Good morning, All~


Just got through 3 great days at the Northeast Workworkers Ass'n Showcase in nearby Saratoga Springs. I was judging and teaching 2 classes each day - one on decoys and one on duckboats - so did not have time to photograph any of the amazing variety of works on display. Lots of talented people!



Now I can get back in the shop.


I showed this cedar-bodied Black Duck last month. I used it as a prop in my classes - so now I can glue it up and finish it.







Here is a Wildfowler Black Duck I rehabbed as a gift - a Quogue Superior Model - with a balsa body.






My so-called "satin" spar varnish has been drying to a high sheen - so I have since toned this bill down with some fine steel wool.







This Herter's Model 72 Pintail got a coat of epoxy+ ....fine sawdust on the head and Homer Coat (finely ground walnut shells) on the body. He also got a plastic (from an industrial barrel) tail insert because the Durlon foam had worn away over many seasons.



Both Drake and Hen have been primed with flat oils and will get their latex topcoats soon. I will be both photodocumenting (stills) my painting for a Tutorial AND a friend will be "filming" (still not sure what verb to use for digital cameras taking movies....) the process as well.






This Wildfowler Superior Black Duck once belonged to an ECO (Environmental Conservation Officer) from eastern LI. I worked with Harry Jackson long ago. I found this on eBay and bought it from Harry's son.


It was generally sound but the tail was very soft and missing a bit. So, I cut out the unsound balsa and installed some new, denser balsa. The "dutchman" was set in thickened epoxy.






I also installed new eyes and filled some gouges, nicks and hollows. I have been replacing the eyes, too. The original Wildfowlers eyes were typically set "proud" - and I prefer to set them more naturally (but without recarving the faces).







It will become a Hen Mallard - as part of the small Mallard-Black rig I am assembling with Wildfowler Superiors I am gathering from across the country.






Here she is all faired and sanded. She has since been sealed with spar varnish and then primed with duckboat paint - Pettit 3303 Dull Dead Grass.






All the best,


SJS











Steven Jay Sanford
Pencil Brook Farm
South Cambridge, NY
http://www.stevenjaysanford.com

All~


From the Bench of George Williams....


A "mini-Woodie":






And a Bull Can:






All the best,


SJS

Steven Jay Sanford
Pencil Brook Farm
South Cambridge, NY
http://www.stevenjaysanford.com

Moving into April, I have a mallard for an urn underway.

Fitted the urn into the body today and sealed the compartment with a cherry plate. Waiting for epoxy to dry prior to sealing everything.














MLBob

"Art is like an ill-trained Labrador retriever that drags you out into traffic." (Annie Dillard)

....Here's to Joe Wooster, who made me realize that the useful could and should be beautiful; and who firmly believed that decoy carvers were the last free men in America.

https://www.facebook.com/KOOIdecoy?ref=hl

Great job, Bob!


(and helpful for an urn on my List....)


Here is the Eider pair - Bean's - I just returned to Troy Fields.


I got them all sealed by Troy. I did a few minor repairs and then tweaked the plumage patterns.










This head pattern is based on birds I shot with Troy a few years back.









Here they are finished - resting comfortably near the stove.






I had to study those cheek markings on a bunch of drakes - mostly on Google Images.






And the Hen got some extra attention on her face, too.







No open water hereabouts last week - so here they are as upland gamebirds...






All the best,


SJS

Steven Jay Sanford
Pencil Brook Farm
South Cambridge, NY
http://www.stevenjaysanford.com

Finished the blocks for the SSWA board presentation.

Bob, very nice finish work to prep. that urn decoy, its eventual owner will have both a canine remembrance piece and a keepsake! I admire your precision with a bandsaw! They scare the hell out of me, particularly when cutting profiles. You and Pat Gregory get my finish sanding award, redeemable at any Canadian government beer store for some Kokanee or OV! What percentage of your sanding is done on the belt sander versus hand sanding.?


Joe, good to see you got the scaup paint work finished consistent, one to the others, so no one feels slighted! They will be well appreciated by their new owners.

