Rehabbing Mystery Goose Silhouettes

Steve Sanford

Steve Sanford

Well-known member
All~


A member recently asked me for guidance rehabbing some Canada Goose silhouettes of unknown maker. They are made from 1/8-inch Masonite - smooth on one side, rough on the other. I asked him to mail me one....



View attachment DS 01.JPG



They appear to be factory-made.


View attachment DS 02 head closeup.JPG



The heads are riveted to the bodies.



View attachment DS 03 rivet.JPG



The tubular steel legs notch onto the bodies but are removable.


View attachment DS 04 leg detail.JPG



Here's the notch on the upper end.


View attachment DS 05 leg slot.JPG


The lower end is flattened. I imagine this helps penetrate the ground and prevent weather-vaning.


View attachment DS 06 leg point.JPG



There is a bunch of them.


View attachment DS 41 - full rig.jpg


Most heads are "feeders"....


View attachment DS 43 - heads.jpg



There are just a few uprights.



View attachment DS 42 - high head.jpg



Any ideas as to who made them? Where? When?


I start the rehab of a sample bird in the next post.....


SJS

 
Part 2:



I began the rehab by drilling out the rivet then lightly sanding everything with 120-grit.



View attachment DS 08 spar varnish drying.JPG




The leg was sprayed with Satin Black after an acetone wipe down and the Masonite parts were sealed with Spar Varnish.


View attachment DS 07 spar varnish and satin black.JPG



The body and head got scuff-sanded and a few chalk lines for the major color areas.


View attachment DS 09 light sanding and chlked lines.JPG



I was out of Flat White oil - so the spray can came out again. The Flat Black oil was brushed on after the White dried.



View attachment DS 10 primer paints.JPG



I let everything cure overnight.


View attachment DS 11 Black and White hanging to dry.JPG



Grey Primer (oil) was brushed onto the lower portion of the body.


View attachment DS 12 Grey primer.JPG



While the Grey was still wet, Rustoleum Flat Brown went on the upper reaches.



View attachment DS 13 Flat Brown.JPG



I worked with a wet brush to move the 2 colors back and forth into each other to soften things a bit.


View attachment DS 14 Flat Brown dragged onto wet Grey.JPG



Plenty of sunshine for baking the paints.


View attachment DS 15 Primed hanging to dry.JPG



The bird is ready for its top coats the next day.....


SJS











 
Part 3


Here is a reference - downloaded from Google Images.


View attachment DS 16 Live Canada feeding for reference.jpg



Topcoats done. Behr latex house paints - from Home Depot - are Aging Barrel on the back, Mocha Latte on the sides, and Cathedral Grey (I've got to double-check my current pale grey....) on the ventral side. (The Black and White areas are still in prime - and will get top-coated with flat latex.)



View attachment DS 20 - Body topcoats.JPG



When re-fastening the 2 pieces, I put the rough sides against each other - to keep the head from swiveling downward. Instead of a rivet, I used a brass machine screw - with a nut and 3 washers.



View attachment DS 25 - Roundhead brass machine screw.JPG




I ground the nut side off flush after snugging it up. I also put a brass washer between the head and body.


View attachment DS 26 Roundhead trimmed and peened.JPG



Here is a "reacher" posture.


View attachment DS 27 Reaching.JPG



The hardware is doing its job - but only time will tell if it keeps its friction in use.



View attachment DS 28 Machine screw.JPG



Even though these are "just" silhouettes - I could not keep myself from painting in the lower eyelid - with Cathedral Grey and a fine brush.



View attachment DS 29 Eyelid.JPG



Here is a "caller"....


View attachment DS 30 Caller.JPG



A feeder....


View attachment DS 31 Feeder.JPG



One more tweak in the final post.....


SJS





 
Part 4~


I suggested to the owner that the body would look a bit more realistic with a bit of judicious trimming....


View attachment DS 33 - Body profile mods.JPG



Upon receiving the OK, I trimmed the underbelly....


View attachment DS 52 Trim line aft.jpg



And up forward, too.


View attachment DS 51 Trim line on breast.JPG



Here is the result.


