Carving decoys

[Woody]

This my first try, so don't be to mean... Gene

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Trying to make some sleeper magnum ww scoters.
Got two ready for burlap and one need the top of its head added on.

But what do you guys think?

[Olly]

How many hours do you have in them? They look amazing so far.

[Woody]

Thanks!

It's taken about an hour and a half apiece so far. I'm guessing by the time I'm done it'll be about 36 hours and 160-180 bucks per dozen.

[RickC]

Looking darn good! For your first your ahead in the game by having those bodies nicely rounded. How wide and how tall are they?

[Woody]

Thanks! That means a lot coming from you, Rick.

15.5 inches long. 9 inches wide. Around 5.3 inches tall (at center of body), and 8 inches tall (at head).

I was shooting for 4.75 inches on the body height but stopped whenever they looked properly rounded.

[ohioduck]

Nice job Woodrow

[Woody]

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[Woody]

Thanks, Ohio!

[RickC]

You might want to finish out one and test it out before doing them all. I've found it easier to correct one and a pattern than have several that need to be modified.
Not knowing if you're working off an established pattern or not I'll pass on the standard starting point for most patterns that we go by.
Width is half of the length and height is half the width. So for a 14" long decoy the width woul be 7" and height 3.5". I personally like a decoy with a bit wider footprint than what that formula calls for so I will add 3/4" across the width at the side pockets and may drop the height 1/4" to 3/8"".
I like that it increases the footprint and stability. But that's just the way I've found that I like to build mine and you'll find what fits your needs as well.

[Woody]

Rick, when you say test do you mean a float test?

[RickC]

Yes. Now I test float my wood decoys before I glue the halves together by wrapping them in saran wrap, you can also place a thin style plastic, like they use for dry cleaning, across a tub and test that way. Testing it would tell you how it needs to be weighted, and you get an idea of how it'll ride the water

[Woody]

I did a float test on the first one and it seemed to float pretty well. I'm not sure how to tell if it floated correctly.

Is there something I should be looking for?

It floated straight up and down, but obviously it doesn't self right (no keel yet).

[Woody]

Judging by the dimension guide lines, my decoys are a bit tall. I assume that will hurt stability in winds and waves, so can I fix that by adding lead to the keel?

[RickC]

That's basically it, no side tilting. I do set mine to ride a bit lower than the back. It suggests a relaxed bird to me if the chest is low in the water. Which way are you coating? Mastic and burlap or restless coating?

[Woody]

Planning on using burlap. I'm thinking it will cover up rough spots on my foam better than restless. Am I right about that?

[RickC]

I can't really speak to that as I haven't done any foam birds. I have all the stuff to do some one of these days. I'll do a couple both ways and see which works better for me. I'm leaning toward mastic and burlap

[RickC]

The height on yours would concern, but saying that, I have done canvas backs that were about the same sizei. It took quite a bit of lead to get it to self right, since I don't use a keel. And they rode a bit lower because of the weight.

[The Duck Hammer]

Those look good Woody

[Olly]

What kind of glue are you using on the foam? I might give this a go.

[Woody]

Gorilla glue.

[Olly]

Gorilla glue.

And the foam is just insulation foam?

[Woody]

Yep.
2" extruded polystyrene.

[Botiz630]

I think they'll be fine. The finished decoy will be very light, and the trex we're using for keels is pretty heavy.

[Olly]

I'm looking forward to seeing the finished result.

[Woody]

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Burlaped 3 of em tonight.

[flyn88]

Looking good. It's a lot better than my first attempt. Gonna hunt them?

[Woody]

Oh yeah. They're gonna get shot.

[flyn88]

Oh yeah. They're gonna get shot.

At least they won't sink. Birds that close you don't worry about decoys.

[Olly]

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Burlaped 3 of em tonight.

You gonna have 10dz done by your Yooper trip this year?

[The Duck Hammer]

Mummy decoys.