Suzanne and Buck at their Canyon Lake, TX cabin - June, 2020
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Buck's workshop projects are depicted on the following pages - see page titles above photo and click on each page name to access.
Watch for my listings on Ebay as "boomerburt"
You can contact me directly at [email protected]
NOTES:
Personal Bio: From junior high onwards I have harbored the ambition to customize and/or restore classic automobiles. After many, often abortive, attempts to restore old cars (mostly VW.s) in my earlier years, I find that in retirement I have neither the disposable money nor the energy to do heavy-duty mechanical and body work on cars. As an alternative I now refurbish automobile components - mainly hood ornaments, emblems and the occasional hub cap. It seems to scratch that same itch, although perhaps not as effectively as an actual car. On the other hand, I can restore and customize a lot more hood ornaments than I ever could have restored complete automobiles.
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Jewelry is made from semi-precious stones, generally chalcedony (agate or jasper), fossils and petrified wood. The settings (findings) are of bronze or Argentium silver which does not tarnish as quickly as traditional sterling silver. The bronze is unfinished and will patina over time. Some items I have chemically treated to give patina. Depending on one's taste, maintenance will require occasional buffing with a soft cloth or polishing with silver/brass polish if a brighter finish is desired. The hard to reach spaces are intended to be left patinated to reveal the contours.
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Woodwork is made from hardwood solids or veneer. Finish is generally either oil-base stain, ammonia fumed (white oak & mahogany) or natural. I apply a wax (clear or tinted) over the wood as the final polish. Maintenance will require only an occasional application of clear paste wax - like every five to ten years.
I have had the good fortune to have made new friends in Denton who have a family-owned ranch west of here. They allow me to collect oak and mesquite wood from their woods, which I utilize in my woodworking projects. |
About my Automotive Works
I’ve been collecting hood ornaments for over five years now and a frustrating fact I’ve discovered is that there is no reliable reference for identifying them or that lists a given make’s hood ornaments by year. Car manufacturers don’t provide such a reference and of course many are long out of business anyway. Owner clubs of certain makes often have a photo page of members’ cars or even period photos of cars, but none I’ve come across are comprehensive nor focused on the hood ornament. Some collectors and enthusiasts (such as “Just a Car Guy”) post collected photos of ornaments by make and year, but these are of ornaments that they have had access to and thus are incomplete and occasionally have misidentification errors.
My site has photos of hood ornaments that I have acquired, cleaned up (not restored) and mounted for display. I do not seek to acquire new-old-stock (NOS) or restored items. I like that these ornaments have had a life, been down the road and show their use and age. It is not my intention to restore items, but to celebrate their history and turn them into Objets d’Art. My objective is to create an interesting, attractive and artistic piece that will be enjoyed by people who use and like classic automobiles. On some pieces I incorporate LED lighting technology to enhance the item. Clock items generally incorporate modern, battery-operated quartz clock movements. I have sold some of them at craft fairs and on line, but their photos are still on my site for reference. I am trying to collect all hood ornaments of a few makes, but there is no way I can collect everything. So my reference, like others, is and will remain incomplete.
My Automobilia page is organized into three vertical columns: hood ornaments to the left, useful creation like clocks & lamps down the center and emblems/badges on the right. Within the left and right columns, the items are organized alphabetically by make and chronologically within each make starting at the top. The middle column is divided by type of creation (clocks by type, then lamps) and again alphabetically by make within each group. Most items have an English furniture-wax finish. To maintain their appearance, simply polish with a soft cloth and re-wax as desired. The items are not intended as children’s toys or to survive rough use. They are intended to be placed on a shelf and admired. Enjoy with care.
