What's on the Workbench in September...

These two decoys were also hunted on our trip to Manitoba this year. They are not carved by me so I will let there owner chime in on them.

The story of the Can and the Teal is really kinda neat but since they are not my decoys I will let him tell it.


2012-09-08-Manitoba-(Doug)-241.jpg


2012-09-08-Manitoba-(Doug)-270.jpg
Click to expand...

Thanks for posting those, Brandon. I still haven't figured out how to post pictures.... I decided that the first working decoys I made should be Canvasbacks. My great-grandfather was a market hunter, and when I was a little boy, his son (my grandpa) would tell me stories of his dad bringing home Canvasbacks for dinner. Those stories have always stuck with me and even though I don't get a chance to hunt them much, I've got a thing for cans . I made the two decoys in the pictures for this trip, and it was really cool that the first duck shot over them was the eclipse Canvasback drake in the picture - Brandon got it.
The second duck to get taken over them was the teal I'm holding in the picture. Strange to get a teal in open water over a diver rig, but even stranger is that we're pretty sure it's a Cinnamon Teal hen. If so it's my first Cinnamon, and I guess that species is even somewhat rare in Manitoba. We confirmed it with a bill match in the LeMaster book. The bill is just way too long to be a Blue Wing, so it pretty much has to be a Cinnamon.
The decoy bodys are made from a piece of driftwood cedar timber that I found in Lake Superior last fall. The heads are from blanks I got from Paul Rutgers a couple of years back. I think they turned out pretty good for a first attempt, and I think it's kind of a neat natural affirmation that the first bird shot over them should be a Canvasback.
 
Yes, I do. I'll try to figure out how to get them posted up tonight. The paint on these was barely dry when we hunted them - i.e. no float test - but I think they did pretty well!
 
doug i am not a bioligist, but i shoot a lot of teal. I think that bird is a drake, hard to say whether its a bluewing or a cinny without seeing the eye, but the white on the wing, tells me drake. The hen isn't nearly that solid and had a lot of brown blotching mixed in. again, i could be wrong.
 
Kris, you could be right, and if so then it's a BWT. The eye was not red, but the bill was SO long we figured it couldn't be a Blue Wing; but then if it was a Cinny then it had to be a hen based on eye color. I'm certainly willing to believe it is just a hoss of a BWT!
 
Those pictures of new decoys with birds are AWESOME!

I too would like to see pictures of the cans floating. Thanks!
 
Awesome stuff Brandon ! It's cool to see the old MDHA Hat is still knocking about. The Assoc. used to be super active down hear by Grand Rapids, but involvment tappered off over the last 10 years or so. Dekes look excellent.
 
Doug,
I looked through my pictures but I don't have any of your decoys on the water. Email me what you got on your camera and I will be glad to get them posted for you.

Did your freeze that teal? I meant to trade you our a beat up bird for it as carving reference.
 
A great bunch of stuff being posted for sure!

Sean, those birds are wonderful - always like to see what's beneath the surface. Hope all you guys appreciate the sound woodworking skills and thought that goes into those birds.

Finally got around to doing myself another goose call (- as I let my remarqued ebony one go when I had a request for an ebony set, but not enough ebony left ). The wood in this call is that 300+ year-old pecan that I hoard for special projects. It has been fitted with some "Canada Goose colored," black & white marbled acrylic end-caps & accent bands. All inner chambers are poly-sleeved so that the materials will never separate.

View attachment MLCall 002 (600 x 399).jpg

More pickleweeds for my set in the works + some decoys as well.
 
bob that call is awesome.

Doug that looks like the big blue wing drakes we shot last weekend here in Mo.
 
[font=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica]"Finally got around to doing myself another goose call",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
"[font=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica]The wood in this call is that 300+ year-old pecan that I hoard for special projects.",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
[/font][/font][font=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica]" black & white marbled acrylic end-caps & accent bands."[/font],,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,


Bob,

I was going to give you a real hard time about hoarding the good stuff for yourself,,,,,,,,,,, but I guess we all like to "treat" ourselves once in a while. Nice looking call, wanna trade? ;>)
 
This thread has been incredible this month, so many excellent decoys. I really like the twist Brandon did this month, showing his working decoys in action (that teal rig is great Brandon!). I thought I'd do the same since I didn't find time to post the workbench photos. I have had a very busy past few months with lots on the go, but I did find time to finish a small rig of cork and cedar ringnecks - my first carved birds after my canvas geese I completed earlier in the summer. I have since darkened the rings on the males, which were way too bright on the water.

