NOVEMBER - What's on your work bench?

Steve Sanford

Steve Sanford

Well-known member
Well, I guess everybody must be gunning of late. Here it is November 4th and NO "work bench" entries.yet. I have been shooting a few ducks and geese and laboring away on the pilothouse for Cassiopeia. But, I always squeeze in some minor projects when I'm waiting for epoxy to cure or paint to dry.

I picked up this cast iron "wing duck" on my recent trip to Long Island. It is a Hen Broadbill that came from the battery gunned by Henry Dick in Islip, NY. Islip is on Great South Bay - and I grew up in East Islip. So, I was happy that my first iron bird had some local history within its 30 pounds.

It had lived in a workshop in recent years - on the mantel over an open fireplace. It had some white paint spattered on it and something rusted the aft end - more recently than 1935 - which is presumably the last time it was used as ballast on Mr. Dick's "machine". So, I decided it needed a bit of restoration before it moved to its new home on the hearth in our living room.

Note traces of the original paint: the "blue" bill and the white "mustache" that makes it a hen.

Wingdecoy-HenryDickrig-BEFORE_zpsd8e8d533.jpg


I scrubbed it with a ScotchBrite and then some coarse steel wool but then opted for the "big gun" - phosphoric acid. An overnite application did the trick - and also revealed a suggestion of the white-ish wing patches and the lower sides as well as the dark-light-dark pattern of Broadbill - and even a bit of the yellow eyes. After wiping the acid residue off with a damp rag, I then waxed it with Minwax Furniture Wax (Walnut variety).

Wingdecoy-HenryDickrig-Islip_zpsa6dea987.jpg


Our new fireplace insert is due (actually overdue) any day now - but the new hearth is ready and this old Wing Duck is waiting patiently.

All the best,

SJS
 
That's a great find and cleaned up beautiful! I would have been afraid to touch it with anything. Congrat's.

Tom
 
RL~

I am not really familiar with the market for these birds. As far as I know, batteries were used primarily on Great South Bay and the upper Chesapeake (the origin is uncertain but as a local boy I vote for GSB....) I am not an active collector but was just lucky enough to visit a trove of decoys and gear not yet "picked over" by collectors - a rare thing nowadays. I felt like Joel Barber or William Mackay from back in the day.

Of course, many of these wound up on the bottom of Great South Bay when the wind and seas kicked up. Here's a great story I recently got from Wally Willrick, Jr. - a friend of my Dad's who now lives in Florida. Heckscher Cove is aka Nicoll's Cove - where I learned to shoot from my Scooter:


Here’s a little more history of the Great South Bay. I have two cast iron decoys that was given to me by my Uncle John Locker back in the early 50’s when I built my house in Great River. He was a West Sayville clam digger who lived just east of the West Sayville Fire Dept. East of him was Bud Van Wyen’s gas station. He never owned a car and would walk down the marsh behind his house, to the boat, and go to work on the Bay every day.

These two decoys, Uncle John tonged off the bottom of the Bay, in Heckshire cove. He told me that they were part of the Langdon Thorne (out of Brightwaters) “battery rig” back in the late 20’s, & early 30’s, reason being they were the only huge Battery Rig around in those days. Brud also remembered that spread. They used to weight down the battery with lead in the bottom and these cast iron decoys would be placed on the doors or flaps to better hide the “sink box”. Naturally in icy conditions, they would lose a few occasionally.

For almost 30 years I treasured them on the hearth of my fire place in Great River, and when we moved to Florida in 1978, naturally I took the decoys with me. As I packed up my rented Ryder truck for the journey south, the last thing I put on were those two cast iron decoys, before closing the doors. A couple days later when we got to the new home in Jupiter Fla. and as I was backing into the driveway, this elderly gentleman walked over from where he lived next door. He introduced himself as Chet Long, and he said “welcome to the neighborhood.”
Now here’s the ironic part………… When I swung open the big doors of the Ryder truck, there sat those two cast iron decoys. Well when Mr. Long spotted those decoys , he asked where did I get them. So I told him the whole story about my Uncle John, etc. etc. He walked over and turned over one of the decoys and much to my amazement, Mr. Long said, He had owned a steel foundry in Buffalo N.Y. and had made 1000 cast iron decoys for Montgomery Ward’s, and sold them to Ward’s for $1.00 each. He could tell by the markings on the bottom of the decoys that they were his. Mr. Long was 83 at the time, and a very distinguished gentleman. My neighbor for many years and very sharp. But how ironic for me to move to Florida and the first discussion I was to have with anyone, was over those two cast iron decoys and their origination some 90 years ago…………….. I’m still amazed.

