George Dalton is a woodworker in Marietta, Ohio. When I first met George at the Woodcraft store in Parkersburg, West Virginia, he said he was a toy builder. I have learned that he is much more than that. Dalton began his woodworking interest as a sophomore in high school by taking woodshop for 2 years and learning about timber from his grandfather and 2 uncles. It wasn’t until 1994 that he began purchasing his first woodshop tools. George has worked hard for John Deere, first as a service manager for 23 years, and then as a sales and product support engineer for 14 years. Working with all the products and parts of these machines, George now uses his lifetime memory bank of knowledge and history from that industry to create all the different construction vehicles without layout plans. When I say memory bank, I literally mean just that. In his 28′ x 24′ woodshop, he creates Model “T’s”, Dozers, Booms, Cranes, Draglines, and Excavators. The dozers are built from 373 individual pieces, and the TD25 International Tractor’s contain 443 pieces.
As George puts it, “I design as I go, occasionally using pictures or toy model rubber wheels, but all made from poplar, red oak, and sassafras woods.”
George created this scaled down boom from the machine photo (above). All of the wooden parts move and articulate just like the actual machines they are patterned after including the winch, bucket and jaw systems.
Machine tracks are also made from wood…
…then assembled with press fit wooden dowels and paint finished. Staining and decals are applied for the final perfected touch.
Originally the tracks would take George 2 days without jigs, accumulating the entire construction time for 1 dozer in 60 hours. He now makes 2 tracks in 3 hours with a total build time of 3 or 4 units in 30 hours.
George has made 70 dozers and excavators to date in a shorter time period by duplicating parts. Wheels are created by planing the wood to 1/4″ thick and hole saw cutting the outer and inner diameters.
George uses Gorilla Glue and Titebond II for his assembly applications.
George sells his work at local shows and hardware stores. Excavators and Little Dozers go for $250, Side Booms and Draglines are $350-$400. Call George at 740-896-2176 for your project.
Dalton works every day in his woodshop, and loves his woodworking retirement. Being a familiar face and customer at Woodcraft, George uses his Delta Scroll Saw to create these farm tractors and clocks:
Other woodworking talents include, but are not limited to these works,
Wagon Wheel Bench
Lord’s Prayer Chip Carving
Noah’s Ark
…and these furniture pieces
George has built most of the furniture for his family and tells them, “When I’m gone, you’ll have something to remember me by, and it won’t cost you anything.”
Listen in as George explains his hobby…
Stay tuned for a story on Turning Across America with Beth Ireland and a blog on Lignum Vitae Wood with Woodcraft’s George Snyder.
Auf Wiedersehen…Frank
