There Are Going to be Some Changes Here!

Lately there has been a lot of goofing around, mishaps, slacking off, unexplained clutter, costly mistakes, rework and general mayhem in the shop.  As result and as you might expect, productivity and output has been low and scrap and waste loss has been high.

To resolve this I decided that the shop needed a set of rules or CODE  as it might be.  Having a CODE would help govern behaviour and activities in the shop so the shop could be more productive and more predictable in terms of quality and quantity of output.  This would also make the shop a much more pleasant place to work and be.

I did a little research and found a set from a blog called Flying Shavings.  I found that I could modify the only slightly to best meet the needs of my shop.

So effective immediately, this CODE and its tenants are in place.  Everyone who uses the shop has been duly notified of their existence and violators will be dealt with in the most extreme manner ( yet to be determined).

This is the first round and these will be renewed as required and as better and more profound thought for this CODE comes to mind.

Here they are.

Credit and thanks to Tom Sachs of the Flying Shavings Blog for his work in this important area of running a shop / studio and for 9 of the 10.

@#$%$#**&@#

Not such a good start today.  While holding the bird for some sanding, the primary flight feather broke off.  While not catastrophic, it will require considerable time to make an undercut and insert.  In the end it will be stronger.

Also, after letting the bird "rest" for a few days, I am not feeling so good about the head fit and the angle of the head.  It feels like it is aiming too far down

This post will be dedicated to getting the head right before continuing on.  The sooner I get this right/ close to right, the better it will be for carving refining the rest of the bird.

Broken primary feathers.

Trial fit of the head...still not right...she is looking too far down.

The angle of the bill is still too low for the attitude I am trying to achieve and the gap between body and head begs refinement.

Some refinement of the joint....but still not enough of a change of the angle.

Right angle AND attitude...at last.

Different views...the butt is a bit too fat "butt" I will get that later

I like this one...it matches one of the photographs that I posted earlier.  

I will admit though, I am concerned that the angle of the bill on the head is a bit droopy.  This is often the case until the bill is completed and then the droopiness disappears.  This is because in the completion of the bill, there is wood that is removed from the BOTTOM & FRONT of the bill thus changing the angle.

NET, it is good to continue and revisit this when the bill is done 

Fine Tuning the Fine Feathers

With the head fitted onto the  body, it is time to refine the body of the duck.  First, however, I noticed that when I was adding this post, I discovered that text was missing from the 12/26/12 Post named Cut & Rough Out the Body.  As a result I edited this so if anyone cares to, they can go back and read the additions to the last 1/2 of the photos.

Int he 12/26/12 post, I discuss the fact that the butt of a duck is nearly perfectly round and when viewed from the rear can be seen as a series of concentric circles.

So here is the proof!!!  This is a photo of a Mallard and the feather coloration of this bird helps to demonstrate just how round the butt of these birds really is.   This also displays the shape of the tail when viewed from the rear.  It is not flat but rather tented and slightly curved.  The curvature is more pronounced on puddlers ( i.e this mallard). than it is on divers (i.e the Canvasback bird I am working on).

With the rough shape done, the refinement continues beginning on the sides.  Here the wing feathers are drawn in and refined.  By drawing the feathers in, it helps to create and ensure the flow of the feathers as well as highlight high spots and areas that need to be refined and carved more.

Closer view of the wing feathers .  the primary feathers are still quite thick to ensure that if they need to be taken down to ensure flow that there is enough room to do the.  Also, at this stage the handling of the bird is a bit rough with lost of turing, twisting to be able to get the cutters, knives and bits where they need to go.

Here is the development of the other side of the bird.  Here the wing is tucked into the side pocket and the feathers that are exposed are only the tertial and primary feathers of the wing.  

Nice close up view of the exposed wing.  There are two or three spots where the feathers will be separated to give this a very realistic feel.

Time to plop the head on to ensure things are still in the right flow and direction...and to admire it as well.  It is these few moments of gratification that keep me going to the next spot.  Sometimes, however, it is an "OH CRAP" when the flow has been disturbed.  As a result, frequently placing the head on and looking at the bird from several angles and from several feet back, helps ensure that I don't get carried away in the minutia.

Trial Fit the Head & Refine The Fit

This is where the bird begins to come to life albeit slowly.

It is critical that the joint between the head and body be tight.  To achieve this I use the  technique that machinests use to fit parts and dentist use to adjust your bite after a filling or crown is placed. but I am a bit more crude in my approach.  The first step is to rub a pencil on the bottom of the head to cover it completely in carbon.

Second step is to place the head where it will eventually go and rub the two surfaceses together.

The high posts are covering in carbon.  these are these spots to grind down

After about 10 times of doing this, the surfaces mate nearly perfectly.

Trail fit #2.....

Different view.

Another view.

FInal view and I concluded that the head on this bird is too high by nearly 3/8 of an inch do a lot of wood needs to be removed on the body.  This needs to be done now to ensure the bird has the right attitude and before the body is refined to ensure that there will be enough wood.  Nest post.