ok just finished a flying turkey mount thing was a bitch, however i seem to have a simple problem of finding a way to attach this turkey on wall that has enough suport to hold its weight, partly because it will be a good foot away from the wall. any ideas?
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use two 3/16 rods.
That comes when you're trying to bend the "U" in the rod to hold the turkey to the wall. LOL
Buy a 3 foot, 1/4 inch rod. Sharpen both ends.Bend one end in a tight "U" and insert the other end under the wing root. Pierce the body with the rod and imbed the "U" under the show wing. Cover with feathers. On the opposite side, bend the rod slightly down so the when it's level, your bird will be "flying" at the angle you desire.
Now I use TWO panels to hold my birds. One slightle smaller than the other. I drill a 1/4 inch hole in the smaller one and slip the rod end through. Then on the second one, I rout out a 1/4 inch groove about 2 inches long perpendicular to the way the panel will hang. I cut the sharpened end of the rod and with a vise, bend it in a perfect 90 degree angle with about a 2 inch tang left over. Now I pull the small panel back and mark the tang on the back side and make a very SHALLOW groove in the small panel back. I pull the rod down snug over that groove and then place the larger panel grove over the rod. Then I screw the panel sandwich together locking the rod in place. Put a hanger on the large panel and hang your bird.
You may find you have too much rod, so you have to tear your 'sandwich' apart and shorten the rod a little. You CAN twist the rod slightly to make your final flight adjustments for your turkey, but you need some strong arms and hands from TWO people to pull it off without tearing your bird up or dinging your panels.
Good luck.
I struggled for years doing it the way George suggested and it does work however, I now do it a much simpler way. I take the detachable antler kit from Research or McKenzie and bondo the male section into a wood block installed in the mannikin. The female section is fiberglassed into a cutoff tree limb. Super sturdy and easily removable for transport. The best part is I charge $50 for the limb in addition to the extra flying charge.
Since you have the bird already mounted this tip won't help but give it a try on your next flyer.
Good luck!
All good suggestions...I use 3/8" threaded brass dowl (they sell them at Lowes in the lamp section)...Bolt the dowl to your panel and run your wire thru it.