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Charlie Harte Passions Charlie Harte: Woodworking for Grandchildren- The origin of this was the photo I sent in with most of my truck fleet 1
- I became somewhat handy because I was given access to my dad’s man cave; full of tools and other mysteries of a dedicated fixer-upper.
- As I grew up and aged, I gradually lost the ability to play active sports: first football, and later tennis, basketball. I needed another activity.
- So when our sons’ families began to include children, and the first 3 were boys, I looked for a meaningful way to make a contribution.
- By this time I’d exhausted available “2×4 and plywood” handyman opportunities such as decks, painted bookshelves, and basement renovations.
- Making toys occurred to me, and I got several books of plans and ideas, including airplanes and trucks.
- This seemed like an appealing hobby, and one that would transition into making real furniture, which is the long term objective.
- So I went to my shop to figure out how to make the changeover from the “2×4 and plywood” construction shop to one making smaller and more precise things with some aesthetics—like toy airplanes. Here’s the shop in full operation: 2
- And here’s the first item off the line 3
- (The shop photo is really not mine, but the Ford Willow Run B-24 shop; aa part of the arsenal of democracy buildup)
- So airplanes worked out, but the fine detail of the engine is difficult and time consuming. Next I turned to trucks. Here are the first 2—a steam roller and flatbed transport: 4
- And here’s the last of the fleet: 5
- Then we had a granddaughter, which required different items. Here’s a doll bed under construction, 6
- And a wagon so the granddaughter’s younger brother would have something to haul his stuff around 7
- As the kids grew older, they began to request construction of other things. This provided a wonderful opportunity to put them to work 8 & 9
- The latest example was a grandson interested in the Civil War asked if I could make a fort-like thing for his soldiers. We began: 10
- And here’s General grandson with his army in action: 11
- And so we end with some happy customers of all this: 12 & 13
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