Crow Busters Forum

Members Login
Username 
 
Password 
    Remember Me  
Go To Crow Busters Website -> Crow Busters Forum -> Crow Hunting -> BUILDING DECOYS
Post Info TOPIC: BUILDING DECOYS
Old Artilleryman


Guru

Status: Offline
Posts: 1131
Date:
BUILDING DECOYS
Permalink  
 

We'd all be interested in seeing the process of making a rough crow body of foam, using the two halves of the plastic decoy as you've described. What will you use to keep the foam from sticking to the inside of the "mold." I doubt that the beak part would work (too fragile/small), so you could use a hand-carved piece of something (wood?) to stick into the head. Be sure to (photo) document all of your steps.

This should be interesting idea.gif.

 



-- Edited by Old Artilleryman on Friday 5th of April 2013 12:22:51 AM

__________________

 "Arms are the only true badges of liberty. The possession of arms is the distinction of a free man from a slave." -- Andrew Fletcher 1698

 

 
Mainehunt


Guru

Status: Offline
Posts: 1300
Date:
Permalink  
 

I have been messing around and building things like decoys for years. When I first got into crow hunting years ago, I built (with the help of Charles on here) sillouett decoys out of 1/4" plywood. They worked, but were never great in my opinion.

 

I have also built floating duck decoys by carving them out of closed cell foam and then reinforcing them with burlap, coated in tile mastic and then painting them. They are great and durable decoys, but very time consuming.

I still want to make some crow decoys, something that is as good as store bought, but even better.

 

So here are my thoughts. I have 2, five gallon buckets of expanding foam. You mix equal parts of each one, stir them up and they expand FAST.  I ahve thought about sacrificing one of my hollow plastic crow decoys to use as a mold. Cut it in half, pour in foam mix, tape halfs together. Foam hardens in about 15 minutes. Open the "mold" and I have a foam decoy. I could either then do the burlap/mastic covering, or cover with a sock like Zeddicus does. There is also another way to reinforce the foam where you paint on glue and coat the glue with sawdust. It gives a nice protective coating, and a great texture that you then paint.

 

Also, viewing Zeddicus' thread on sock-flocking your decoys, it gave me an idea. Wrap a plastic decoy in plastic food wrap. Cover with a sock. Paint sock with fiberglass resin. Resin dries, cut resin soaked sock along belly line and peel off of decoy.

 

These are the thoughts that drive my mind. Some of you may think that it would just be simpler, easier, possibly cheaper to just buy some. You may be right.

 

I get satisfaction from designing something myself, building it, using it, and being successful with it. Even if it isn't the easiest way in life.  I saved about $100K by building my own house from the ground up, building a crow decoy can be all that bad. :)

 

Anybody else have any ideas?



__________________

Kev

<*/////><

 

 

 
Mainehunt


Guru

Status: Offline
Posts: 1300
Date:
Permalink  
 

I have made goose decoys by pouring the foam solution into a plastic goose decoy. I used Pam cooking spray as a release. I have also made "confidence" decoys for duck hunting by carving a Blue Heron out of styrofoam and then doing the burlap/mastic thing on the outside. For the beak on the heron I used Bondo body filler. I'll post a photo of the heron decoy, (used to make ducks confident to land, I don't hunt herons) when I get a chance.

__________________

Kev

<*/////><

 

 

 
ecuchief


Senior Member

Status: Offline
Posts: 123
Date:
Permalink  
 

Speaking of confidence decoys, anyone using something for the crows? I know, and have used, the owl as a agitation decoy, I never hear about anyone using hawks (or even seeing one...)

I wish I had a workshop to build and test. I would think using a wood block to shape a profile from one of my flocked decoys. Use the wood profile to shape cavity molds for the foam. What about pressing a half profile in something like casting sand, fill with foam, allow expansion, extract, mold another half. Then clean both halves for joining with glue? The sand may be easier to release the foam from and can be reused. The foam profiles can be shaped/cleaned with a little sanding.

John


__________________
Mainehunt


Guru

Status: Offline
Posts: 1300
Date:
Permalink  
 

Yes, the foam is VERY easy to shape and smooth. The draw back is it is fragile without a protective coating.

