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Baked foam decoys, back in the day!

2K views 2 replies 2 participants last post by  DUKHTR 
#1 ·
Does anyone remember or know anything about the old decoy molds that you put the foam granules in and baked them in the oven? My grandpa has the duck and the goose mold. I have seen a couple of these decoys and they are virtually indestructible. He used to make them probably 30 years ago or so, they are a very heavy decoy so they wouldnt be practical for the on the move hunter, but would be great for hunting the same spot everday. He told me once that you never worried about shooting the decoys when you shot cripples cause you cant sink em. Does anyone know if you can still get these granules to make them anymore?
 
#2 ·
quite a few make their own decoys using molds and two part urathane...or plastic beads....not in an oven, but in a boiling caldron of water....you can get the molds for the bodies and heads....avg cost for the two is about $125 - $150 mallards and add a bit for geese.

this is an expensive proposition in general compared to other methods of making decoys...with the molds, the beads, release agent etc. you are looking at about $350 - $400....and that gets you about a dozen blocks....the time investement is also pretty substantial...you get one pose....it takes quite awhile to do one, and you still need to add the head and do the painting......one way to stretch your investment $ is to use macro balloons to 'hollow' the decoy and not make it as heavy

If you have the mold....I know I can get you the links to the right folks....I think BlackLabDecoys is one I recall off the top of my head.....I can check another forum where I learned alot about this process.

In addition, if you are a carver, you can make your own molds of heads and even bodies from a rubber based medium.....was actually thinking of doing this myself for heads. I have reviewed the process and it is not all that difficult, but getting the materials at a reasonable cost is not easy to do......you have to make quite an upfront investment getting materials from specialty stores.
 
#3 ·
here are a couple of sites....BlackLab has sold off the decoys part of their business to a new partner....check www.decoymolds.com

R&R Sports has a site and they seem to have the cheapest aluminum molds available...as well as the materials

Check the TakeEm site for a pretty good reference synopsis of the entir process....i like their site alot and have gotten quite a few excellent tips from them!

Lastly....do a search on e-bay....there always seems to be some gunning decoy molds on there....and I would assume the beads are there too!

Also.....USComposites

I did not mention this, but there is a difference from the urathane foam and the beads.....and i also meant to mention that there are exact formulas for mixing (since the foam and beads expand....so have a claculator handy)
 
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