Built-From-Scratch Toy Waterloo Boy

Built-From-Scratch Toy Waterloo Boy FARM HOME Novelty Items 19-2-20 What makes this built-from-scratch Waterloo Boy toy tractor unique is that the man who made it, Don Selle, Turtle Lake, Wis., built it entirely out of "junk" parts including old tachometer gauges, nails, washers, electric fence wire, baling wire, etc. Selle, who does small engine and tractor work and belongs to a local steam and gas engine club, has built eight 1/16-scale Waterloo Boys over the past few years and says he plans to build three more. "I often bring them to toy exhibits where they draw a lot of attention," says Selle. "I make them out of scrap iron and sheet metal and other odds and ends that normally get thrown out of my repair shop. I got interested after I restored an original 1918 Waterloo Boy in my shop. I made the first toy without a pattern, but I use a pattern now. It takes a lot of time to make one - a pair of rear wheels takes about five hours, and the front wheels take about three hours." "The tractor's frame is made from flat iron. The wheels are painted bright yellow, the engine is painted red, and the rest of the toy tractor is green. The steering wheel - made from baling wire - turns the front wheels via a chain fashioned out of electric fence wire. Every link is handmade. To make the wheels, Selle cuts the center out of old tachometers and uses the cannister for the rims, then welds nails in to make the spokes. The wheel hubs are made from pieces of steel tubing with washers welded onto each end. A length of baling wire is soldered around the rim of the front wheels to make a "skid ring". "The skid ring kept the wheels from sliding in the dirt whenever you turned," says Selle. He makes the fenders and radiator by cutting out sections of small engine fly-wheel covers, then welding the sections back together. The kerosene tank in front of the tractor is made by welding a metal cap on each end of a spring steel bushing. The engine is made from scrap metal welded together. The intake pipe is a length of steel tubing flared out at the top. The seat is fashioned out of a big washer, and the steering gears are made from old speedometer gears. The pulley is made from a piece of steel shaft. "It's the only thing on the tractor that's machined out," notes Selle. He sells the toy tractors for $300 apiece. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Don Selle, 140 Poplar St., Turtle Lake, Wis. 54889 (ph 715 986-2451).

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