View attachment DS 53 Trimmed FINAL.JPG





BTW: A more detailed description of the painting process is at:


https://stevenjaysanford.com/painting-canada-goose-gunners/





Hope this helps!


SJS







 
Steve, I'm thinking they're not factory, I've never seen anything like those advertised anywhere since the 70's. Masonite was the go to material way back for home made.

If they were hand made, I'd say the guy did a pretty good job.
 


I also do not think they are factory made.

Checked the books I have, and did not see them. I also collected silhouette duck, goose, and Brant decoys.


The best made, IMO were handmade, and many of them in larger numbers than folks think.

Especially at goose hunting clubs, and leases back in the 60's & 70's.

Many a time members were very skilled craftsmen. They would pool their skills and talents, and buy material in bulk for construction of the decoys.

Many goose hunters worked in factories, where the "supplies" could be gotten for making the decoys.

Westinghouse used lots of masonite, and many of the "scraps" went home with workers, and foreman.

During those times, we would spend much of the summer making large spreads of silhouette decoys.


Also the decoys that were rented, and used in most state draw public goose hunting areas, were silhouettes, of varying quality.

The private and pay places in Delaware and Maryland had thousands of them.

If a book were to be written about them it would be a major endeavor. Cuz they worked, and still work very good.


Your doing the Decoys justice Steve, and getting them back out where they belong. Two Thumbs UP!



Best regards
Vince
 
Beautiful and that masonite will hold up to abuse better than 1/4" plywood. My Father use to carry a rig of the masonite in trunk of his car for use in fields in about mid to late 60,s. What they won,t hold up to is being shot thru with a 30/06 while unloading his deer rifle at end of a hunt. Beautiful hole thru trunk, silos , spare tire and bullet ended up in back of seat ! Always kidded him afterwards about killing all those geese while deer hunting! Looks like they needed a small brass bolt with washers and wing nuts for a better way to secure that head position but I really like the movable head idea. Probably get a lot more heads and bodys from a sheet like that also being able to use small leftovers for heads.
 
Last edited:
Hi.
These decoys were picked up on Long Island.
Owner was likely a Grumman worker.
So Vince is on the money.
Can?t wait to rehab and hunt.

Stern
 

David,

Hope you saved a couple of the "as is" decoys as well. (That is the decoy collector in me that's hard to stifle...)

Steve's rehabs look great, and will for sure work very well, for many seasons.


Do not discount what the guys that made them knew, and very well understood.

Chunky Body Silhouettes work very good, due to the angle that they present to geese. More surface, more decoy = LOOK AT ME!

Many of the best decoys are not to our taxidermy/lifelike, liking, but they sure do work tolling birds.

The old timers thought from a birds eye view, long before decoy contests changed the entire genre.



Best regards
Vince
 
Good morning, All~


Vince~ I, too, advised David to keep at least one in original condition - at least to tack up on the wall in his shop.


Provenance ~ The Grumman connection certainly rings true. Back in the 80s - before CNC routers were commonplace - I heard of a top secret 3D, computer-aided router in Calverton's Navy favcility whose high security was occasionally breached at night - to produce decoy heads.....


At least on Long Island, the defense industry and the major utilities seem to have harbored - and maybe still do - many clever and resourceful outdoorsmen.



All the best,


SJS

 

Howdy Steve,

I had a feeling that you would suggest keeping some of the original decoys.

Some years ago, examples of my collection were in a "decoys as art exhibition". They were placed on the walls, using a method of using stout stick pins (for no better words) around the silhouettes to hold them firmly in place. It worked very well.


Reading about how David's decoys were created, and by whom, made me smile. In the factories and mills I worked in, such creative usefulness was called "A Government Job".

"Government Jobs", most likely always had upper level approval (as well as examples of what was made), or there would be hell to pay.

For sure many a outdoorsman took advantage of that.


When I worked in the Steel Mill. A electrician friend specialized in building spits, to roast lamb, pigs, beef, and poultry. The Steel Mill has been closed for years, but I'm pretty certain that many of those spits are still doing the jobs intended.

I miss those days, and hope to some degree such a thing still goes on.



Best regards
Vince
 
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