in younger days,
i used to do a lot of upland game and waterfowl hunting.
i find that i don't get as much of it as i'd like, so i end up taking more paper targets and shootin' clay birds for fun
which is great but...
i wanted a way to remind myself of the family, good hunts, good dogs, good friends, and the good times hunting the ring necked pheasant
the task was considered to make one from sheet copper.(a bronze rod 5/32" and 2 pieces of brass shim stock too)
at first it was going to be small and inconspicuous, but that didn't last long.
i ordered a piece of 24ga copper stock, 12" x 18" and rough traced a binder paper body shape template.
i cut 2 identical halves of the basic body and curled the edges convex , about 1/4" from the edges.
i brazed the body section together using FOS FLO7 , .062" diameter & MAPP Gas
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the body had poor fit up, but i managed to get it brazed up.
i made templates again, in binder paper, for wings and breast plates.
the wings were copper, the breast plates are .010" brass shim stock.
i punched the shimstock back to back for simplicity. it added texture to the finished bird.
the wings were cut and brazed to the body, the breast plated were brazed (gingerly) next to the body
i formed 8 toes from the sheet copper, and a spur for the support leg.
i brazed a foot together and brazed it to a 5/32 bronze brazing rod, adding the spur -of course
it was all eventually brazed to a sheet copper base, 6x 6" square
a hind foot was created, much the same way as the planted foot. curves were added to the toes.
the other leg was brazed to the body.
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i tackled the tail feathers next by taking the copper sheet and cutting shallow angle triangles and forming them over 1" pipe mandrel held in a vise.
i brazed the set of tailfeathers together, then onto the body.
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i brazed the wings on the bird and decided he needed some paint accents.
may i introduce you all to,
Charlie the Running Copper Pheasant!
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Charlie gently springs to life with the slightest nudge, like a bobble headed doll, a very cool (but un planned) feature
i hope you enjoy Charlie.
as always,
thanks for taking the time to read and following me down the rabbit hole !!!