View attachment ringers1.jpg

I was very fortunate to have some success with them on the opener here, with a ringer in the mixed bag.

View attachment ringers2.jpg

Less than a week later I had the hunt of a lifetime over my rig of canvas geese, with a couple of 15 pound ganders in the mix (and my pup's first retrieves on Canadas - what a way to start - that's a story in and of itself). I was elated to watch the geese show a strong preference for attempting to land with my canvas birds over the four bigfoots.

View attachment geese1.jpg

And an early group of redheads showed a strong affinity for the ringers as well.

View attachment ringers3.jpg

To say I'm now hooked on carving my own rig is an understatement. I've had a lot of help from my dad over Skype with them, but I also got a lot of inspiration from the incredibly talented folks posting here - I've learned a lot by lurking, and again thanks to Chuck for sending me the info on making canvas birds last year. I hope to do a few more next year, finish up some more cork birds, and then delve into a motherlode of cedar I got my hands on.

View attachment geese2.jpg

All of that will have to wait until January now though, I'm well into one of my best seasons in years, and still looking forward to hunts with family and friends this year. I wish all of you the same as the seasons open down the flyways.
 
Nick,

Nice photos. I really like that last one, makes me wish I was the guy sitting behind that shotgun. Very serene and satisfying scene.
 
Here are a few pictures of my Canvasbacks on the water here in Michigan last weekend during the youth hunt, along with a couple on my "bench." Since I don't really have a shop to work in, I just use a table in my living room. Someday maybe I'll have more space...










 
Doug,
Thanks for posting those pics. Man, those are nice! How thick would you say the body is and did you hollow it? Drafts very little water and stands out nice! Really nice footprint on the water. Those would be perfect for the water I mainly hunt so please forgive me for the questions.
 
[font=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica]"Finally got around to doing myself another goose call",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
"[font=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica]The wood in this call is that 300+ year-old pecan that I hoard for special projects.",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
[/font][/font][font=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica]" black & white marbled acrylic end-caps & accent bands."[/font],,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,


Bob,

I was going to give you a real hard time about hoarding the good stuff for yourself,,,,,,,,,,, but I guess we all like to "treat" ourselves once in a while. Nice looking call, wanna trade? ;>)
Click to expand...

Dave,

He he he....It's like I tell the guys who look in my boat at the ramp and say, "You don't really hunt over these decoys, do ya?" ...I just explain that it's not a problem for me 'cause I know the guy who makes them.

You know every call I send off is great sounding & good looking... just without the fat price tag. That new one has has the same specs and sound as they all do; it's just dressed in a bit more "custom shop" finish work that took up more time and materials...... Wanna upgrade?? ;-)

Kind of like choosing a good Gibson ES 335. A great looking, vintage 335 might guarantee you nothing but a lighter pocketbook, but if I could own a 'plain Jane' one that was a "player" at a bargain price, I'd snap it up in a heartbeat. But I must admit, things like quilted-maple tops + custom bindings & inlays do make my heart beat faster too!

View attachment 335natural (600 x 332).jpg
 
Last edited:
Pintail I am working on for the Rockford, IL DU dinner in November. White pine head and body with a hickory tail insert and keel.

2012-09-21_07-16-24_526_zps14631d35.jpg

 
Doug,
Thanks for posting those pics. Man, those are nice! How thick would you say the body is and did you hollow it? Drafts very little water and stands out nice! Really nice footprint on the water. Those would be perfect for the water I mainly hunt so please forgive me for the questions.
Click to expand...

Lee, The body's are solid and a little less than 2" thick. They were made from a piece of cedar board that I found as driftwood along Lake Superior. It took a long time to dry and the first few millimeters were really soft and got carved away, but the wood underneath was hard and really nice to carve.

Thanks for the kind words from everybody on them. Brandon really helped me with all the carving and painting questions I had while making them, but I basically just blundered along, using pictures and carving away all the wood that didn't look like a duck. I am just astounded by the amazing decoys you guys are making. I have a lot to aspire to, I can tell, but the process was so fun that I can definitely forsee a hand-carved rig in my future. Plus my wife would be pleased to see all the plastic decoys cleared out of "that corner" in the garage!
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top