Introduction
For years, a carved wooden duck sat on the upstairs bookshelf of my childhood home. As a little boy, I'd often admire it while playing. It was life-sized, beautifully hand-painted and stunningly realistic. Its glass eyes seemed to stare at me as I walked past. The duck, and the equally impressive wooden loon next to it, were fixtures of my early years.
It wasn't until I was nine or 10, with a budding interest in woodcarving, that I grew tall enough to reach the waterfowl and examine them more closely. The smooth wooden perfection of their bodies, heads and beaks fascinated me. Then I turned the duck over to examine the underside. Inscribed on the flat, unpainted bottom were the letters "S.M." — my father's initials. Only then did I realize they were my father's handiwork.
I later learned he carved them years earlier while in college, during the early days of his relationship with my mother. Mom had taken part, too, adding the stunning paint jobs.
I was amazed. I'd already been carving for a few years at that stage, but had no idea such beauty and detail could be pulled from a block of wood. It wasn't long before I attempted to carve a bird of my own. It wasn't nearly as nice as these, but I was hooked.
My skills improved in the years that followed, and now I'd like to pass them on to you. Here I'll teach you how to carve a simple wooden duck, from start to finish.
The best part? You don't need expensive tools. After the initial planing and band saw cutout work, you'll carve this duck with a simple utility knife.Let's get started.
Tools Required
Materials Required
- Acrylic paints or wood finish
- Double-sided tape
- Glass taxidermy duck eyes
- Rubber cement glue
- Three or four approx. 1- to 2-inch-thick slabs of knot-free basswood pine or poplar (At least 6- nches longer and 2 inches wider than you want your duck to be.)
- Transparent tape (If duck template won't fit on a single sheet of paper.)
- Transparent urethane
- Two 1/4-inch-diameter dowels about 2 inches long 120-grit sandpaper (optional)
- Waterproof wood glue
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