Buffelhead Duck Decoy a Self righting Working Decoy

These photos are of a duck on my work bench that I am fine tuning. I have cut the bottom so that I can hollow it out. The decoys are hollow for several reasons. One is to relieve the pressure and hopefully avoid cracks in the finish duck later. Another reason is to permit self righting when the decoy is blown over in the marsh.

I use a Foredom flexible-shaft tool with a carbide burrs to remove the wood from the interior. Be sure to wear eye protection, a mask and use a dust collector for this process. I then finish the interior by hand to smooth the interior. Some carvers don't do the last step but I feel that I get a better balance and it is worth the effort.