BOOTY MONSTER,
Changing from that 2x4 to some other type of insulator ought to certainly work. It won't do much (if anything) about how well it would work, just change the antenna's appearance.
Using a 'stiff' wire, or a whip for the radials is also certainly a possibility. Changing the angle that the radials have to the vertical radiator changes the input impedance of the antenna. If you are using an impedance matching device (the 'ring') that has a wide enough range to handle that difference in input impedance produced by 90 degree radials as opposed to radials at 45 degrees, then the thing should work as well as with the wire radials. The 'shape' of the radials, round, flat, octagonal, whatever, makes very little (if any) practical difference in performance, only in looks.
The capacitive hat and "coil" on the '.64' antenna only does one thing, it electrically lengthens the antenna. Doesn't do anything about static. [Wanna get rid of some static electricity? Do away with all the 'pointy' things, no sharp points, as in a 'static ball' of some kind.]
Will the changes/modifications make a bunch of difference as far as how well the resulting antenna works? Not really. They also certainly won't hurt it, just make it different. That assumes that the thing was 'done' well to start with.
- 'Doc
[I have a problem with a few of 'Wolfe's opinions about some of his antennas. I think his 'gain' figures are sort of optimistic. And 'metal' antennas don't attract lightning like fiberglass ones do? Really? I wonder why all lightning attracting devices are metal?
I will certainly agree with fiberglass antennas typically sustaining more fatal damage than metal ones! Fiberglass tends not to conduct electricity too well, but then, electrically fiberglass is invisible, it ain't there.]
