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February Workbench

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Post  Ed Lewandowski Sun Feb 05, 2012 6:27 pm

Borrowing a standard topic from other carving forums... I'll start the fun by posting a photo of a Shoveler I just finished up (my 1st attempt)). Hopefully, George will get his computer working again soon so that he can share some of his fantastic work...

Ed

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Post  Davey Welsh Sun Feb 05, 2012 6:33 pm

Very nice bird!!
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Post  Davey Welsh Tue Feb 07, 2012 11:56 pm

Got a cork Mallard on the bench right now and another waiting on the shelf. Just finished the tail, got the head glued on and eyes set. Tomorrow I'll work the breast into the neck, cut in some side pockets and get him finished and ready for sealer and primer. I'm doing a rig of 7 cork mallard gunners so I'll paint them when they're all done. I also have a few silly cedar mallards on the shelf to finish as well as a decorative Drake Pintail. I wonder if all carvers jump from project to project? Laughing



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Post  george w Thu Feb 09, 2012 12:37 am

THAT is reasonably simple.. Davey, the only real reason for the side pockets, imo, is to make the deke narrower at the top, which gives the illusion of it being wider at the base. If you think of the deke as a pyramid with the top lopped off, this will begin to make sense.
I like the pockets personally, but a lot of my earlier stuff did not have that feature. It kinda just evolved..I have a rig of 100 brand, which really show the changes in the structure of the decoy for me.
Ski has seen the dungeon, and can attest to that, for sure Very Happy

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Post  Davey Welsh Thu Feb 09, 2012 1:04 am

I agree with you on side pockets George, I think it makes the profile look better. Decoys without the side pockets work too, but I prefer the look of having a defined wing shoulder.

This is the first time I've carved cork and I had a little trouble seeing the roundness as I carved it because its not smooth like wood. Although I must say, what a nice break from cedar. This thing carved so fast it was insane and because I've carved quite a few cedar birds, my techniques for rounding and shaping the bird just came second nature.

Since this is the first bird from the pattern I made, the most notable thing I want to change is the width of the bill. I actually used my study mallard bill for the width and length but it didn't dawn on me the fact that I made the head slightly oversized because I like big heads on my birds! So of course, the actual size bill just looks a bit too narrow on him. And I screwed up on the one side pocket because again, I had a hard time "seeing" the shape on the cork. Anyway, I'm going to carve the next one and then continue on with the rig of 7. I won't paint until they are all finished.

Primed and ready for paint.

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Post  george w Thu Feb 09, 2012 1:57 am

when i seal my stuff, i apply at least three coats of GAC 700--golden sealer--One thing about the newer non-wiley cork is that if you have as much as a pinhole available, water will wick into the deke--You will know immediately, because the damn things get quite heavy!! Looks like you might be using BIN. I do a total coat with black after gaccing--This way, i get to paint on a dark ground, which is fun, AND, i can see if i missed any spots with the gac.
I can live with hollowing wood, but it is just more time consuming, ergo, a lot more expense for someone wanting a small rig.
Now that i am able to do pics again, i will send you some shots of my stuff

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Post  Davey Welsh Thu Feb 09, 2012 2:02 am

Hey George, I am using Jansens cork sealer, 3 coats. And then I primed the decoy using white gesso tinted with a touch of black and I mixed in some modeling paste but I ran out! Not enough to texture the way I wanted. No big deal, I'll texture when I base coat my colors.
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Post  george w Thu Feb 09, 2012 9:45 am

Aha, that is why i was seeing that bluish grey---Once sealed, try basing with just mars black or burnt umber--This way, if the paint scratches or abrades, nothing odd will show up underneath. Btw, if you are painting with Golden matte, you can texture the paint itself by combing..No need playing with the underneath stuff.
Regarding thecarving of the pockets, and this is a thought..When you are grinding, and i assume you are right handed, do the SIDE that seems the most uncomfortable to you FIRST. You will find yourself focusing on HOW and where to make the cut- Likely, the right side with the tail facing you is easiest, so you do it first--do the opposite and you will find that both will match up better. Just a right brained trick to allow it to get into the game.


Last edited by george w on Thu Feb 09, 2012 9:49 am; edited 1 time in total (Reason for editing : adding on)

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Post  Capt. Larry M Thu Feb 09, 2012 11:13 am

george w wrote:Regarding thecarving of the pockets, and this is a thought..When you are grinding, and i assume you are right handed, do the SIDE that seems the most uncomfortable to you FIRST. You will find yourself focusing on HOW and where to make the cut- Likely, the right side with the tail facing you is easiest, so you do it first--do the opposite and you will find that both will match up better. Just a right brained trick to allow it to get into the game.

Great stuff George gonna definetly try that next time I carve side pockets only difference is I have to reverse it, I am left handed
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Post  george w Thu Feb 09, 2012 1:05 pm

Being sinister is good---That automatically kinda gets you into your right brain---Just do what feels the most awkward first, whether from front or back--That little trick may surprize you.