My site has photos of hood ornaments that I have acquired, cleaned up (not restored) and mounted for display. I do not seek to acquire new-old-stock (NOS) or restored items. I like that these ornaments have had a life, been down the road and show their use and age. It is not my intention to restore items, but to celebrate their history and turn them into Objets d’Art. My objective is to create an interesting, attractive and artistic piece that will be enjoyed by people who use and like classic automobiles. On some pieces I incorporate LED lighting technology to enhance the item. Clock items generally incorporate modern, battery-operated quartz clock movements. I have sold some of them at craft fairs and on line, but their photos are still on my site for reference. I am trying to collect all hood ornaments of a few makes, but there is no way I can collect everything. So my reference, like others, is and will remain incomplete.
My Automobilia page is organized into three vertical columns: hood ornaments to the left, useful creation like clocks & lamps down the center and emblems/badges on the right. Within the left and right columns, the items are organized alphabetically by make and chronologically within each make starting at the top. The middle column is divided by type of creation (clocks by type, then lamps) and again alphabetically by make within each group. Most items have an English furniture-wax finish. To maintain their appearance, simply polish with a soft cloth and re-wax as desired. The items are not intended as children’s toys or to survive rough use. They are intended to be placed on a shelf and admired. Enjoy with care.
Little-known backgrounds of well-known automobile logos
The Buick shield with the stag head and cross was an invention of corporate advertising and had nothing to do with David Buick’s Scottish heritage.
The exact origin of the Chevrolet “bow tie” is in dispute. Although the first Chevy automobile was designed by Louis Chevrolet, the famous logo was introduced by cofounder, William C. Durant, not Mr. Chevrolet. Some claim it was derived from French wallpaper. Others attribute it to something seen in an east coast US newspaper. It has been in continuous use since 1914.
Chrysler’s winged seal was designed by an engineer. Walter Chrysler envisioned his product competing with Cadillac and Lincoln. One of his original engineers, Oliver Clark, conceived a representation of a wax seal superimposed over a blue ribbon to signify top quality. A winged figure was utilized as a radiator ornament to symbolize speed. Later, the seal was combined with wings to unite the two concepts and continues to this day.
The early Dodge Brothers company logo incorporated double, interlocking triangles that look much like the Star of David. The Dodge brothers were not Jewish. It is not known why the brothers John and Horace selected this symbol. It may be that the two interlocking triangles symbolized the two brothers working closely together – as with the interlocking DB that preceded the triangles. Perhaps they just liked its look. It continued in use until long after their deaths in 1920 and was finally replaced in 1940.
The Ford script is NOT Henry Ford’s signature. The font style was designed by an ad man.
Oldsmobile was one of the world’s oldest and longest-lived car manufacturers, but with a most troubled identity. It was founded by Ransom E. Olds (later of REO Speedwagon fame) in 1887. It and Buick were the founding marques of General Motors. Initially it was named Olds Automobile Co., but the public shortened that to “Olds’mobile,” so the company followed their lead, developing a Victorian-style emblem with the name emblazoned on a ribbon draped across an empty but ornately framed shield. That became dated, so in 1919 a coat-of-arms was developed featuring a winged-spur, 3 acorns, an oil lantern, 30-60 triangle and machinists’ caliper. That soldiered on into the ‘50s in evolved form, but overlapped with a ringed world globe which was officially adopted in 1940. The globe was used through the 50s, but the “Rocket 88” model was so successful at carrying the Olds identity that the company officially adopted a rocket as the corporate logo in 1960. The rocket attempted to carry the company identity to the end, but in evolved form. The final logo featured a stylized rocket angled through a relaxed circle – hardly symbolic of anything in the public’s mind. It is not clear how much the lack of a strong logo contributed to Oldsmobile’s market decline and ultimate closure, but it certainly didn’t help.
The exact origin of the Chevrolet “bow tie” is in dispute. Although the first Chevy automobile was designed by Louis Chevrolet, the famous logo was introduced by cofounder, William C. Durant, not Mr. Chevrolet. Some claim it was derived from French wallpaper. Others attribute it to something seen in an east coast US newspaper. It has been in continuous use since 1914.
