What's on your WORK BENCH ? - APRIL 2022

[Steve Sanford]

Happy Easter, Tom~


No viewing details yet - but I completed the bird yesterday:






He's a "fancy gunner". I kept the paint fairly simple but added a couple of flourishes like the edges on the primaries and the white in the speculum. I am very happy with the stippling on his back. I did not put any greenish cast to the head - figuring that Broadie Beak decoys were hunted with straight black for well over a hundred seasons. As has become my practice, I did put a coat of Satin Spar Varnish on the bill to add some protection to the paint in this notoriously high wear area - and to give it a bit of visual "pop". I made him as a gift for a friend. Right now he - the decoy not the friend - weighs 18 ounces.

BTW: Ol' Mister Black Bear made his annual visit to our bird feeder Friday morning....








I suppose I should have bought the Extended Service Warranty for both the feeder and the pipe.


All the best,


SJS

 

[RLLigman]

I carved four variations of the raised head redheads from that same picture a couple of years ago. Out of seven pics, I managed to get four to stay attached to be sent...

 

[Steve Sanford]

Dead mount????


Happy Easter!


SJS

 

[Rod VanZile]

RL,
What is the story on the banded can? Was it from this last season?

RVZ

 

[RLLigman]

I noticed that Bob used the same redhead reference photo that caught my eye when I wanted to make some decoys with different postures. Took photos of the four birds I have in my rig and can't post them for some reason

 

[Vince Pagliaroli]

hollow white pine body, sugar pine head, oil paint, just about ready for lead pad weight, and anchor attachment then the back yard toss around test

 

[Rod VanZile]

Ah ha. Didn't look close enough on my phone. Small picture. Nice Redhead.

RVZ

 

[Steve Sanford]

Good morning, All~


We missed the big snows - and power outages - that others are getting elsewhere in the Northeast today.






Nevertheless, these Woodlies will be braving the weather - From the Bench of George Williams:






Every time I looked at my latest Broadie-beak, though, I was bothered by the eye (mis)placement.....


So, I dug out the eyes, carved the head a bit narrower around the sockets, and moved them a bit forward.






One more coat of paint - and then I can turn my attention back to duckboat work.






All the best,


SJS

 

[george w]

Neat pose, Vince! Rather racy!!

 

[MLBob Furia]

[size 4] Rick,

Pics are showing up now in your original post.

I see you also opted to eliminate the "chin/neck" bulge appearing on one of the birds in the pucture.

Here's a picture of them on the water:

 

[RLLigman]

Bob, I gave up on posting from a zip-file and redid the pics separately..grrrr! I suspect that this head style is a breeding posture display, but it is an interesting addition. The bird on the left has its head feathers flared, while the bird on the right in the picture is displaying with compressed head feathers. I carved four versions including one that was a copy of the left-side drake. The larger head and neck and head made it float quite low and was a bugger to float and balance. I am band sawing more heads in the coming days as things warm-up so I have something to focus on after i get my hips replaced in May.

 

[MLBob Furia]

Rick,

I keep a can of these poured lead discs in varying thicknesses in the shop for the express purpose of balancing/adjusting the floating properties of any poses that may result in an attitude on the water that is skewed. When I float test the birds after they have been sealed - but before painting - I'll tape one of the discs to the bottom board in order to adjust it. When I have found & marked the spot, it's simply a matter of counter-sinking the disc there, using the same Forstner I made the mold for the disc with. I simply epoxy the disc into the hole and seal over it. A side benefit to this adjustment is that in addition to properly balancing the decoy, the disc usually serves the dual purpose of self-righting it.

Good luck with the hip surgery. Starting to look into possible endoscopic surgery for some worsening left-hand carpal tunnel issues right now. Had the right hand done early 90's (open procedure back then) and it took care of the issues, so hoping endoscopic might be the better recovery time option nowdays.

 

[RLLigman]

That is an excellent idea, Bob, well worth "stealing"! As I have said before, plagiarism is the sincerest form of flattery.

I wrenched my back the day prior the UP duck opener while Steve and I were scouting. My back never settled down, so I had an MRI done. While discussing whether a laminectomy would be the way to go to resolve my back pain the neurosurgeon suggested an initial course of steroid injection(s) with anesthetic, but also suggested I get an hip x-ray to rule-out the contribution of back pain via hip pain displacement. The radiographs indicated both hip sockets are "shot" but I have semi-continuous pain on the left side from bone spurs on the periphery of the femoral head...it should be replaced first, prior doing the right side. I am having them done via the anterior approach technique which enables me to go the outpatient surgery route, as well as shortening my recovery time significantly. Without a major incision in my glutes to heal, the probability of dislocation is lowered as well. My back pain has lesssened after I got through the initial pain phase of incline walking on a treadmill. Now, I do two sessions of 30 minutes at 10-12 degrees incline at 2.0-2.5 miles per hour per day.

After the hip proshtetics heal, I can then address the lumbar spine issues

 

[Steve Sanford]

Good morning, Ric~


I'm a bit muddled - as usual. Did you perform your own surgery on your work bench? In any event, sounds like your Sawzall performed admirably. Best of luck on your continued recovery!


I just rehabbed my utility trailer. I bought the Load Rite 4x10 flatbed back in '08 - one of my most satisfactory purchases. It has earned its keep many times over. It hauled a couple of yards of topsoil yesterday.