Black Duck I'm working on

Jeff, the bill appears rather elongated. If you have a specimen of either a black or mallard around, see how long the bill is in relationship to the rest of the head, and you will find that you will need to make adjustments.
Bill color needs to be dulled also, Yellow ochre, some of the black duck black should make a pretty close olivish yellow. You can also try yellow ochre and raw umber. Head coloration and ticking are pretty much black duck!
For a hen, add some mars black, then use the mars for the detailing, which is similar to hen mallard's. The hen's bill is much more olive than the drake.
I guess it's so they can tell each other apart.
george@runamuckdecoys.com

Had a wild hair and made a ringneck drake in courtship display... It is Spring...




Pat Gregory
Illinois Waterfowler and Decoy Maker
Duckboat Page Member since 2006

"And when a flock of bluebills, pitching pondward, tears the dark silk of heaven in one long rending nose-dive, you catch your breath at the sound, but there is nothing to see except stars. This same performance, in daytime, would have to be looked at, shot at, missed, and then hurriedly fitted with an alibi."
Aldo Leopold in Sand County Almanac

After way to long ( years) I finally got back in the (new) shop.

"UNLESS someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not."

Good morning, Brandon~


Congratulations on your new shop! I look forward to seeing some of your stylish birds in full plumage.


All the best,


SJS

Steven Jay Sanford
Pencil Brook Farm
South Cambridge, NY
http://www.stevenjaysanford.com

...with a removable head for painting and sealing, Pat? That will be an interesting addition to the spread! Again, very nice finish work.

 Little something besides ducks.





----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I never know which is worse: the sorrow when you hit the bird, or the shame when you miss.
http://www.hillmandecoys.com
Mullica Hill NJ

Here are the last 14 scaup that accompany the previous three birds from March. I have four more bodies left, but only two heads, so I am going to stop and give my hands a rest while I finish sand and dowel the heads and tailboards into the bodies, prior bandsawing some more heads to finish. Coupled with the March redheads, the total is currently 32 tan corks to seal and paint this summer, after spring fishing slows down.

Good morning, All~


A Grey Duck from the Bench of George Williams:






All the best,


SJS

Steven Jay Sanford
Pencil Brook Farm
South Cambridge, NY
http://www.stevenjaysanford.com

nice little gang of broadbills, you have there.
george@runamuckdecoys.com

Hey Joe, Really like those Blackheads, I know that's a Chesapeake Bay name for Broadbills . Still like em.

Great work everyone. I have not been back in the shop yet work and life always gets in the way but my new batch of epoxy shows up tomorrow so that will be exciting.

"UNLESS someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not."

I have been selling off some of the odds and ends in my decoy rig, to make room for the decoys I have been doing myself, and to finance more. Last week a guy stopped over to get a couple Herters 63 bodies I listed and we got to talking.....

Thursday he dropped off 3 five gallon pails of Herters heads! 101 heads in all, 72s and 63s, all destine to be Bluebills and Cans.







In the mix, I have sorted out 6 different model 63 styles, I separated a pr of each of these that I will first make molds of before I paint them. With the molds, there will always be replacement heads in the original types!

Dave Diefenderfer
Manassas, VA

"Once you set out to build a boat, throw away your square. And if you work on her after she's launched, throw away your level." author unknown

I had some "extra" black duck decoys kicking around and thought I would try my hand at drake mallards. I think they'll hunt.




"Pass the Tradition Along"

Dave, that's quite a gift!

Rick, not a gift! These were brought for me to paint for the buyer! Though I may have sold my time cheap. The resource to create the molds will be an additional value as I will be able to cast heads for guys in the future like I have the coot mold already.

Dave Diefenderfer
Manassas, VA

"Once you set out to build a boat, throw away your square. And if you work on her after she's launched, throw away your level." author unknown

Good morning, Troy~


This decoy painting gets addictive, doesn't it?????


All the best!


SJS

Steven Jay Sanford
Pencil Brook Farm
South Cambridge, NY
http://www.stevenjaysanford.com

On the paint bench...




Pat Gregory
Illinois Waterfowler and Decoy Maker
Duckboat Page Member since 2006

"And when a flock of bluebills, pitching pondward, tears the dark silk of heaven in one long rending nose-dive, you catch your breath at the sound, but there is nothing to see except stars. This same performance, in daytime, would have to be looked at, shot at, missed, and then hurriedly fitted with an alibi."
Aldo Leopold in Sand County Almanac

Looking good Troy!