Chrysler’s winged seal was designed by an engineer. Walter Chrysler envisioned his product competing with Cadillac and Lincoln. One of his original engineers, Oliver Clark, conceived a representation of a wax seal superimposed over a blue ribbon to signify top quality. A winged figure was utilized as a radiator ornament to symbolize speed. Later, the seal was combined with wings to unite the two concepts and continues to this day.
The early Dodge Brothers company logo incorporated double, interlocking triangles that look much like the Star of David. The Dodge brothers were not Jewish. It is not known why the brothers John and Horace selected this symbol. It may be that the two interlocking triangles symbolized the two brothers working closely together – as with the interlocking DB that preceded the triangles. Perhaps they just liked its look. It continued in use until long after their deaths in 1920 and was finally replaced in 1940.
The Ford script is NOT Henry Ford’s signature. The font style was designed by an ad man.
Oldsmobile was one of the world’s oldest and longest-lived car manufacturers, but with a most troubled identity. It was founded by Ransom E. Olds (later of REO Speedwagon fame) in 1887. It and Buick were the founding marques of General Motors. Initially it was named Olds Automobile Co., but the public shortened that to “Olds’mobile,” so the company followed their lead, developing a Victorian-style emblem with the name emblazoned on a ribbon draped across an empty but ornately framed shield. That became dated, so in 1919 a coat-of-arms was developed featuring a winged-spur, 3 acorns, an oil lantern, 30-60 triangle and machinists’ caliper. That soldiered on into the ‘50s in evolved form, but overlapped with a ringed world globe which was officially adopted in 1940. The globe was used through the 50s, but the “Rocket 88” model was so successful at carrying the Olds identity that the company officially adopted a rocket as the corporate logo in 1960. The rocket attempted to carry the company identity to the end, but in evolved form. The final logo featured a stylized rocket angled through a relaxed circle – hardly symbolic of anything in the public’s mind. It is not clear how much the lack of a strong logo contributed to Oldsmobile’s market decline and ultimate closure, but it certainly didn’t help.
DEFINITIONS:
Wood
Hardwood is wood from dicot angiosperm trees. The term may also be used for the trees from which the wood is derived - these are usually broad-leaved. In temperate and boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostly evergreen. Hardwoods are not necessarily harder than softwoods. In both groups there is an enormous variation in actual wood hardness; some hardwoods (e.g., balsa) are softer than most softwoods, while yew is an example of a hard softwood. (Def. from Wikipedia)..
Spalting is the term used for wood that has become infested with microbes, specifically fungi, resulting in discoloration of the growth rings. Spalting can simply involve a black outlines or can involve colors. Spalting is precedent to deterioration and rot, so a dying or dead tree must be identified and harvested before it is unusable. For more information see: http://www.northernspalting.com/beginners-guide/
Texas Bodark Wood
Maclura pomifera is a small deciduous tree or large shrub, typically growing to 30’–50’ tall. The distinctive fruit is roughly spherical, bumpy, 3–6” in diameter. It is known by a variety of common names: Osage orange, bois d'arc, bodark, hedge apple, horse apple, bow-wood, yellow-wood and mock orange. Despite the nick-name "Osage orange", it is only very distantly related to the orange, and is instead a member of the mulberry family.
Bodark was extremely important in the rise of Native American culture in the United States. The named “bodark” and “Osage orange” arise from its use by the Osage Indian Nation and other tribes for bow making. The trees acquired the name bois d'arc, or "bow-wood", from early French settlers who observed the wood being used for war clubs and bow-making by Native Americans. The trees are also known as "bodark" or "bodarc" trees, most likely originating from a corruption of "bois d'arc." Meriwether Lewis was told that the people of the Osage Nation, "So much … esteem the wood of this tree for the purpose of making their bows, that they travel many hundreds of miles in quest of it. Many modern archers assert the wood of the Osage orange is superior even to English Yew for this purpose.
