Cinch another tie at the top of the stake as a collar to keep the fan from sliding off the top. The cost of buying molds and the foam is going up everyday, but the cost of making your own carved foamers is still relatively inexpensive and for the most part can be done with materials you can buy or acquire locally. 1can does about a dozen and it seems to hold up pretty well. Carve a duck head from the basswood or find a plastic head online. A forum community dedicated to duck hunters and hunting enthusiasts. Once the roughed-out decoy is complete, begin refining the shape of the decoy by drawing half lines down the center of the body, side of the body, and around the crown of the head. Be especially careful when carving the head, especially around the bill, as it can easily start to look odd and can turn from duck bill to crow beak in just a few quick passes. Learn More . This is also a good time to at least begin fitting a keel, if desired, to the bottom of the decoy. Published Aug 28, 2012 12:09 AM EDT, We may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs. Hardens nicely and makes them very durable. Of Decoy Flocking Kits in the USA. While you're at it pick up some self hardening clay - the kind that will harden without needing to be heated in an oven. Heydays symmetrical dual-keel hull allows decoys to deploy on the hard ground of a river bank, field, ice, or sand as tides let out without the lean you get from a single keel decoy. Welp, go to Big lots in the summer and buy a case of the pool noodles, bundle them together and VOILA safety at its finest. Walking into the hole, you might forget they are there as our EVA foam reduces noise in transportation to an almost eerie quiet. Drape Cape If you like easy, simply plunk down a credit card at a major sporting goods store for a Turkey Skinz. The decoy doesn't move, making it slightly less appealing to real crows than motorized ones. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. My wife had the decoy in the blind, so as soon as she stepped out she was covered up by the silhouette of the decoy. After caping the turkey and removing all fat and meat, stretch the hide out on a sturdy piece of cardboard using tacks or pins. Articles may contain affiliate links which enable us to share in the revenue of any purchases made. It may not display this or other websites correctly. Moisture can seep in, leading the wood to expand. JavaScript is disabled. How-to: Laminate the foam boards into a duck-sized block and start carving until it resembles the shape of a resting bird. If you don't want to bring your iPad into the bathroom, we can send you a magazine subscription for free! Its a simple task, but these holes really bring a decoy head to life and allow carving to commence. This decoy, which sits on a foam-filled base, sprays water to create ripples and also simulates a mallard drake stretching its wings. Homer Decoys Bodies and Heads are made using all recycled materials in the United States. Regrettably, taxidermy-quality decoys cost nearly as much as a finished mount youd display in your trophy room. You are using an out of date browser. Youre now ready for the field. Our mission is to inspire the preservation of the sporting tradition. The reason for this is simple: They dont know where to start or where to get materials, and eventually their time gets occupied with other projects. Ask Gabe Jerome. Decoy Flocking Kits - Flocking Unlimited Sign up for our newsletter and receive insider only updates and special offers. Johnson [1] Remove the entire fan by cutting around the fleshy base of the tail. You can shoot it, step on it, run it over with your truck, and our HydroFoam duck decoys will NEVER SINK because, unlike other decoys, every decoy in the HydroFoam line is hollow and does NOT rely on an airtight seal to stay afloat. The weight of the foam decoy is less than half a pound. For acrylic painting, anything from exterior house paints to craft-store tube paints can be used, mixed and intermingled, making them a great choice. Just let them drain and fill the holes with a squirt from a hot glue gunIf you are really OCD drill out the hole a little bigger to remove the rattling shot, that can be a game in itself :lol3: .Just a warning, that 2 part expansion foam is an absolute mess. We set the decoys in a warm well ventilated area, and let them set and dry for 48 hours. With the mold volume now known, you can mix two part foam (8lb)and pour it through several 3/4" pour holes in the plexiglass in an exact quantity to minimize waste via overexpansion. I redid an aluminum boat couple years back and tried replacing the floatation foam. Join F&S+ to read exclusive stories by your favorite writers. Published Jul 7, 2020 1:46 PM EDT. Published Apr 3, 2012 11:50 PM EDT, We may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs. Be sure that the parting line is drawn along the exact center of the decoy. It protects the lining of your house, and can even assist in the heating and cooling of your house during those unbearably cold or hot days. The Fora platform includes forum software by XenForo. By utilizing pre-made cutouts or kits, you can make decoys with minimal tooling investment, allowing anyone to whittle out a few special blocks for the upcoming season during drab summer months. ), Sealer: (wooden decoys- Traditions Multi-Surface Sealer, cork decoys- Traditions Cork Sealer). No chipping or peeling. Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Service. Step 1. The fun thing about the foam trend is that you don't have to be too precise and it's super-affordable to DIY, yet it still looks like a very original, unique statement piece. First, drive the -inch conduit into the ground until sturdy. Apply mastic and let it sit for 24 hours. US composites is a good source for the 2 part poly foamI'd get the 3 or 4 pound density foam, the 2 pound is a little bit light unless you just want a bunch of cheap decoys. Brilliant DIY Uses for Expanding Spray Foam Insulation - Family Handyman For a more pleasing look on the water, the decoy should be rounded at the bottom, starting up about 2 inches from the bottom. Articles may contain affiliate links which enable us to share in the revenue of any purchases made. Joined May 14, 2001 Messages 540 Reaction score 160 Location Chillicothe, MO. Thread starter jeffc; Start date Apr 6, 2018; Apr 6, 2018 #1 J. jeffc Senior Refuge Member. We are proud to be the official decoy of GameWay Farms. Roughed Out Decoy Cutouts or Cedar/Cork Blanks, Bandsaw (necessary for those starting with a true blank), Dremel Tool w/ Multiple Bits and Sanding Wheels, Apoxie Sculpt (Used for blending joints, filling in mistakes, etc. The less dense the foam is the quicker is expands. First, acquire a freshly killed turkey. Draw a line around the center of the duck decoy. Homer Decoys are designed and built to last a lifetime and withstand the harshest of hunting conditions. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. Michael R. Shea/ Outdoor Life Spring gobblers acute vision is legendary. Dixie Decoys - Investment Grade Foam Decoys and Sporting Apparel Some guys clamp the mold and plexiglass unit to a piece of shelving to force the foam to expand fully within the mold to get a slightly denser decoy. Sign up to receive Popular Science's emails and get the highlights. How To Make A Turkey Fan Decoy | Field & Stream While decoys can be made a variety of ways, for the purposes of this instruction, the equipment list below focuses on generally available tools that you might already have around the garage, helping to minimize initial investments. How to make effective duck hunting decoys for under $10 Paint these wing bars so they are approximately twice as wide as their original paint job (i.e., 1/4 in. Place one pin through the base of the tail and one each through the middle of the quills of the left- and rightmost feathers. Once the head is nearly complete, using Apoxie Sculpt, set the eyes and then finish smoothing the head and blending transitions. Trim the flesh and fat, being sure to remove the milky-white oil glands. We may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs. It doesn't take as much as you'd think either. Pour salt or borax onto the butt end to preserve the fan. She used the cover of a grass waterway in the field to help hide her outline, and stalked 250 yards to . How To Mold Foam Duck Decoys - playassustentable Once the pattern is ready, trace it onto the decoy and carefully start cutting off excessive material with a band saw. Banded Birds - Black Ducks - 6, Mallards 19 (3 Jack Miner) BW Teal - 2, Wood Ducks - 1, 1 Ross and 1 snow Goose (Both reward bands) , Canada Geese - 15 (2 neck collars), Morning Dove - 1. First, hit the craft store and get a Styrofoam ball about the size of a deer's head. Because these weights are positioned both low and wide, they make the decoys self-righting every time and offer maximum decoy stability in extreme weather conditions. Cool you put some thought into it cant wait to see finished product. You can attempt to keep the wings attached to the entire skin or remove them prior to skinning. This is a cheap way to reuse old. While experts can make the details look easy, novices will find that painting intricate detail can be frustrating. JavaScript is disabled. You know of any reason not to use the canned spray foam? You would probably still want to burlap the finished product just for extra durability. Learn More Spring By A good way to avoid the bill becoming disproportional is to carve the majority of the head before even rounding the ends of the bill. So clear your Sign up for the Field & Stream newsletter and get the latest intelligence straight to your inbox. Please enable JavaScript to view the comments. http://workingdecoys.net/workingdecoysforum/index.php, Shotshell, Reloading, Ballistics, & Chokes. Sorry this is long, but I wanted to share a little project I am working on. Ask 10 different carvers what type or brand of paint they use and you will get 10 different answers. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission, which supports our community. Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Service. Paint it and away you go. Carved from foam. By FEATURED PRODUCTS Out of stock Puddle Duck Decoy Kit $ 150.00 - $ 165.00 Details Out of stock Goose/Brant Decoy Kit $ 156.25 - $ 171.25 Details Super Magnum Decoy Kit $ 156.25 - $ 171.25 How to make Decoys: ScoterZillias Update 3- Decoys for - YouTube For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. Overall, have fun, get creative, and work to get better. Retail price is approximately $45. These decoys are great for hunting crows, but many people use them in their backyards and gardens. | We used great stuff to fill up some diver decoys and they ended up absorbing the water and sinking. A two-part urethane foam decoy is derived when the two liquid parts are mixed, poured into a mold, and allowed time to expand and harden. Hard high-tech composition decoys. If you have been hunting long enough you probably have some old decoys laying around. Anyone here make/carve DIY styrofoam decoys? - Trapperman Forums A guide at Turkey Trot Acres in New York, Jerome uses a mounted, full-strut jake combined with one or two taxidermy-quality hens to lure mature toms even without calls. You must log in or register to reply here. It is important to remember that defects will become more visible once paint has been applied, so take some time to check and double check that every area of the decoy is silky smooth. I will check the site out. Items included are: flocking, applicator, brush . Decoy Flocking Kits allow you to minimize glare, creating a realistic look from the sky. Tighten securely and wrap joint. I have never used any two part foam to make decoys, I carve mine from foam and then burlap them.