DuckSouth.com

Have any of you done any decoy carving? I'm gonna try my hand at it and was wondering what kind of suggestions any of you might have for a beginner. Where can I get wood with out having to go cutting down trees? What is your favorite wood? Any good books on the subject? Paint vs. stain? Blah, Blah, Blah...?

http://www.duckboats.net/duckboat.htm

Try here this is the one stop place if you are gonna give carving a whirl lots of carvers on the forum

Try Woodcarvers Supply at www.woodcarverssupply.com and Jennings Decoy Company at 601 Franklin Ave. N.E. St. Cloud, MN 56304 (write for a catalog). These folks have EVERYTHING you need, from wood, to tools, to stencils and patterns, glass eyes, to instructions and more. Hope this helps.

Best carving advice I ever heard about carving was from a tv show years ago. The old guy said, "Get you a piece of white cedar and cut off anything that don't look like a duck." Pretty simple, huh?

Tupelo Gum is supposed to an excellent decoy wood. Decades ago decoy manufacturers farmed them for production, until plastic took over.

I would imagine you would have to dry out the wood beforehand.