Osage orange's pre-Columbian range was largely restricted to the Red River drainage of Oklahoma, Texas, and Arkansas, as well as the Blackland Prairies and Post Oak Savannas. A disjunct population also occurred in the Chisos Mountains of Texas. It has since become widely naturalized in the United States and Ontario. Osage orange has been planted in all the 48 conterminous States and in southeastern Canada.
Maclura pomifera is a small deciduous tree or large shrub, typically growing to 30’–50’ tall. The distinctive fruit is roughly spherical, bumpy, 3–6” in diameter. It is known by a variety of common names: Osage orange, bois d'arc, bodark, hedge apple, horse apple, bow-wood, yellow-wood and mock orange. Despite the nick-name "Osage orange", it is only very distantly related to the orange, and is instead a member of the mulberry family.
Bodark was extremely important in the rise of Native American culture in the United States. The named “bodark” and “Osage orange” arise from its use by the Osage Indian Nation and other tribes for bow making. The trees acquired the name bois d'arc, or "bow-wood", from early French settlers who observed the wood being used for war clubs and bow-making by Native Americans. The trees are also known as "bodark" or "bodarc" trees, most likely originating from a corruption of "bois d'arc." Meriwether Lewis was told that the people of the Osage Nation, "So much … esteem the wood of this tree for the purpose of making their bows, that they travel many hundreds of miles in quest of it. Many modern archers assert the wood of the Osage orange is superior even to English Yew for this purpose.
Osage orange's pre-Columbian range was largely restricted to the Red River drainage of Oklahoma, Texas, and Arkansas, as well as the Blackland Prairies and Post Oak Savannas. A disjunct population also occurred in the Chisos Mountains of Texas. It has since become widely naturalized in the United States and Ontario. Osage orange has been planted in all the 48 conterminous States and in southeastern Canada.
Texas Mesquite Wood
Mesquite, the common name for several plants in the genus Prosopis, is native to the southwestern United States and northeastern Mexico. It has extremely long roots which seek water from very far underground. The English word mesquite is borrowed from the Aztec term mizquitl. Mesquite grows as a small shrub in shallow soil or as tall as fifty feet in deep soil with adequate moisture and forms a rounded canopy nearly as wide with one or multiple trunks and a multitude of branches. Large trees in favorable soil generally have a single, but crooked, trunk - up to three feet in diameter. A hardy and resilient plant, when cut to the ground the tree can often recover.
Mesquite is one of the most expensive types of lumber in the US. It was popular for use by early the early Spaniards to build ships, but is now used most commonly for furniture, flooring, cabinetry, fine art, and turnings. Its wood is very dense, hard and heavy with a rich reddish-brown heartwood with wavy darker lines and almost white sapwood. It takes a high polish and will shine very well with fine sanding and no finish applied. Scraps and small pieces are used commonly as wood for cooking with smoke in southern states and bring a premium price on the market.
Mesquite, the common name for several plants in the genus Prosopis, is native to the southwestern United States and northeastern Mexico. It has extremely long roots which seek water from very far underground. The English word mesquite is borrowed from the Aztec term mizquitl. Mesquite grows as a small shrub in shallow soil or as tall as fifty feet in deep soil with adequate moisture and forms a rounded canopy nearly as wide with one or multiple trunks and a multitude of branches. Large trees in favorable soil generally have a single, but crooked, trunk - up to three feet in diameter. A hardy and resilient plant, when cut to the ground the tree can often recover.
Mesquite is one of the most expensive types of lumber in the US. It was popular for use by early the early Spaniards to build ships, but is now used most commonly for furniture, flooring, cabinetry, fine art, and turnings. Its wood is very dense, hard and heavy with a rich reddish-brown heartwood with wavy darker lines and almost white sapwood. It takes a high polish and will shine very well with fine sanding and no finish applied. Scraps and small pieces are used commonly as wood for cooking with smoke in southern states and bring a premium price on the market.
