Attaching fish to driftwood

Well GOOD! I'm legal then! Still get to write it all off too.Speaking of writing off...think I'll make a post regarding gasoline taxes and maybe save some full timers some cash on their upcoming taxes.

 

and yes Marty, I do use wire on my wall mounts too. It'll work for ya

 

Ed, when I read your responses all I can say is I'm lucky you can't teach stupid...

 

I use screws on both repro and skin mounts. I never have to worry about the wire, epoxy bond breaking.

Drill holes in the driftwood where you want the fish to be and counter sink the screws.

 

Marty, You disappoint me!Your youth and Immaturity are starting to show through.It's one thing to question a persons credentials, but resorting to name calling? Really?You stated how" rock solid" your dowel method is. Do you understand the dynamics of the media you are working with?What happens to wood when exposed to a humid environment?It swells, correct?When its exposed to an arid environment? Shrinks, correct?IE: a wooden chair exposed to wood heat in the winter,loosens up and falls apart!Not to mention, wood can/ will transfer moisture(in the case of the dowels, directly to the skin of your fish).Wire on the other hand,presents a moisture proof barrier beetween the drift wood/ panel.Perhaps you should include hydrodynamics as a course of study to augment your years of structural design.This whole thread brings to mind,several years back(you are probably too young to remember), a guy ,in an attempt to simplify,and overcome the issues related to using dowels.It was " going to revolutionize the world of fish taxidermy".His system consisted of plastic dowels with an array of jigs and hardware to align the fish to the wood / panel.I don't recall the name of his system(perhaps some one else does)(,Many of us jokingly called them "fish sticks").I'm pretty sure they went out of business, and I'm sure you will correct me if I'm mistaken.LOL. Peace and Joy to all, Ed

 

Well, it's finally happened. Fish taxidermist have now figured a way to dork a football without anyone knowing. Three pages on how to attach a fish to a piece of driftwood. Now that has to be on the verge of rocket science. GIVE ME A FREAKIN BREAK.

Marty, Marty, Marty. Let me get this straight. You don't NEED wood on a skin mount but you MUST HAVE WOOD on a repro. HMmmmmm. You mean with all that fancy "rolling your own fish forms" you guys figure that it's no problem to INSTALL A DOWEL, but too much work to INSTALL A WOODEN INSERT. Damn, it would seem that if a structural engineer was capable of building something bigger than a two-holer outhouse, he could figure how to cut out a block of foam and install a piece of pine in it's place. I'm not sure that "stupid" can't be taught. There sure are a lot of lessons being given on running a screw through a piece of driftwoon into a skin mount OR a repro fish. Sounds more like you should be glad stupid doesn't hurt.

Oh, and before you ask, I'll tell you why I'm even posting on here. When I saw the post, I simply ignored it because even though common sense isn't so "common" anymore, I figure one or two thread should cover all the subtle intricacies of screwing a fish to driftwood. Silly me. But what REALLY brought me here was PMs from several concerned members wondering if Marty knew something I didn't and if my imminent demise was being forecast. Not to fear you animal necrophiles, I'm a oner. They broke the mold when they made me and since Marty is such a piscatologist, how could he possibly stand toe to toe with Tom King and his snake oil pitches And when John Creager and I agree on something, it should give you ALL cause to reflect on your positions. ROTFLMAO

 

Wood dowels in fish , HMMMMM. Know I know what happened to all the Tinker Toys , we had as kids . I think , I will stick with wire.

 

George, it's simple. As a Structural Designer I'm paid to figure out the most efficient, cost effective way to build things without any overkill. Wooden dowels into foam on a skin mount offers adequate support, it's quicker to install and cheaper than a block of wood and screws. Simple as that. Try it sometime. It works.

Even simpler and more efficient is the fact that the contraption I use (I've posted pics of them before) to hold my wall mounts/skin mounts as I'm working on them happens to have 2-3 dowels (with pointy ends that stick into the back of the foam) with the exact same spacing as I use when mounting the completed fish to the driftwood. So, I re-use the holes in the fish when I locate the dowels into the driftwood.

K.I.S.S. It's a simple method of holding your fish and another simple method for attaching your fish to the driftwood that work well in tandem. Simple, yet ingenious at the same time. However, I cannot take credit for figuring these things out as DougP came up with this method. I just improved upon things via standardizing hole spacing throughout the process so that both work together and things are more efficient.

4 pages btw.

Oh, also glad to see you still kicking George - lol!

 

Obviously, I don't have a college degree and certainly not one in engineering, but correct me if I'm wrong: wooden blocks are usually "scrap" remnants and dowels are turned maple which have to be purchased. A 4 inch dry wall screw cost about 6 cents each at Lowes while a dowel in 5/16 is $1.25. Math wasn't one of my better subjects either but I do know that a screw will maintain constant tension between pieces while a dowel has none.

 

Well, you asked George!!! First off, I don't have any "scrap wood" laying around for wooden blocks. However, maybe a full-service shop would? But, you're missing the point about cost. It's ALL about the time it takes to trim out the styrafoam, cut the block of wood and install it, glue/epoxy or whatever. It takes FAR longer to do than to use a pre-cut dowel. Also, you have to remember, depending on the size of the fish you're only supporting a pound or MAYBE 4 or 5 pounds for a musky skin mount. Dowels and hot Glue provide plenty of support. It's simply more efficient and cost-effective.

NOW, if you add in the time saved by coordinating the driftwood attachment method with your fish holders then it's a NO-BRAINER!!! It's FAR more efficient and much more cost-effective.

Btw, some dowels are hard woods and some are pine. I actually prefer the pine ones better because the hardwoods tend to split more when cutting. Depending on diameter, they run between .19 cents apiece to about .39 cents apiece for 3 footers. Pretty cheap...

 

Hmmmmm....... I see a pattern forming here. OH wait I already posted that.

Ok so I was right about the pattern forming thing I guess. ;D

Sweet Jeepers Marty!!! I think you could argue with a dead billy goat.

 

Travis, George is not dead yet - lol!

Hey, give me a break Travis. I was done with this topic until George had to start his usual crap!!!

 

what was the original post again?

 

OH, I CAN SEE IT'S A NO BRAINER ALL RIGHT! LMAO

 

Cant we all just get along

 

I do not want to tread on toes here,and certainly not into an argument.
But if you use dowels, are you not limited to the size/width of driftwood you have to use ? were as wires can be used even on the slimmest pieces of wood. Just a thought.

 

It would be a much diminished version of the original!!!

 

Seems as though you have trouble practicing your "KISS " theory.LMAO

 

I woul sugjest it is YOU that missed something in class .

 

Hell of an attitude for a school teacher!!