A woodworking master builds without plans
MOUNT ZION, Ill. (AP) - Ron Dugger hasn't let retirement slow him down.
Dugger, 86, retired from Caterpillar after 32 years.
'œAnd I've been out for 34 years,'ť he said.
For as long as he had been working, Dugger has spent much of his retirement life creating elaborate woodworking projects. One of the more complicated designs are motorized model boats, many of which are placed on shelves in his Mount Zion basement, ready for a spin around a lake.
'œThey have variable speeds,'ť he said. 'œExcept one. It has forward and reverse and one speed. It's fast.'ť
Dugger doesn't use any plans to create the watercraft or any of his projects. 'œGet them right off the top of my head,'ť he said.
And what's a boat without furniture, accessories and a bridge the boats can travel under? Dugger makes those, too.
Individual slats and planks formed together are used to create the floors, walls and other secure areas of the boats.
One of the boats, a 47-inch liner, took about three weeks.
Watch now: Anthony Peoples gains following for daily walks (while reading) in Decatur
'œEverybody says that's fast,'ť Dugger said.
The boats move along the water by motorized batteries designed for model motorcycles or airplanes. The motors can move the boats along the water at 4 mph.
Dugger has used the boats to do his fishing for him. He loops a fishing line to a sturdy string with a hook underneath the boat. 'œI have to put it down a ways to keep the top from tangling up in it,'ť he said.
Dugger has made nine boats, many marked with the names of a few of his grandchildren. 'œI have about 22 great-grandkids, so you know it would be a chore to make one for each one,'ť he said. 'œBut anything grandpa builds, they like.'ť
The fascination of making model forms of transportation began for Dugger as a child. Growing up in Indiana in the 1940s, he made airplanes. 'œI still have two of them,'ť he said.
The attraction continued into retirement. 'œHaving retired when I did, you sit around home, you get pretty bored,'ť Dugger said.
Now his projects consist of woodworking projects and carvings, although Dugger admits his eyesight isn't what it used to be. So he takes his time with each project.
'œI've kind of neglected it the past two years,'ť he said. 'œBut I can do that.'ť
The concentration with boats and other projects began after Dugger built his house and four others in his Mount Zion neighborhood. Other hobbies included water skiing and competitive motorcycle racing. 'œI got too old to fall, so I had to quit,'ť he said. 'œThere's not much danger of me falling here, unless I trip over something.'ť
Dugger used the drive and ambition he learned from racing for other avenues of his life. 'œIf you're not trying your best, you don't fall,'ť he said.
___
Source: The (Decatur) Herald & Review, https://bit.ly/2QEUEhw