Gems
Lapidary is the act of rubbing two objects against one another for the purpose of changing the appearance of at least one of them.
Gemstone is a precious or semiprecious stone, especially one cut, polished, and used in a piece of jewelry.
Chalcedony is a type of Quartz in microcrystalline form. but is not scientifically its own mineral species. However, the name is an old one and almost all mineral reference guides and collectors distinguish Chalcedony separately from Quartz. Chalcedony is a cryptocrystalline form of silica, composed of very fine intergrowths of the minerals quartz and moganite. Chalcedony includes both agate and jasper stones. Chalcedony is distinguished from other quartz crystals in that the chalcedony crystals are microscopic.
Chalcedony is formed by silica-rich water percolating through cavities and fissures in (usually) volcanic rock. Chalcedony is a relatively porous material that is easily dyed to alter or enhance its color. Pure chalcedony is white, but there are several varieties of chalcedony that go by different names depending on coloration. Green chalcedony gets its color from trace amounts of nickel oxide and goes by the name chrysoprase; red varieties of chalcedony goes by the name carnelian or sard; black chalcedony is referred to as onyx; brown chalcedony is referred to as jasper and banded varieties are referred to as agate.
Agate is a cryptocrystalline variety of silica, chiefly chalcedony, characterized by its fineness of grain and brightness of color. Although agates may be found in various kinds of rock, they are classically associated with volcanic rocks and can be common in certain metamorphic rocks.
Many agates form in areas of volcanic activity where waters, rich in dissolved silica, flow through fractures and into cavities in igneous rocks. When the solution is highly concentrated with dissolved silica, a silica gel can form on the walls of these cavities. That gel will slowly crystallize to form microcrystalline quartz. As additional layers of gel are deposited they form younger bands of microcrystalline quartz on the walls of the cavity. This can produce the color banding, plumes or moss that are often seen in translucent agate. Although agates typically form in igneous rocks such as basalt, rhyolite and andesite, they can also form in sedimentary rocks such as limestone.
Jasper is an opaque form of Chalcedony. It often contains an abundance of impurities, and therefore some regard it as a rock instead of a mineral. Jasper is usually associated with brown, yellow, or reddish colors, but may also contain dark or mottled green and orange. Some forms of Jasper are banded; these banded Jaspers may appear similar to Agate, but unlike Agate they are opaque. When Jasper is dull and lacking interesting colors or patterns, it is not Jasper but rather chert.
Jasper is an opaque variety of chalcedony. Neither light nor images pass through. Microcrystalline quartz in its pure form is semitransparent. When a small amount of impurities or foreign materials are added, the color of the microcrystalline quartz changes and its ability to transmit light decreases. Jasper contains enough impurities and foreign material to render it opaque. So, the real difference between jasper and agate is the amount of impurities and foreign material contained with a specimen.
Petrified Wood is fossilized wood with the mineral composition of chalcedony (agate or jasper) and less frequently, opal. It consists of silicon dioxide only. The wood has not actually become stone, as is usually understood by the layman. The organic wood is not changed into stone, but only the shape and structural elements of the wood are preserved as the cellular structure of the wood is replaced by minerals.
Well preserved petrification occurs only where trees (after their death) are quickly covered with fine-grained sedimentary rock. Thus the outer structure of the wood is preserved in a negative form within the enclosing rock. Circulating waters loosen and decompose the organic substances and replace them with mineral substances. Therefore, it is not a change which takes place, but rather an exchange.
Cabochon is a gemstone which has been shaped and polished, as opposed to faceted. (Def. from Wikipedia)
Patina is a thin layer that forms on the surface of materials (metal, stone, furniture) through age and exposure. Patinas can provide a protective covering to materials that would otherwise be damaged by corrosion or weathering. They may also be aesthetically appealing.
