There are many hobbies that retirees can choose to adopt once they decide they need an activity to occupy their mind, but while some people look to a more relaxing pastime like golf or stamp collecting, others look to get back to work.
Some farmers are able to focus on a craft outside of their area of expertise, but a life on the farm often leaves them with an urge to stay connected to the agricultural industry. This leads some retirees to extend the amount of time they spend out in the field, but a certain few look to farm equipment to become the next passion in their lives.
One such man is Chuck Osborn, a resident of Newton, Iowa, as the 77-year-old farmer and tractor enthusiast has found a hobby that combines his love for farm equipment and an extensive knowledge of machinery.
According to the Sioux City Journal, he constructs remarkably accurate toy tractors from pieces of scrap metal that originally were part of machines that were once used on the farm. He not only appreciates getting to build a piece of farm equipment, but also noted that the time and attention detail that it takes to be successful has given him a new challenge.
“Unless you pick that up, you will not know how heavy it is,” he said as he pointed to a finished McCormick tractor at his painting station. “That’s 10 pounds right there.”
Osborn started off building a replica John Deere tractor, as he used scrap metal from several old pieces of farm equipment in his house and constructed a model that sharply resembled one of the machines that would be seen out in the field.
According to the news outlet, he started this hobby after tractor restoration became too much of a process. He saw making the miniature John Deere models as the next best thing.
“I’d just buy old, beat-up ones and fix them,” Osborn told the Journal. “But anymore it’s so darn expensive. Ever since I was a boy tractors have been everything to me.”
Since his favorite models are from John Deere, his basement is lined with pieces of green and yellow scrap metal, awaiting to become part of a new miniature edition of the equipment for one of his grandchildren.