Last edited by george w on Thu Feb 09, 2012 1:06 pm; edited 1 time in total (Reason for editing : an oops)

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Post  Eddie Kershaw Thu Feb 09, 2012 1:42 pm

Davey
That mallard is looking sweet, it will be nice when it has got some cloths on, do you intend putting a pad weight on it or a keel, I always put a keel on mine with it being tidal where I shoot.

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Post  george w Thu Feb 09, 2012 6:13 pm

Ed and Davey, with cork, it is best to go with a weighted keel that is glued, not screwed, to the bottom, since any intrusion into the sealed surface may cause water wicking problems. Go Gorilla!!! Wink

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Post  Davey Welsh Fri Feb 10, 2012 4:49 pm

#$*% painting. I don't think this end result shows the frustration I went through. I finally just said the hell with it Davey, paint a friggin mallard. So here ya go! Cork gunning mallard...6 more to do.

Gotta say, from 20ft away this thing looks great. Those Drake Mallard features just scream, which is good for decoying birds I think.

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Post  Eddie Kershaw Fri Feb 10, 2012 5:35 pm

Davey Welsh wrote:#$*% painting. I don't think this end result shows the frustration I went through. I finally just said the hell with it Davey, paint a friggin mallard. So here ya go! Cork gunning mallard...6 more to do.

Gotta say, from 20ft away this thing looks great. Those Drake Mallard features just scream, which is good for decoying birds I think.

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Davey
That mallard looks great are you going to do the other six with different head positions. Wink

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Post  Davey Welsh Fri Feb 10, 2012 5:59 pm

Thanks Eddie, and yes, the whole rig will have some character!
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Post  george w Fri Feb 10, 2012 6:43 pm

why am i getting a glossiness on the drake, especially the chest..Oils? i know Golden matte will not do that--
As a critique, you might consider dropping the side lines, just to get rid of the extra stuff.. Think time needed for folks to repaint. Hope you are planning on some hens to join that drake-You do not need to pinch the flank on the hen, as she is smoother from stem to stern. Good color, just bothered by the glossies. Sust in the shop may take care of that problem, though Smile
Forgot to ask, did the paint schedule work for you?

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Post  Davey Welsh Fri Feb 10, 2012 7:12 pm

george w wrote:why am i getting a glossiness on the drake, especially the chest..Oils? i know Golden matte will not do that--
As a critique, you might consider dropping the side lines, just to get rid of the extra stuff.. Think time needed for folks to repaint. Hope you are planning on some hens to join that drake-You do not need to pinch the flank on the hen, as she is smoother from stem to stern. Good color, just bothered by the glossies. Sust in the shop may take care of that problem, though Smile
Forgot to ask, did the paint schedule work for you?

Thanks for the critique George. My Burnt sienna for the breast was goldens, but not matte goldens. I mixed a matte medium in there quite a bit, but again this is why I need to junk the paint I have and buy all the matte paints. It could also be because the paint hasn't fully dried yet. Its dry to the touch, but you know how acrylics should set for 24hrs. If he still has a bit of shine, I will spray some matte finish on there. The rest of the rig will painted with the Matte Goldens I intend to buy very soon.

And yes, your paint schedule helped a lot, thanks! I had to custom mix my head though because I didn't have Pthalo green yellow shade. I think I used Hookers green with a touch of mars black for the base and then hookers green, pthalo green blue shade and mars black darkened for the airbrush shadow on the head. If I had a streamlined process, the bird doesn't take that long to paint. I just have a mental problem of always having to add some detail with a fine brush. Only took a few mins with the detail brush but I think it finishes it off. Like I said..I'm mental. LOL!
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Post  george w Fri Feb 10, 2012 8:28 pm

The hookers or jenkins works fine with the black-just back off on the black, since both of the greens are super dark--regular thalo green will work if you do not have the yellow shade--I am still growling at them , trying to get back just regular thalo green--The stippling with cad yellow on the cheek will give you ALL the highlights you will ever want--Funny, on a cloudy day, the drake's head is kinda blackish, with just hints of greenish on cheeks--The closer you are , the more variations you see, but for a deke-less is MUCH better. That glossiness is por suerte, the strength of the gloss sienna@
You got a mire brown on the back--did you wash with burnt umber or put burnt umber in the mix--By back, i am actually talking the scapular area--Back should have been burnt umber, black, raw sienna and a bit of white--sometimes, i do that jusst to see if i can remember what i use on the damn things. Wink
Hey, did you get the pics i sent you--sorry about the brant, i was losing battery. Embarassed

Regarding the drying, i have painted stuff and hunted it the next morning--That is some tough paint--You could probably do it with some others, BUT not Sonja!


Last edited by george w on Fri Feb 10, 2012 8:30 pm; edited 1 time in total (Reason for editing : add)

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Post  Davey Welsh Fri Feb 10, 2012 9:01 pm

Got the photos, thanks George.

None of my Golden paints are Matte right now. I bought these a long time ago from the local art store, they don't sell matte acrylics. I use a Golden Matte medium, which honestly doesn't do much in my opinion.

