Carvers Corner: What are you working on now???

[Neighbor_guy]

We have had a ongoing and running new decoys thread for years. Figured we might as well get a carvers corner thread going as well. So stop here and share what you are working on now, what you are having a hard time with. And ask questions, give advise, share tips/tricks and network with other carvers on the site.

[Neighbor_guy]

I will start off...

I am working on the last of the decoys I want to have finished for the Alexandria show. Did the lead and bondo on (4) today, started as a batch of 6, but the decoys split when I was drilling for the lead pockets. I hate that...

By the looks of it there are about (10) more blanks that have been carved and scaled. They will be the last ones I do for the show. A few of them are flippers and I have had difficulty with those as of late. Forgot how I did the last one, so its like going back to the drawing board.

The switch to cedar and away from pine has gone well. The cedar is holding up MUCH better than the pine. I used a couple cedar decoys at the end of the season with no checking or problems with the finish. At the same time I had a pine decoy "blow up". It was my favorite working decoy but soaked up some water and froze... Boom!!! fins popped. It was the first one I have had fail, but definitely opened my eyes to the possible issue. No more pine for me.

Once I get this batch done it will be time to work on my table display... but we can talk about that another time.

How bout the rest of you???

[mwal]

May I ask where you get cedar? I am just waiting for warm to set up saw etc in garage. Been practicing on basswood and it is only good for practice using gouge knives etc.

Mwal

[Neighbor_guy]

There you have it... The bench picture for the day. Don't normally show decoys or the shop in the unfinished state, but this is the carvers thread so figured it was in the spirit of the game. . Big Sucker is ready for glue up. The bondo is ready for sanding on the others.

Mwal- the "big box" yards are starting to carry more and more cedar. Just be sure it's cedar and not "cedar tone".

[jasonmichalski]

I've got a batch of 15 now for Michigan orders before our season ends then 40 more ordered to fill after that.

This batch is going tine fun I'm working on 11 scaled gold Cisco decoys, a 11" red & white, a 12" pike basic worker, a 9 1/2" sucker, and a 9" smelt.

[Neighbor_guy]

Got another group in detail paint and sealer today.

Spent over 5hrs burning scales in this guy last night. The pain in my arms won't let me forget that one for a while. If things go well today I will get it glued up tonight. In a perfect world it may even get lead.

[MJ1657]

This is a great thread guys. Very interesting to se the whole process.

[Neighbor_guy]

The paint and sealer is all dry. The air compressor and saws are quiet.

All the decoys are done for the Alexandria show next weekend.

I'm needing to take some time away from the shop to heal up my arms. The scaling job on that big sucker decoy did a lot more damage than I thought.

Watch for the start of the decoy of the month threads in a couple weeks.

[jasonmichalski]

Here's the results of the last batch I finished from the previously posted pictures.

[jasonmichalski]

Another batch of decoys in the works.

[Neighbor_guy]

I am working on getting the shop closed down for my move. I have a handful of blanks carved and waiting for fins and lead. Thankfully Wanderer is patient and understands why he has to wait on his 5-0-diamonds decoy. Other than that the plan is to get the blanks cut and roughed out for this months D.o.M. And then begin packing tools and cleaning up shop.

 

hope everyone else is having a good spring! Stay in touch. 

[ninakawawa]

11inch walleye

[MJ1657]

Very nice!

[Mike89]

Very nice!

​2nd that!

[mrklean]

That's a awesome looking eye

[shamalex72]

First one in a while. A Christmas present for my little nephew. 

[MJ1657]

First one in a while. A Christmas present for my little nephew. 

Thats not your usual style. 

[shamalex72]

He's only 8, can't start him off with a real fancy one.

[Neighbor_guy]

Your right about not starting him out too fancy.  And while it might not be your normal style, its yours, and he's going to really enjoy it. 

[mrklean]

I was worried thought you lost your touch for a minute

[Neighbor_guy]

Sorry about the sideways pictures....

After 6months of not carving anything and only finishing 3-decoys that were already carved and made the move to the new house, I have begun to work on/in the new wood shop. 

Stove has been installed for heat...

benches have been built...

and decoys are being carved...

still don't have a paint booth set up yet, but once I get decoys glued up and into lead I don't like having the. Sit unfinished or they might get damaged. 

Not sure about the water tank yet. It would likely freeze if left alone in the garage. I guess I could get a metal cattle tank and a tank heater, but I will have to weight my options. My House is quite small, so I am trying to keep as much decoy stuff in the shop/garage as possible. 

[Neighbor_guy]

I need to remember to stop holding my phone vertical when I take pictures. 

Anyways, here's the goose at duck carving class. Her duck is ready for paint!!!

 

[Neighbor_guy]

A pair of 4.5" sunfish are the first to emerge from the shop for 2016!!!

[Neighbor_guy]

The change to cedar for decoy wood has eliminated the swelling and cracking that I was getting with pine decoy blanks. It's also giving me some very nice swimming decoys.

 However it is proving very frustrating in the overall production of decoys. You put hours of work into a decoy, only to have it split and break apart. I typically start a batch of decoys with 6 blanks. With pine I would usually end up with 5 functional decoys. I'm lucky to get 3 finished when working with cedar. The rest end up in the trash or fire bin. I know it's all part of making a go of it. But when you are trying to get decoys together for a show losing half of what you make us difficult. 

No real question I guess. Just an observation. 

Just keep that in mind when you are at a decoy show or requesting a decoy from a decoy carver. A typical decoy will have between 8 and 12hrs of work that goes into it, and that's not counting the work that went into the "lost pile". The $35-$45 that you pay for a custom decoy is peanuts. 

[Mike89]

well said NG