I am sure there are members of the Long Island Decoy Collectors who know lots about these iron birds and their availability. I will ask around next time I'm on Long Island.

All the best,

SJS
 
So cool Steve. Man if that decoy could talk! Awesome find. On a cold blowing November day how many sinkboxes found their way to the bottom as well?
 
Steve, I grew up on shinnecock bay and there were many found over the years by clammers. Remember seeing a few in barns and rigs. I worked for the telephone company and saw many in basements and barns. Who knew???
 
RL~

I am not really familiar with the market for these birds. As far as I know, batteries were used primarily on Great South Bay and the upper Chesapeake (the origin is uncertain but as a local boy I vote for GSB....) I am not an active collector but was just lucky enough to visit a trove of decoys and gear not yet "picked over" by collectors - a rare thing nowadays. I felt like Joel Barber or William Mackay from back in the day.

Of course, many of these wound up on the bottom of Great South Bay when the wind and seas kicked up. Here's a great story I recently got from Wally Willrick, Jr. - a friend of my Dad's who now lives in Florida. Heckscher Cove is aka Nicoll's Cove - where I learned to shoot from my Scooter:


Here’s a little more history of the Great South Bay. I have two cast iron decoys that was given to me by my Uncle John Locker back in the early 50’s when I built my house in Great River. He was a West Sayville clam digger who lived just east of the West Sayville Fire Dept. East of him was Bud Van Wyen’s gas station. He never owned a car and would walk down the marsh behind his house, to the boat, and go to work on the Bay every day.

These two decoys, Uncle John tonged off the bottom of the Bay, in Heckshire cove. He told me that they were part of the Langdon Thorne (out of Brightwaters) “battery rig” back in the late 20’s, & early 30’s, reason being they were the only huge Battery Rig around in those days. Brud also remembered that spread. They used to weight down the battery with lead in the bottom and these cast iron decoys would be placed on the doors or flaps to better hide the “sink box”. Naturally in icy conditions, they would lose a few occasionally.

For almost 30 years I treasured them on the hearth of my fire place in Great River, and when we moved to Florida in 1978, naturally I took the decoys with me. As I packed up my rented Ryder truck for the journey south, the last thing I put on were those two cast iron decoys, before closing the doors. A couple days later when we got to the new home in Jupiter Fla. and as I was backing into the driveway, this elderly gentleman walked over from where he lived next door. He introduced himself as Chet Long, and he said “welcome to the neighborhood.”
Now here’s the ironic part………… When I swung open the big doors of the Ryder truck, there sat those two cast iron decoys. Well when Mr. Long spotted those decoys , he asked where did I get them. So I told him the whole story about my Uncle John, etc. etc. He walked over and turned over one of the decoys and much to my amazement, Mr. Long said, He had owned a steel foundry in Buffalo N.Y. and had made 1000 cast iron decoys for Montgomery Ward’s, and sold them to Ward’s for $1.00 each. He could tell by the markings on the bottom of the decoys that they were his. Mr. Long was 83 at the time, and a very distinguished gentleman. My neighbor for many years and very sharp. But how ironic for me to move to Florida and the first discussion I was to have with anyone, was over those two cast iron decoys and their origination some 90 years ago…………….. I’m still amazed.

I am sure there are members of the Long Island Decoy Collectors who know lots about these iron birds and their availability. I will ask around next time I'm on Long Island.

All the best,

SJS
Click to expand...

Pretty cool and ironic story. Nice work on the restoration as well.

Brad
 
Part of an old fence post that has been sitting around in the shop, no green to it but lots of nice mineral staining around small cracks and small tight checks. A lot of wasted material and a lot CA glue in some of the checks but came out alright.
call-646_zps67442d2b.jpg

 
A few birds that I have been working on.... some Herters 82s. Burlapped, then the Sanford Restle coating with epoxy and wood flour, 2 coats:





Some Tom Rowe sleeper cans and Herters coots:



And painted up:







Thank you Steve for the paint suggestions.... satisfied with my first attempts at painting though the hen cans look best at 20 yards!
 
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Steve I like the restore, good job bring some life back to a classic.

Here is a trio of simple gunning woody drakes. Oil and bass.

woodrowss_zpsb64728e1.jpg

 
Tom, in my humble opinion there is nothing simple about those three great looking gunning drake wood ducks. They are stunning!
Al
 
Speaking of wood ducks, here's one I finished up recently. It got finished along with a bunch of other birds that I had been working on for a long time.


 
Doug & Tom~

Great birds! I have a Woodie to do next month - you guys have thrown down the gauntlet AND set the bar high! ( I like mixed metaphors even better than a left-right double....)

All the best,

SJS
 
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