Growing up on a farm north of Fertile, David Fuglseth would often tinker around. “When I was a kid, I was always messing with something, you know,” he said. Over the past several years, the 73-year-old has been turning pieces of scrap material into lawn ornaments. An air compressor tank and bicycle rims have been transformed into a water tower-shaped bird feeder. A bicycle rim and galvanized roofing metal have become a windmill. And he turned more bicycle rims, metal pipes and metal discs used in cream separators into a carousel. “I learn by trial and error,” he said. “That’s the way I do it. I don’t draw any blueprints. I just start building it.” When something doesn’t work, Fuglseth revises it until it does. “I feel like I’ve accomplished something because I get an idea and I want to see if I can do it,” he said. “Some people can’t cut a board. I just start something and I make up my mind that I’m going to do it and that’s it.” He has replica tractors, about the size of riding lawn mowers, lined up in front of an ornamental steam engine, about the size of a small tractor.
“I really didn’t know what I was getting into until I started,” Fuglseth said. Sometimes he sells some of his pieces, like the windmills and barn-shaped birdhouses, at flea markets or rummage sales. But the lawn ornaments are mostly something he does as a hobby in his retirement. “I’ve had a lot of people drive by and stop and look and take pictures,” he said. “They’ve never seen yard ornaments like that.” Some of the more intricate pieces, like the tractors, take him all winter. The steam engine took two or three winters, Fuglseth said. “You don’t see these in people’s yards around the country, so I figured, why not?” he said. “I wanted to do something different. You can only build so many birdhouses.” [[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_original","fid":"2020238","attributes":{"alt":"","class":"media-image","height":"325","title":"","width":"750"}}]] A model metal threshing machine, complete with moving parts, took him six winters to complete. He keeps it inside. “I’ve got parts from VCRs in there,” he said. “I’ve got parts from old clocks in there. I’ve got parts from fishing reels in there. You name it.” He also made a model steam engine that moves. Linda Johnson, Fuglseth’s sister, said she doesn’t know how her brother comes up with his creations. “It’s awesome. I’m so proud of my brother,” she said. “It’s just something new all the time.” Fuglseth works in a shop behind his house and said he probably spends 10 hours a day out there, especially in the winter. “I just like the peace and quiet when I’m doing it,” he said. “Nobody’s messing with me. You still do a lot of thinking while you’re doing it. I get started and I just keep going. I just like it.” Tweets by @DLNewspapersGrowing up on a farm north of Fertile, David Fuglseth would often tinker around. “When I was a kid, I was always messing with something, you know,” he said. Over the past several years, the 73-year-old has been turning pieces of scrap material into lawn ornaments. An air compressor tank and bicycle rims have been transformed into a water tower-shaped bird feeder. A bicycle rim and galvanized roofing metal have become a windmill. And he turned more bicycle rims, metal pipes and metal discs used in cream separators into a carousel. “I learn by trial and error,” he said. “That’s the way I do it. I don’t draw any blueprints. I just start building it.” When something doesn’t work, Fuglseth revises it until it does. “I feel like I’ve accomplished something because I get an idea and I want to see if I can do it,” he said. “Some people can’t cut a board. I just start something and I make up my mind that I’m going to do it and that’s it.” He has replica tractors, about the size of riding lawn mowers, lined up in front of an ornamental steam engine, about the size of a small tractor. [[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_original","fid":"2020236","attributes":{"alt":"","class":"media-image","height":"325","title":"","width":"750"}}]] “I really didn’t know what I was getting into until I started,” Fuglseth said. Sometimes he sells some of his pieces, like the windmills and barn-shaped birdhouses, at flea markets or rummage sales. But the lawn ornaments are mostly something he does as a hobby in his retirement. “I’ve had a lot of people drive by and stop and look and take pictures,” he said. “They’ve never seen yard ornaments like that.” Some of the more intricate pieces, like the tractors, take him all winter. The steam engine took two or three winters, Fuglseth said. “You don’t see these in people’s yards around the country, so I figured, why not?” he said. “I wanted to do something different. You can only build so many birdhouses.”
