Welcome to WorkingDecoys.Net

This is the best place to start your first carving project. Foam decoys are the least expensive of the handmade decoy options and they lend themselves to keeping the decoys simple as the burlaping process prohibits adding too much detail to the carving. Be sure to check out our foam decoy patterns. They are designed to work with foam/burlap bodies and our plastic decoy heads. While it may not seem important to a first time carver, a quality pattern is the foundation for a quality decoy.

Supplies needed:
•Foam
•Polyurethane Glue
•Latex or other type rubber gloves
•Acryl Pro or Mapei Mastic
•Burlap material

The first step in making a foam decoy is locating the foam. You have several options available for this step. The easiest is to buy the foam at one of the big home repair retail stores (Lowes or Home Depot). This foam is in sheet form and is available in 2” thickness. You can use any foam that you can find as long as you can put it together in big enough blocks to carve a decoy out of.

Step 1 - Making the "Shoebox"
Glue the foam together with Polyurethane Glue (Gorilla Glue is my preferred) to make up the blocks. If you are using one of my patterns the pattern will specify the size needed for the block.

Step 2 - Layout the pattern
Lay out the top and side views of the pattern on the block. Make sure that the top and side views are aligned front to back.

Step 3 - Cut out the decoy block
Following the pattern on the "shoebox, cut the pattern out using whatever tool you have available. This is one of the advantages to working with foam, it is easy to cut with any number of tools. I used a band saw but a knife or handsaw will work fine.

Step 3 - Shaping the decoy
This is where the fun begins. Using a rasp, knife, and sandpaper, start rounding the squared block into a decoy. The KEY thing to remember is that there are no flat sides on a real bird. To make it easy, think of making the back half and top the shape of half a football. Once all the sides are rounded, you can cut in the side pockets to define where the where the wing and side of the decoy meet. Once this is done, continue rounding down the side and over the top of the wing. You don't have to have a lot of detail here but a little shaping looks nice on the finished decoy.

Step 4 - Burlaping or Restle Coating
Burlaping - Using Acryl Pro or Mapei Mastic cover the entire decoy in about an 1/8" coating. Once this is completed, wrap the decoy with burlap by pressing the burlap into the Acryl Pro or Mapei Mastic. Once the burlap is set into the mastic, trim any extra so the decoy has an even surface. Allow this burlap/mastic coating to dry fully (24 hours)

Restle Coating - Mix a slighlty watered down solution of Tightbond II or III in a bucket. You want a consistancy of house paint. Coat the decoy with this solution, then cover with sawdust. Allow the decoy to fully dry and repeat the coating process.

PAINTING

Prime the decoy with Kilz primer and then paint it according to some reference pictures. I can not emphasize the importance of reference pictures enough because they are what will make your new decoy look correct. Painting is not hard but you have to make sure you have the colors in the correct place. Starting out, you just need to block in the basic colors. As you get more experience painting, you can add as much detail as you want.

I have done this Bluebill in basic colors as it is strictly a working decoy. The head is one of the Restle style heads we sell on the products page. I also added a keel to the bottom, which will help the decoy ride correctly and act as a anchor point for the bolt which is attaches the head. I prefer to use composite decking for the keels on these decoys because it does not need to be treated and it adds weight without having to insert lead in the keel.