Verdigris is the natural patina formed when copper, brass or bronze is weathered and exposed to air or seawater over a period of time.
Gemstone is a precious or semiprecious stone, especially one cut, polished, and used in a piece of jewelry.
Chalcedony is a type of Quartz in microcrystalline form. but is not scientifically its own mineral species. However, the name is an old one and almost all mineral reference guides and collectors distinguish Chalcedony separately from Quartz. Chalcedony is a cryptocrystalline form of silica, composed of very fine intergrowths of the minerals quartz and moganite. Chalcedony includes both agate and jasper stones. Chalcedony is distinguished from other quartz crystals in that the chalcedony crystals are microscopic.
Chalcedony is formed by silica-rich water percolating through cavities and fissures in (usually) volcanic rock. Chalcedony is a relatively porous material that is easily dyed to alter or enhance its color. Pure chalcedony is white, but there are several varieties of chalcedony that go by different names depending on coloration. Green chalcedony gets its color from trace amounts of nickel oxide and goes by the name chrysoprase; red varieties of chalcedony goes by the name carnelian or sard; black chalcedony is referred to as onyx; brown chalcedony is referred to as jasper and banded varieties are referred to as agate.
Agate is a cryptocrystalline variety of silica, chiefly chalcedony, characterized by its fineness of grain and brightness of color. Although agates may be found in various kinds of rock, they are classically associated with volcanic rocks and can be common in certain metamorphic rocks.
Many agates form in areas of volcanic activity where waters, rich in dissolved silica, flow through fractures and into cavities in igneous rocks. When the solution is highly concentrated with dissolved silica, a silica gel can form on the walls of these cavities. That gel will slowly crystallize to form microcrystalline quartz. As additional layers of gel are deposited they form younger bands of microcrystalline quartz on the walls of the cavity. This can produce the color banding, plumes or moss that are often seen in translucent agate. Although agates typically form in igneous rocks such as basalt, rhyolite and andesite, they can also form in sedimentary rocks such as limestone.
Jasper is an opaque form of Chalcedony. It often contains an abundance of impurities, and therefore some regard it as a rock instead of a mineral. Jasper is usually associated with brown, yellow, or reddish colors, but may also contain dark or mottled green and orange. Some forms of Jasper are banded; these banded Jaspers may appear similar to Agate, but unlike Agate they are opaque. When Jasper is dull and lacking interesting colors or patterns, it is not Jasper but rather chert.
Jasper is an opaque variety of chalcedony. Neither light nor images pass through. Microcrystalline quartz in its pure form is semitransparent. When a small amount of impurities or foreign materials are added, the color of the microcrystalline quartz changes and its ability to transmit light decreases. Jasper contains enough impurities and foreign material to render it opaque. So, the real difference between jasper and agate is the amount of impurities and foreign material contained with a specimen.
Petrified Wood is fossilized wood with the mineral composition of chalcedony (agate or jasper) and less frequently, opal. It consists of silicon dioxide only. The wood has not actually become stone, as is usually understood by the layman. The organic wood is not changed into stone, but only the shape and structural elements of the wood are preserved as the cellular structure of the wood is replaced by minerals.
Well preserved petrification occurs only where trees (after their death) are quickly covered with fine-grained sedimentary rock. Thus the outer structure of the wood is preserved in a negative form within the enclosing rock. Circulating waters loosen and decompose the organic substances and replace them with mineral substances. Therefore, it is not a change which takes place, but rather an exchange.
Cabochon is a gemstone which has been shaped and polished, as opposed to faceted. (Def. from Wikipedia)
Patina is a thin layer that forms on the surface of materials (metal, stone, furniture) through age and exposure. Patinas can provide a protective covering to materials that would otherwise be damaged by corrosion or weathering. They may also be aesthetically appealing.
Verdigris is the natural patina formed when copper, brass or bronze is weathered and exposed to air or seawater over a period of time.
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