good luck, John
 
Guys, thanks alot for some of the helpful hints...Everyone always seems to badmouth the stuff but I love the look of it, plus a lighter rig in the barnegat is a good thing also!

MLBob, that letter is priceless! Thanks alot for posting it up, really helps me visualize the way it should be.

Zach
 
I use a surfform rasp plus regular rasp on black cork. Always shape cork bodies outside. When you know what shpe you are going for it won't take 5 minutes to shape a body from rectangle block with chalk outlines.

I usually don't bother with bottom boards. I "inlet" the heads & use a mixture of elmers glue & cork dust to fill any gaps. Soak the finished body with head with 2 coats of spar varnish. First coat thinned 50% with turpentine.

Rustoleum flat black & white paint is all you need for diver paint. You can mix it to get grey.

I swapped Scott Farris some bluebill decoys about 15 years ago that I'm 99% sure I used black cork for. Ask him how they have held up.
 
Zach,

I agree with what has been said. I usually pillar bed any high heads that I do, but not low headed or snuggled birds. I pillared my brant rig and have been very happy. I dropped a 12 decoy bag of brant on their heads off the combing of my boat last year and didn't break a neck joint (I broke 3 necks, but I had threaded rod in them and they are still useable). I've also used those decoys hard, they are oversized and have not had a problem. I've bought tan cork decoys that break at the neck joint in their first season.

The way I do it is easy adn fast and pretty light. I carve head and body, leaving the body rough at the junction. I drill straight down through the neck shelf with a 1 1/4" bit, but not through the bottom board (1/4" ply, I like a bottom board so I can have a hard chine on the birds and you need on e to pillar). I cut a piece of 1 1/4" dowel to length, leaving it 1/8" short (it is recessed at the neck shelf. Glue the dowel in and put a 1/8" hole up through the bottom board, into the pillar and the head. Open the hole in the pillar and bottom board to 1/4". Attack the head with a lag bolt and washer before the glue dries. The extra cork above the pillar will compress and keep the joint tight and the pillar keeps the whole unit rigid. Ideally the keel will cover the bolt, but sometimes it doesn't. But like many have said, if this is a diver rig of content looking birds, you will probably be fine without.

I like black cork, it si what it is. I'll make one warning that hasn't been said... It tends to have more hard bits of stuff in it that can dull good tools. I've hit small pieces of metal and cinders when bandsawing, so don't use your best stuff on it.

Very nice rig of pinnies, I too am a rig carver. I've never carved an individual bird. One suggestion, though, is that the paint color on the hen is a little to the grey, it should eb a little warmer more brown. heheheh.
 
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Ditto what Todd says about not using your good tools. Very dis-heartening to see sparks flying as you are bandsawing bodies using a nice Timberwolf blade. (glad that it was somebody else's saw ;) )
 
Hi Zach. Firsy off, NICE pintails......

I've done a lot of black cork birds, and I've never pillar bedded a head. I do something a little different. First off you need a bottom board. 1/4" or 3/8" plywood is perfect. After you bandsaw the body to rough dimensions, glue the bottom bard to the cork with liberal amounts of Titebond 2 or 3. Either will do. Shape the body with a sharp draw knife. You would not believe how much dust this cuts down. Finish shaping with one of the new stainless cheese grader style wood working files. Again, that cuts down on fine dust. Cut a slot in the butt for a tail board but make it deep enough so that the forward edge of tailboard overlaps the bottom board by at least 1 inch. 1.5" is even better. Before you glue the tailboard in, postion the tail board in the slot and drill a hole through the bottom board and back at an angle so that your drill bit catches the tailboard at least 3/4" from the forward end. This hole is for the long deck screw that you are going to use to tie together the bottom board and tail board.

Fill the imperfections in the cork with sawdust/Titebond goo. Here's why you can get away with not using a pillar:
When you attach the head, use a 5" or 6" x 1/4" lag bolt. Drill a 1/4" hole up through the bottom board and through the cork. Use a 1/8" bit to drill into the head. Basically you've turned the bottom board into a backbone and the head and tailboard are solidly attached to it. Bed the head down into the cork with paintable silicone sealer from the hardware store. After the silicone drys, coat the entire bird in Thompson's water sealer. It says right on the can its compatible with oil paints. Give the bird 2 days to dry fully and paint. I use a pine keel with an exterior wieght. I screw the pine keel to the bottom board with deck screws.

My black cork birds so done have lasted me 15 years and still look pretty good.

John in Vt
 
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