Making Songbird Feet

[gwc]

I read with great interest Wildbirdcarver thread making realistic birdfeet. I make my birdfeet almost the same way but slightly different .I like to do it this way because it eliminates all those little pieces of wire to solder. This is my methad hope it not too confusing. I will attach a few photoes to help with this method.
1 I first have a bird ready for mounting and a mount.
2 I then make temporary legs installed in the bird and bend the legs so the bird sits properly I use these legs to bend my new legs Ifollow the outline of the teporary legs.
3 solect a size of wire that will allow for the addition of epoxy to be added after legs and toes are soldered.
4 the bends start at the rear toe you can leave extra lenght on the toes as thay will be cut to length acording to your reference for the birb you have carved. leave alength of wire for the rear toe then bend down about onehalf inch bend back up the same line , now fallow the patern legs up at the same angle this will be the birds leg follow your reference for the lenght.now bend the wire to form the pin that will be installed in the bird the length shoud be enough to hold the pird firmly.Now bend the wire back along the same wire you just bent tightly down to the rear toe then bend to the opposite of the rear toe this will be the front toe. Tighten bends the two other toes are made from a seperate piece of wire bent to fit between the leg at the rear toe facing the front toe. When I am satisfied that things look ok. I solder the leg and toes together using lead free solder. then I file the leg to a proper shape. bend and shape the nails.add a little solder to the nails so thay can be shaped. I then add apoxy for final tetail Make sure you follow your reference for the proper lenghts for the legs & toes. I will attach some photoes that should help with this method .Practic bending on scrap wire after a few practices it becomes quite easy. Make sure your bends are tight and neet also keep the solder to a minimum neet no blobes. Any ? don,t hesitate to ask. I may have to post twice to get the pictures posted.
Gordo.

[Blackjaxe]

I had the same idea, I used Brass wire instead as its stronger for small birds feet.

Ken

[Hugh-P]

Thats a real good demo Gordo, thanks, I'm going to copy those photos to file. Making feet is one of my biggest challenges. The staples are a great idea also. Cheers

[Wildbirdcarver]

Gordo, very good tutorial! Discribing how to make feet is very difficult...almost as difficult as making the feet. LOL Your photos make it very clear. I was reading the other day about making feet and this carver used gesso (instead of epoxy) on the toes for songbirds. This kept the feet small as he used only 2-3 layers of the gesso. I'll have to give that a try. Thanks again for posting. Dick

[shelby]

where do I find info on making bird feet for carvings. thanks shelby

[Wildbirdcarver]

Hi Shelby, making song bird feet...or other bird feet can be very perplexing. Good information can be found in Lori Corbett's book...Carving award winning Songbirds. Chapter 5. In fact the entire book is terrific.
In some of Bob Guge's books there is a tutorial on making feet. Also Wingate patterns has a one sheet instuction tutorial that sells for $1. Ernie Muehlmatt carves his bird feet right on the same block of wood that the bird is carved (all one piece). Richard Finch carves the toes out of tupelo wood, cuts them at the joints, joins them back together with a small wire and epoxy putty. Nails made out of brass rod. So you can see there are many ways to go about it. It just takes a lot of time, patience and persistance. I still don't like every foot I make! Cheers, Dick

[torpidhummer]

Thank you Gordo!
This what I needed,as making bird feet has been my weakness,I also copied
your great information.

Oscar

[Bill V]

Great tutorial Gordo! Thanks for posting I,m sure this will help a lot of us.

Bill

[BC20]

Just became a member and was looking for info on making feet. This technique seems to be the answer and I sure appreciate your posting. Now attaching the feet to a small branch is the next task, but I think your method will allow soldering feet to branch easier. Thanks

[Donna_T]

If making your own bird feet, don't forget to sharpen the toenails by grinding them with a stone. Just leaving them blunt end of wire won't look natural and it doesn't take very long to grind them down.

Donna_T