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Equipment model hobby worth ‘every extra minute’

November 16, 2007 |

Chuck Hoggarth, 74, has a passion for building things, and it’s evident in his intricate handcrafted wooden equipment models. Ford Motor Company employed Hoggarth for 46 years until his retirement 12 years ago. Shortly thereafter, he decided to put his extensive experience to work.

Hoggarth’s interest in equipment models started about seven years ago, when he put together a small Kenworth truck and trailer. The wooden model was only 1 foot long by 10 inches high, and according to Hoggarth, this just wasn’t big enough for him to fully enjoy. To make larger models, he took patterns from Toys and Joys in Lynden, Wash., and multiplied everything by four.

As a result, he now has a 12-foot-long-by-about-3-foot-high Kenworth truck and trailer and 10 other models including two large excavators, two dozers, a mining truck, a Hummer, an articulated tractor and a scraper. Hoggarth uses sugar pine wood — a heavy timber that contains no knots – along with polyurethane and tongue oil to build his projects. Building a model can take up to nine months, and he usually works on them in winter.

“Once I get into building them,” said Hoggarth, “I really enjoy every extra minute.

“They’re not really toys; they would be better suited as displays.”