Library display showcases masterful woodwork

WASHINGTON — A total of 32 hand-sized wooden vehicles on display at the entrance of the Washington Public Library this month appear, at first glance, like a collection of toys, or perhaps an array of three-dimensional puzzles.

Looks, however, can be deceiving.

In reality, each tractor, truck, and car in the display case is a carefully carved model comprised of somewhere between 80 and 230 painstakingly handmade parts. More than that, the wheels, drum brakes, radiator fans, PTOs, and countless other pieces of each model move just like they would on a real vehicle.

Every one of the items takes woodcarver Charlie Thompson around a hundred hours to produce from his shop, a small addition to his cottage at the United Presbyterian Home in Washington.

“It’s the challenge, to me, to do a better job; more details, include things that I haven’t included before,” Thompson said. “I can spend a day or more on some tiny little piece. I’m retired, I’ve got the time, I don’t have to hurry, so I can take the time to do it.”

Precision is the name of the game. Every facet, from the number of lugs on a tire to the spokes on a steering wheel, matches the real thing.

Thompson will spend days collecting information — and even taking his own photos — on a model before picking up a saw or setting anything on the lathe. After the research, he sometimes needs to get innovative to bring his vision to life

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“I try to make it as authentic as I can,” he said. “The grooves in a radiator, I’ll do the same, but once in a while, I just can’t get that many in that space, so I’ll be one or two short … If I want to do something, I sit down and see if I can figure out how to do it. And I’ve been successful in some cases.”

Thompson has carved wood since he was a much younger man. He recalls making his first model at the age of 14, a recreation of his dad’s tractor and a manure sprayer. A more skilled recreation of the model, made 70 years later, is now included in the library’s display.

Most of the models are tractors, a nod to Thompson’s life spent on a farm.

“I’m an old farm boy that likes to look at it,” he said. “What happended was, I was watching the antique tractor parade in 2020, sitting and watching all these tractors go by, and I thought, ‘I could have a tractor collection, but mine’s going to fill a wall,’ I don’t have to have a huge machine shed.”

None of the parts are store-bought. Each one — even the perfectly circular wheels and 0.0625-inch-thin steering shafts and minuscule brake pedals that get lost among wood shavings if they’re dropped — is made in-house, from a pile of scrap wood.

The humble material is familiar to Thompson, who first honed his craft using parts from apple and peach boxes provided by the grocery store, when he couldn’t afford to buy lumber.

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“I don’t buy any pieces,” he said. “A puzzle box would hold enough wood to make two or three tractors, the material is all incidental, really. All of it comes out of the scrap box, as I’ve done other projects and had pieces left over.”

Thompson said it was rewarding to have his work on display. Library staff have already forwarded praises to him from patrons of all ages.

“I want people to see it, if they can enjoy it,” he said. “One neighbor lady called me up and said, ‘I can’t imagine the patience that takes!’ … it’s been fun collecting the information and putting them together.”

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com