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Iconic Hodag Statue Repaired; Claws Reattached

Miranda Vander Leest

Credit Miranda Vander Leest
Williams places steel rod
Credit Miranda Vander Leest
Williams repairs the back foot first
Credit Miranda Vander Leest
Williams attaches first claw holding it in place waits for the foaming glue to set
Credit Miranda Vander Leest
Williams attaches first claw waits for foaming glue to set

    A uniquely qualified Rhinelander man repaired the iconic Hodag statue Thursday.

Four claws were ripped from the mythical creature late last year, but owner of Williams Studio 2 in Rhinelander and sculptor Chuck Williams volunteered to make the repairs.  Williams worked at Disney World repairing and maintaining theme parks and rides, and used materials lying around his Rhinelander studio to reattach the claws.  Williams talks about the repairs he made…

“…What I’m doing is drilling out part of the foam and inserting a metal tube that will reinforce the foam. Then I’m re-pouring and remixing foam to create the bond between the toe and the sculpture on the rest of the foot. Once the foam sets, the hard coat needs to be repaired and I’m going to do that with epoxy and epoxy takes 24 hours to cure up. So that’s going to hide the crack and create a cosmetic finish…”

The original claws were reattached. Williams will paint and make the finishing touches to the Hodag tomorrow.

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