What's on your WORK BENCH ? - March 2020

Jeff

That is an awesome reproduction. What a cool display at your hunting lodge. That place must have some kind of duck hunting ambience. Nice work. Love it!

Eric
 
Jeff,
Cool project. I dare you to walk up to your local trap range with that thing. I imagine you'd get a conversation going. [w00t]
 
I think I would have to drill a hole from the pan into the barrel, light load it with just powder and thick wadding and fire that sucker off, at least once!!

Very cool repro, lots of cool stuff on the benches this month!
 
Ringers?

Our mangos and FL avocados are still only about 2' tall, no shade or fruit for us for a few more years.
 
Carl said:
Ringers?

Our mangoes and FL avocados are still only about 2' tall, no shade or fruit for us for a few more years.
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Ringer Drake and Red Head Drake that will be heading up to their new owner shortly. Our mango trees (2 of them) were mature when we bought this home over 30 years ago.Best guess with info from previous owner is that they are around 50 years old. We get 1200 to 1400 mangoes every year. I panted a tree from seed about 9 years ago. I never got around to grafting it and last year it gave its first fruit. If not grafted you cant be sure what you will get with seed variation. We got lucky and the fruit on the newest tree is like candy.
 
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Good morning, Zane~


Actually, because Ash naturally has low moisture content, it cures quite rapidly. Instead of the "year-per-inch" I learned for White Pine and Basswood, I am told this lumber will be ready to shape in a couple of months. I think I will borrow a meter and test it in June or so.


All the best,


SJS

 
bob welsh said:
The spoonies are my interpretation of a challenge mason or a Hays body with a Detroit rounded head . Not a whole examples out there. The body style suits this species well. They always seem to have an upswept tail and general ragged look. When I hunt them in January they are pretty bright and maybe 10 percent are nice. If I wanted to be truthful with my paint , I would dirty them up and paint them mostly in eclipse. But awe shucks they are just spoonies.
Heads are Tupelo bodies white cedar.
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Still, they have a nice shanty artist look to them-very nice! Bob, how do they eat that time of the year? Most of the birds I have taken were in early October, and became jerky on the dehydrator while we were still hunting.
 
Check the cheeks on the black duck in the top "Stool Rack" pick. To the right of the books is a sleeper, below her.
And Steve, tell George that I appreciate the offer and yes, I'll gladly take all those Brant thank you, yes.....
 
Good morning, Mc~


Yup - that fat-cheeked Black Duck caught my eye, too - some McCormick Influence down in Delaware????


All the best,


SJS

 
Guys, THAT IS an Al McCormick Black duck on the shelf below the books. If you look carefully, you will also find a pair of his bluebills.
With the virus thing, I got into spring dusting and vacuuming. The table by my bench and the bench still need the gentle touch.
That's not all of the brant in my rig. There are 30 more out in the garage/shop annex.
 
Shanty artist! Got that right, RL ! I went back and put some finishing paint strokes on the birds before I put them in a spot to dry. In a few days I will give them a wash coat . To me the pigmented wash coat makes everything flow nice.painted in oils I added ZEC to thicken the paint and pretty much painted the birds in one sitting , wet on wet.
I guess I should slow down as I have PLENTY of time now that the state of Illinois is on lockdown more or less.
As for shooting the boot lips, they are willing participants when things are slow and you need to fill out the bag. While I don?t go out to shoot a three man limit of these fine fellows, I am appreciative of their willingness to play in lean times.
They all get cleaned and made into duck sticks and nobody ever has said ,?You know that stick had a little wang to it?.
 
Bob, I am a big advocate of decoy makers carrying on the tradition by using the tools of their precursors: paints, brushes, readily available tools and techniques. Your decoys remind me a lot of Bob Mitchell's work.

Joined a sausage making group, so I may hit you up for some of your mix recipes if they are not proprietary.
 
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