Recent Creations

I add items to my display of Woodwork and Automobilia most every week.  But I have so much stuff there that it is hard for the visitor to know what is new.  I have revised my Woodwork page into three columns similar to the Automobilia page.  Where the Auto page is organized by alphabet and date of manufacture of the ornaments and emblems, under Woodwork I ​am simply adding the most recently produced pieces at the top of the columns.  Thus it is easy to see my most recent wood works.

Since I continue to believe that most of those who may have an interest in my car hood ornaments and emblems would have an interest in certain brands and years, I will continue to organize the Automobilia page accordingly.  Therefore I will point out some of my more recent productions that I find most interesting. In the early 1900s there was a car manufacturer on every block of the large cities.  World War II pretty well cut out the small guys and built up the bigger car and truck companies by paying them (and requiring them) to produce war machinery.  Some continued on after the war to great success and longevity.  Others did not read the market well and fell off the table.  One exception was Kaiser-Frazer.  Henry J. Kaiser of Kaiser steel did well during the war, since all the vehicles, ships and planes used a lot of steel.  Joseph W. Frazer had been an officer and finally president of the defunct Graham-Paige automobile manufacturer.   The two figured that with Kaiser's steel resources and Frazer's car manufacturing skills they could enter the US automotive production scene and do well.  They started up as Kaiser-Frazer Corp immediately after the war and put out new 1947 models.  All the established manufacturers had to retool from war production and start designing again..  Most post-war cars were warmed over 1942 models.  It was 1949 before most of the big boys brought a truly new product to market.  Kaiser-Frazer did well in 1947 and '48 with their freshly designed cars

Kaiser cars were the bread-and-butter for Kaiser-Frazer and Frazer cars were the premium brand, designed to compete with Cadillac and Packard.  Kaisers sold well.  I personally recall seeing Kaiser cars in Salem, OR where I grew up.  They were easily recognizable by the widow's peak windshield that only they had.  Frazers I do not remember.  Kaiser and Frazer both had a Manhattan model  I suspect that automotive marketing was still in its infancy.  The two were competing against each other.  Frazer just did not do well, so in 1950 K-F decided to drop the Frazer brand and focus on Kaiser.  Frazer came out with a 1951 model as its swan-song, but it was just a 1950 model with redesigned trim.  

Why did I go through all this inconsequential background?  Because I recently came across a 1951 Frazer hood ornament on eBay.  It was missing a component, so the price was attractive.  And the design I found to be intriguing.  A chrome knight competing in a jousting event with a lance point protruding several inches in front of himself.  Imagine putting anything like that on a car hood these days?!?  The missing component was the lance point.  I own a lathe, so I figured that I could certainly turn a replica lance point.  I bid and won the piece.

I had previously seen pictures of this hood ornament on the 'net, at prices well above what I was willing to pay.  When my purchase arrived I discovered that the front attachment for the lance point was a threaded hole and still had the remnants of a broken Lucite (plexiglass) tip.  So I figured that an acrylic point would be as good as a hardwood one.  I ordered a 1-1/8 inch acrylic rod from a supplier in San Jose, CA.  I also found a scrap of native Texas mesquite and turned a replacement point of wood.  When the acrylic rod arrived, I did the same with it.  The catch was that the attachment was via a threaded 5/8" extension of the point.  So I did a search on-line for a 5/8" die that would cut the threads I needed to make the attachment.  Ultimately it all came together.  In fact the icing was that I was even able to illuminate the acrylic tip with three LED bulbs set inside the ornament.

Check back, I have more to show.
Buck Breedlove