A model metal threshing machine, complete with moving parts, took him six winters to complete. He keeps it inside. “I’ve got parts from VCRs in there,” he said. “I’ve got parts from old clocks in there. I’ve got parts from fishing reels in there. You name it.” He also made a model steam engine that moves. Linda Johnson, Fuglseth’s sister, said she doesn’t know how her brother comes up with his creations. “It’s awesome. I’m so proud of my brother,” she said. “It’s just something new all the time.” Fuglseth works in a shop behind his house and said he probably spends 10 hours a day out there, especially in the winter. “I just like the peace and quiet when I’m doing it,” he said. “Nobody’s messing with me. You still do a lot of thinking while you’re doing it. I get started and I just keep going. I just like it.” Tweets by @DLNewspapersGrowing up on a farm north of Fertile, David Fuglseth would often tinker around.“When I was a kid, I was always messing with something, you know,” he said.Over the past several years, the 73-year-old has been turning pieces of scrap material into lawn ornaments.An air compressor tank and bicycle rims have been transformed into a water tower-shaped bird feeder.A bicycle rim and galvanized roofing metal have become a windmill.And he turned more bicycle rims, metal pipes and metal discs used in cream separators into a carousel.“I learn by trial and error,” he said. “That’s the way I do it. I don’t draw any blueprints. I just start building it.”When something doesn’t work, Fuglseth revises it until it does.“I feel like I’ve accomplished something because I get an idea and I want to see if I can do it,” he said. “Some people can’t cut a board. I just start something and I make up my mind that I’m going to do it and that’s it.”He has replica tractors, about the size of riding lawn mowers, lined up in front of an ornamental steam engine, about the size of a small tractor.
“I really didn’t know what I was getting into until I started,” Fuglseth said.Sometimes he sells some of his pieces, like the windmills and barn-shaped birdhouses, at flea markets or rummage sales. But the lawn ornaments are mostly something he does as a hobby in his retirement.“I’ve had a lot of people drive by and stop and look and take pictures,” he said. “They’ve never seen yard ornaments like that.”Some of the more intricate pieces, like the tractors, take him all winter. The steam engine took two or three winters, Fuglseth said.“You don’t see these in people’s yards around the country, so I figured, why not?” he said. “I wanted to do something different. You can only build so many birdhouses.”[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_original","fid":"2020238","attributes":{"alt":"","class":"media-image","height":"325","title":"","width":"750"}}]]A model metal threshing machine, complete with moving parts, took him six winters to complete. He keeps it inside.“I’ve got parts from VCRs in there,” he said. “I’ve got parts from old clocks in there. I’ve got parts from fishing reels in there. You name it.”He also made a model steam engine that moves.Linda Johnson, Fuglseth’s sister, said she doesn’t know how her brother comes up with his creations.“It’s awesome. I’m so proud of my brother,” she said. “It’s just something new all the time.”Fuglseth works in a shop behind his house and said he probably spends 10 hours a day out there, especially in the winter.“I just like the peace and quiet when I’m doing it,” he said. “Nobody’s messing with me. You still do a lot of thinking while you’re doing it. I get started and I just keep going. I just like it.”Tweets by @DLNewspapersGrowing up on a farm north of Fertile, David Fuglseth would often tinker around.“When I was a kid, I was always messing with something, you know,” he said.Over the past several years, the 73-year-old has been turning pieces of scrap material into lawn ornaments.An air compressor tank and bicycle rims have been transformed into a water tower-shaped bird feeder.A bicycle rim and galvanized roofing metal have become a windmill.And he turned more bicycle rims, metal pipes and metal discs used in cream separators into a carousel.“I learn by trial and error,” he said. “That’s the way I do it. I don’t draw any blueprints. I just start building it.”When something doesn’t work, Fuglseth revises it until it does.“I feel like I’ve accomplished something because I get an idea and I want to see if I can do it,” he said. “Some people can’t cut a board. I just start something and I make up my mind that I’m going to do it and that’s it.”He has replica tractors, about the size of riding lawn mowers, lined up in front of an ornamental steam engine, about the size of a small tractor.[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_original","fid":"2020236","attributes":{"alt":"","class":"media-image","height":"325","title":"","width":"750"}}]]“I really didn’t know what I was getting into until I started,” Fuglseth said.Sometimes he sells some of his pieces, like the windmills and barn-shaped birdhouses, at flea markets or rummage sales. But the lawn ornaments are mostly something he does as a hobby in his retirement.“I’ve had a lot of people drive by and stop and look and take pictures,” he said. “They’ve never seen yard ornaments like that.”Some of the more intricate pieces, like the tractors, take him all winter. The steam engine took two or three winters, Fuglseth said.“You don’t see these in people’s yards around the country, so I figured, why not?” he said. “I wanted to do something different. You can only build so many birdhouses.”
A model metal threshing machine, complete with moving parts, took him six winters to complete. He keeps it inside.“I’ve got parts from VCRs in there,” he said. “I’ve got parts from old clocks in there. I’ve got parts from fishing reels in there. You name it.”He also made a model steam engine that moves.Linda Johnson, Fuglseth’s sister, said she doesn’t know how her brother comes up with his creations.“It’s awesome. I’m so proud of my brother,” she said. “It’s just something new all the time.”Fuglseth works in a shop behind his house and said he probably spends 10 hours a day out there, especially in the winter.“I just like the peace and quiet when I’m doing it,” he said. “Nobody’s messing with me. You still do a lot of thinking while you’re doing it. I get started and I just keep going. I just like it.”Tweets by @DLNewspapers
