From the Heart of Texas:
Intricately detailed tractors crafted from wood
Story and photographs by Cindy Ladage
At the Two-Cylinder tractor show held in Amana, Iowa this summer, a large crowd gathered inside the information building. Part of the crowd had flocked to see Charles Freitag paint his beautiful farm scenes. The other part, though, was gathered around a display of wooden tractors so intricately made that the word "toy" is inadequate.
The handmade wooden tractors were the work of Ralph Smith. Ralph, his wife, Nancy, two of their four children, and a friend made the trip from Texas. Showing off his tractors and trading information with customers, Ralph made it clear that he enjoys his work.
It wasn't always work, though: Ralph started as a hobbyist.
The collection took off, though, when he bought a Case 1190, and received the toy to go with it. Although Nancy told him he could have just one, that number is not part of his vocabulary when it comes to collectibles.
He now has about 800 toy tractors displayed through almost every room of their Mathis, Texas, home (there are no tractors in the bathroom). The toys are displayed on glass shelves. The collection has grown so large that some pieces have even invaded Nancy's Barbie collection case.
Wooden toys began as a gift idea.
Ralph started out making wooden toys as Christmas gifts for his nephews. One day, he decided to see if he could make a tractor. Once he got the basics down, he added one detail after another. Eight years later, his tractors are so intricately crafted that they look real enough to drive right off the display. The skill was not learned overnight.
"It took about five years to get to this point," he said.
A carpenter by trade, Ralph uses a variety of wood in his pieces. One of the most unusual pieces is a 1939 Farmall F20 carved out of Jataboa, a Brazilian wood that resembles rosewood. He's also made three other '39 Farmall F20's from Texas Mesquite. His 1926 Spoker D's are crafted from a dark, rich mahogany and white oak, and red oak is used for his toy John Deere B.