I built the removable box for it at that time. So, after all these years, I just completed some rehab and finally put some paint on the T&G Pine. I sealed everything with Spar Varnish and then painted the interior with Parkers Marsh Grass. The exterior is just a grey primer. I had thought of finishing it with a semi-gloss oil - but then realized regular maintenance of the paint would be much easier with with the soft primer. I will be hanging the 4 sides in my wood shed when not in use - so the finish should last awhile.


I also just completed this Wildfowler Pintail Hen. I had purchased her at our March LIDCA show. She needed just a minor re-shaping of her tail and then thorough sealing and fresh paint. I have been putting together a 12-bird rig of Wildfowler Superior Model Mallards, Blacks and a pair of Pintails - all from either Old Saybrook or Quogue. About half are ready-to-hunt; the others just need the final paint details.







I restored the Drake last year. I think I'll edge his primaries - as I have done with all other birds in this rig - then try some "sea trial" photos later today.






All the best,


SJS

 

[RLLigman]

Thanks, Steve, I knew I could count on the usual overly glib response to an aside conversation. You do yourself proud, again.

 

[Matt Mahoney]

What are you guys typically doing to make your hollow wood decoys self righting?

Rick,

I keep a can of these poured lead discs in varying thicknesses in the shop for the express purpose of balancing/adjusting the floating properties of any poses that may result in an attitude on the water that is skewed. When I float test the birds after they have been sealed - but before painting - I'll tape one of the discs to the bottom board in order to adjust it. When I have found & marked the spot, it's simply a matter of counter-sinking the disc there, using the same Forstner I made the mold for the disc with. I simply epoxy the disc into the hole and seal over it. A side benefit to this adjustment is that in addition to properly balancing the decoy, the disc usually serves the dual purpose of self-righting it.

Good luck with the hip surgery. Starting to look into possible endoscopic surgery for some worsening left-hand carpal tunnel issues right now. Had the right hand done early 90's (open procedure back then) and it took care of the issues, so hoping endoscopic might be the better recovery time option nowdays.

 

[Matt Mahoney]

Love the brookie!

oil paint on driftwood, 16"L x 3 1/4"W

 

[Steve Sanford]

Good morning, Matt~


I have been doing just that over the last couple of days with the Broadie-beak I just carved. I'll take some photos later today - and maybe perform sea trials. As you will see, I just made an educated guess with this bird and poured lead into a Mahogany keel. I also weigh the bird and the keel.



But, I have many times just rubber-banded weights onto a bird for tank testing.


In the meantime, I did get to run sea trials on some Wildfowlers yesterday afternoon.


Here's the Hen at sea. I decided to not blur and mute the bill on her - just because.







With her mate:






I bought this Drake Mallard to convert into a Black Duck Hen - but the head shape was so exquisite I just could not do it....






Here's the Peregrine's eye view:






All the best,


SJS

 

[Eric Patterson]

Right now I'm juggling multiple projects and the last thing I need is another one. This weekend has been the target weekend to spray some callery pear trees on the WRP hunting property I help manage. Nasty invasive tree that has tire puncturing thorns. We decided to get aggressive with it and mulched the entire area about a year ago. Today I'm going to treat the regrowth to a little cocktail of triclopyr and imazapyr. Bottoms up!



Well wouldn't you know it I load up my spray rig and immediately notice it leaning backwards on the tractor. A closer inspection reveals the metal fatigued leading to multiple cracks where the top link arm meets the platform which is nothing but sheet metal. Flimsy from the factory! With catastrophic failure imminent there was no putting off the repair.

So what was going to maybe be a one day spraying job tuned into a full weekend project. I started the repair on Friday evening and finished Saturday afternoon. I had to completely take the rig apart to weld on it. As of now I'm all loaded and ready to go. Hopefully no other equipment breaks.

Below are pictures of the repair. Wish I thought to take pictures of the major cracks so my repair would make more sense. I did take the opportunity to improve the spray rig by adding a frame to support the boom-less nozzle which allowed me to raise it a bit higher for those times I spray tall weedy fields.

 

[Matt Mahoney]

Thanks Steve. I installed thin holly keels on the hollow cedar teal and black ducks I carved in an attempt to make them "swim" in the current. Some do and some don't. As you can imagine, placement of the anchor line hole and shape of the bottom have a big impact on that. So, boring a hole in the keel for lead is not an option. I'm thinking of molding a slotted piece of lead that captures the keel similar to the ballast on my old Trendecoys. The rubber band is a good idea.

Good morning, Matt~


I have been doing just that over the last couple of days with the Broadie-beak I just carved. I'll take some photos later today - and maybe perform sea trials. As you will see, I just made an educated guess with this bird and poured lead into a Mahogany keel. I also weigh the bird and the keel.



But, I have many times just rubber-banded weights onto a bird for tank testing.


In the meantime, I did get to run sea trials on some Wildfowlers yesterday afternoon.


Here's the Hen at sea. I decided to not blur and mute the bill on her - just because.







With her mate:






I bought this Drake Mallard to convert into a Black Duck Hen - but the head shape was so exquisite I just could not do it....






Here's the Peregrine's eye view:






All the best,


SJS