What's on the bench -

Good morning, Joe~

Lots of birds on the bench - and a boat in the "bay" - and a few birds to clean after my last hunt of the season - on long Island Thursday and Friday.

Here are some "in process" Beans:

View attachment Bench - Beans bodies + heads.JPG

As I usually do on Beans birds, I re-carved the face-to-bill transition on these heads. Some are great from the factory, others have the face-bill line in the wrong spot. Also, most needed new eyes.

My paint approach is somewhat unusual. I "primed" each head in near-final colors - then baked them near the stove for a few days - then sealed them with spar varnish. The top coats will come soon - and the bills will be re-coated with varnish. All of these steps are to contend with inevitable wear on gunners.

View attachment Bench - Beans heads.JPG


Here are some Herter's I am helping a friend with. There are 4 "original recipe" Model 72s - with the flat bottoms and brass hardware - and one Model 81 (the small Goose body with a Model 72 Mallard/Black Mallard head).

View attachment Bench - Herters 72s + 81 Black Ducks.JPG


These were coated with epoxy + Homer's "special recipe" ground walnut shells.

View attachment Bench - Herters 72 heads Black Duck.JPG

These Blacks go along with a bunch of Mallards. They are all Al McCormick-style birds. The owner worked alongside Al to make them back in the day.

View attachment Bench - McCormick Blacks - humpbacks + standards.JPG

The "humpbacks" are on the left and the "standards" on the right. Most McCormicks do not have eyes. Most of these have glass eyes. I'm not sure whether the others use dowels or nails for eyes.

View attachment Bench - McCormicks close up.JPG

All the best,

SJS




 
Thanks Steve!

Ive admired your work from some time. I love how clean it looks. I cant take much credit for the redheads. They are pretty much Reghi Rip offs. Just enlarged a picture, blew it up, traced it. I have always wanted to make a rig of decoys based, or ar least inspired by old Michigan decoys of many different styles , but I think they will all end up being Kelson/Reghi/Schmidt rip offs.
 
benp said:
Just finished this mini pintail deadmount. I could probably put some more detail too it but trying to get that balance of time and quality
Click to expand...

Nice. How mini is this mini?

Tim
 
If I gauge scale from that rawhide lace it is dangling from, there is a good amount of detail on such a small bird. Nice work!
 
Tip of tail to bill is 5 1/4”
It’s a tad bigger than some of the others I’ve done to make the sprig, wing, and neck beefier.
 
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Finished up my first bird a while ago and am pretty happy with my first attempt. Really enjoyed doing the body and painting, the head was more of a challenge.


View attachment IMG_0242.JPG

View attachment IMG_0244.JPG


The last few weeks I've been working on other projects, found a great deal on a drill press and then built a stand for it. And then last night found a better deal on a used bandsaw. The previous owner upgraded most of the components and it sounded great running in his basement. Unfortunately somewhere on the way home the motor pulled loose. I don’t have any experience with wiring/electronics so hopefully it won’t take too much to fix. Looking forward to getting these new tools up and running so I can make some headway carving!

 
Yes, very nice goose, Jode! I particularly like the head/neck profile, since it differs from what is normally depicted, making the carving distinctly yours!
 
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RLLigman said:
Yes, very nice goose, Jode! I particularly like the head/neck profile, since it differs from what is normally depicted, making the carving distinctly yours!
Click to expand...

Thanks RL, I wanted something a little different than what you always see, a big Watch Gander Goose , Regal, protective.......
 
Nice birds RL. I haven't done many birds in my short carving career but am hoping to pick back up this year. Maybe try and carve a diver rig for next year. Shot a couple birds over decoys I'd carved several years back the last week of the season. It kinda gave me the fever to start carving again.
 
I would suggest you carve at least six birds of the same species together. That way, you can continue to build muscle memory regarding what to do to impart realism to the decoy, which is mainly achieved by how accurately you carve the head to match the characteristics of a species. Reference some of Bob Furia's posts on this site. He posts a number of photos of decoys in production, particularly heads. Note that you can easily recognize the species, without identification and without paint applied. Basically, what you want to strive for over time...sequentially each bird you make will be an improvement on the last one.

Good luck!

Thanks, Jode, time to see if the shot hole repairs hold-up next year! I patched the major ones and left the singles after sealing them with a couple drips of cyanoacrylate glue.
 
Jode, I just wanted to mention that I tried Damar Varnish crystals (two sources) and melted bees wax/mineral spirits as sealer finishes to minimize chalking on oil painted birds. The bees was yielded much better results, per your earlier suggestion. So much for relying on the Old Master's painting techniques!
 
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