As far as the color on the back, truth be told I had some difficulty mixing the greys. I used Burnt Umber, Ultra-marine blue and white for gray on the side pockets. My ult. marine-blue is Grumbacher paint I think, and using your formula I ended up with brown that wasn't dark enough. So had to use more ult. blue to darken it. I added Raw Umber to the mix to get rid of the blue. I darkened this mixture with more Burnt umber for the base coat on the back. The blending on the back was with Burnt umber, raw umber, ult. marine blue, white and a touch of carbon black. I also airbrushed a lightened mixture of the side pocket grey just behind the side pocket, because on mallards in the field this area appears lighter. I also put a slight shadow outlining the back of the side pocket to give it depth. Again, this takes no time using the airbrush, since I had the paints already mixed.

I think alot of these issues will be gone once I get a complete set of Golden matte paints. I am doing this rig of mallards for myself, because I'm tired of gunning over plastic decoys while other people gun over my birds! So I'm keeping these guys for myself. The hens are going to put me on drugs...I can tell you that right now. cyclops
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Post  george w Fri Feb 10, 2012 9:40 pm

AHHHHHHHH!!
Do not try to mis all together---I noted a specific color, which was blackduck black, a mix of two parts burnt umber to one part ultramarine blue--You can likely do this by eye--The end will be very similar to the base color for a blackduck..I mix that into a quart jar, then shake or stir the hell out of it, then use as needed---so, for both greys for the mallard--tertial and side color--White, blackduck black and some raw umber. For the flank and scaps-shoulders, whatever--same, but with more of the blackduck black--If you try to mess with bu, u b, and white as a group, it doesn't work the same!!! if you like your mallard slightly darker, adjust the quantity of blackduck black you add to the mix---i have changed to a darker mix for the lighter AND darker greys by just adding a bit more of the bd to what i already had--A wash of raw umber and water at the end will really tend to pull everything together, so you will need less fuss time with being to artsy!!! Carbon black will still result in a slight bluish cast, although not as dramatic as mars. Beter to play with the blackduck black, titanium white and bit of raw umber--That little group work great for teal, sprig, anything with greysih value--Gaddie tertials and sprig tertials are the same, with the slight addition of burnt umber, but VERY slight..The hen mallard's tertials start with the grey, then add more raw umber and some burnt umber--keep a body by you to see if you are on the money..Remember, it is a decoy, not a swiss watch, for pete's sake! Rolling Eyes

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Post  Davey Welsh Fri Feb 10, 2012 10:26 pm

LOL! You're too funny George!

I didn't mix all those colors together as you suggested, I followed your paint schedule. I mixed a batch of 2pts Burnt Umber to 1pt Ultra-marine blue like you said, and I made "blackduck black". The only problem was (and it could be my paint) that to get blackduck black I ended up using Burnt Umber/ultramarine blue 50/50 mix. I set that color aside, and then added that color to titanium white for the sides. The result was too blue, so I dropped some Raw umber in it to get rid of the blue. I did the same thing for the back but I added more of the blackduck black mix. Hope that clarifies things. I did follow your paint schedule though, but my Burnt umber paint is a tube of Golden and my ultramarine blue is some other brand.

Don't worry, this is the last bird I paint using this collection of paints I have. Every bird from here on out will be Golden mattes. I think he will make a fine gunning bird as is. We'll see how the others turn out.

And by the way, what are you doing next week? Maybe should I come to your shop so you can bop me over the head with some paint lessons. geek
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Post  george w Fri Feb 10, 2012 10:36 pm

sometimes, when mixing various brands, problems will occur--As some pigments are stronger in one paint than another--Student colors tend to have less pigment -just not as strong--There are formulation differences between Grumbacher, windsor%newton, etc.Cheap paint versus more expensive stuff.
I think once you get into the routine of using just one particular type, the little quirks will stop--meanwhile, save peanut butter jars, mayo jars, mustard jars--they are aces for storing unused stuff, not to mention mixing quantities for later--Just a schpritz with a sprayer will keep them fresh while not in use.Man, this thred is starting to grow! Wink Kinda like an on line mentoring session!

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Post  Davey Welsh Fri Feb 10, 2012 10:44 pm

george w wrote: Kinda like an on line mentoring session!

That's why I'm glad you're here George! You are a seasoned carver of gunning decoys and your advice is valuable. Wink


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Post  george w Sat Feb 11, 2012 12:18 am

regarding next week, unless the snows descend on the marsh, i should be hiding in the shop--.Going to start a conversion project tomorrow-Bob, my good friend, decided that we should have 60 new dekes to take to argentina, so he brought me 5 boxes of flambeau uv mallards--Man, the best i will say for now is that at least paint sticks to them!!
Turned the hens into yellow billed pintails, and tomorrow the drakes start being transformed into chiloe widgeon. 30 left, should take just a few days, then i can get back to work!!
Our host at La gringa has the best of south american dekes in Argentina--Species specific for where we gun, not to mention a smaller rig of corks that we get to use once a year--He will not let the rest of his guests use them--Too damn cavalier-They beat the snot out of the plastics, so he puts the corks up--I get to see them for a week--Probably the only cork Argentine dekes on the planet--Taking four more down for this tirp.

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Post  Davey Welsh Thu Feb 16, 2012 12:27 am

More Mallat heads on the bench!! Anybody else got anything on the bench?

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