Pattern design
I browsed my library of hooded merganser photos and finally found a picture of the bird I wanted to base my pattern on. I also drew an alternate head shape based on a different photograph. The most important thing to me for this bird was to capture the head shape and overall attitude of the bird.
Reinforce the bill
This is really meant to be a competition and display bird, so I wanted the bill extra tough in case it's banged up or dropped. After cutting the side profile of the head, I cut a finger joint into a piece of hard maple, drilled a hole for a brass rod, and epoxied the pieces together before bringing the head to final shape.
Carving
Now complete with the carving — the maple insert has blended in nicely with the cedar head.
Raise the wood grain
To raise the grain, I take a propane torch and burn the entire decoy. As the char builds up, I scrub it off with a scotch-brite pad and steel wool. Since the wood and sap rings burn at different rates, it develops a textured, aged appearance — perfect for a piece of white cedar with a radial crack that wasn't suited for a working or competition bird.
Prime and base coat
Here I've base-coated the bird with Ronan Japan Colors — you can see the raised grain of the wood showing through.
Paint and distress
After base-coating with Grumbacher Pre-Tested Oils, I distress the bird by rubbing the paint with steel wool and scotch-brite pads to remove paint from the high spots, focusing on the head, bill, and tail — areas that would normally take extra abuse. I also attached a brass ring with a small leather loop as an anchor attachment. There's always a moment of hesitation between painting and distressing — it feels odd to finish a perfectly good bird and then start throwing it at the ground.