__________________

Kev

<*/////><

 

 

 
Pat B


Senior Member

Status: Offline
Posts: 354
Date:
Permalink  
 

Just a thought for you Mainhunt......

Put some sort of release agent on the outside of your 1/2 crow.......
Then fiberglass the outside of the decoy.
After doing both halves you will have a complete duplicate of the outside of the decoy.
Put release agent (like spray wax) on each inside of mold.
Put expanding foam in one half of fiberglass mold.
Put the other half against it....Then something to prevent expanding foam from blowing apart the two halves (like a ton of weight)
Pull apart after expanding, drying......paint as you like........ta da.



Pat


__________________

It takes a long time to grow an old friend.
Mainehunt


Guru

Status: Offline
Posts: 1300
Date:
Permalink  
 

Here is the Heron I made a few years ago. Carved first out of Dow brand blue-board. (closed cell foam that comes in 4x8 sheets)

After carving, I smear latex tile mastic all over the decoy, wrap it in burlap, then rub on another layer of he mastic. The legs are heavy wire from political signs and his foot is 16 penny nails I welded to the wire. Bondo beak, real fly tying feathers hot glued to head and crow feathers for a tail.

 

Sometimes when hunting ducks in a swampy area, I stick this Heron off to one side on the water's edge. Ducks will swim right past him.

heron decoy.png



-- Edited by Mainehunt on Friday 5th of April 2013 11:23:17 AM

Attachments
__________________

Kev

<*/////><

 

 

 
Mainehunt


Guru

Status: Offline
Posts: 1300
Date:
Permalink  
 

Pat B wrote:

Just a thought for you Mainhunt......

Put some sort of release agent on the outside of your 1/2 crow.......
Then fiberglass the outside of the decoy.
After doing both halves you will have a complete duplicate of the outside of the decoy.
Put release agent (like spray wax) on each inside of mold.
Put expanding foam in one half of fiberglass mold.
Put the other half against it....Then something to prevent expanding foam from blowing apart the two halves (like a ton of weight)
Pull apart after expanding, drying......paint as you like........ta da.



Pat

 Good ideas Pat. I have also been talking with a friend about a mold out of plaster of Paris.



__________________

Kev

<*/////><

 

 

 
8fishermen


Guru

Status: Offline
Posts: 1307
Date:
Permalink  
 

That's pretty cool there Kev!



__________________

 "If money can fix it, it ain't broke" The great theologian and my crow hunting partner AW.  

 

Greg
Zeddicus


Senior Member

Status: Offline
Posts: 287
Date:
Permalink  
 

Veery nice! Ur an artist then... I'm useless at artsy stuff.
Flytying is something that I am surprisingly not completely useless at...

__________________
Doug


Veteran Member

Status: Offline
Posts: 92
Date:
Permalink  
 

Nice looking decoys Zeddicus. For all you guys that are busy as a one armed paper hanger, 1) field decoys - flock em. If youre hard on them; flock em again
2) buy the Boondocker/Flocker shells and go have fun.

Flocking do a dozen for $19.95

Doug @ Crowmart

__________________
For the best in crow hunting merchandise shop at CrowMart www.crowmart.com
Mike27


Senior Member

Status: Offline
Posts: 387
Date:
Permalink  
 

Kev,

You should use the outside , not the inside of of the deek. That way you will get the detail.

If you are really into this, make a plaster mold. Build a box, stuff the bottom with soft clay. Press the deek half way in the clay, coat the deek with mineral oil or vaseline (some kind of release agent), pour in the plaster. After it hardens, take out the plaster put it back in the box, mold depression up, fit deek back in and repeat steps.

That's the speed explanation.  I'm sure you can look up a detailed version or video.

Good luck

Mike

P.S. Use screws to assemble the box, if it needs to come apart for mold removal. Also, plaster might have to be thicker than  a normal mold due to your expanding foam. Use 4 clamps and wood to hold it together during the pour.



-- Edited by Mike27 on Sunday 7th of April 2013 02:55:09 PM

__________________
Page 1 of 1  sorted by
 
Quick Reply

Please log in to post quick replies.
Go To Crow Busters Website -> Crow Busters Forum -> Crow Hunting -> BUILDING DECOYS