Designs for wagons in Harris' head (11/26/2008)

PENNVILLE - "You've gotta be pretty quick to keep up with me," he said with a smile, while flitting around the table like a bee searching for pollen.

He was almost a blur as he moved quickly between hammering nails, twisting in screws and measuring boards. The speed of his work is impressive for someone who has no plans.

Pennville resident Andy Harris, 47, has been building wooden farm wagons for about two months. When asked if he had blue prints for his design, he said, "No, it's all in my head," while pointing to his noggin. A slow smile spreads in his salt and pepper goatee.

Harris began building the wagons - which have wooden beds and steel frames - after pulling out his two-year-old store-bought wagon and realizing it had already rusted.

"I wanted to build something that would last forever," he said.

As a former farmer and the son of a farmer, he knew how useful the wagons would be. The 4-by-8-foot wagons can be used to haul just about anything. He mostly uses the two he has not sold to take his grandkids and neighborhood youngsters on hayrides.

"My grandkids love them," he said. Harris recently hauled his grandchildren around town to trick-or-treat on Halloween. One of the wagons still has candy and pieces of hay in it.

He has modeled the wagons after ones he remembers riding in as a child while helping his father pick corn.

"I tried to build them as close to that as I (could)," Harris said. It takes him about a week to build each wagon. He spends nearly eight hours a day on each one.

"Each time, it gets faster and faster," he said. He has two completed and is working on two more. Harris has sold one and expects to sell another. He charges about $1,500 for each one, with most of the fee being what it costs for materials.

He customizes the colors to the customers' requests. He has built both red and green models, with sides that can easily be removed. He also recently made a removable hayrack that can be put in the back to keep hay inside the wagon. The wagons can be pulled by farm equipment and all-terrain vehicles.

Before he began building the wagons, his free time was occupied by hunting and remodeling his house. "I used to have all kinds of hobbies, but I think this one's pretty much taken over," he said.

Harris remembers a segment in his life in which finding time for hobbies was much lower on his list of priorities.

For about four years, he farmed corn and soybeans day and night, while trying to find time for his wife and four boys.

"I was working too many hours and trying to stay married and trying to farm." He quit farming about 12 years ago and later started Harris Mechanical Industrial Contractors, Pennville, with his brother.

His marriage has since ended, but he is happy with his life. "I've got a lot more free time than I've ever had," he said.

Harris' creative nature also is helpful in his business, which installs machines, pipes and conveyors and does welding work. "You've got to be creative to get things done," he said, while proudly wearing a navy blue hat with his company's name on it.

He remembered several nights when he first began building the wagons and couldn't shut off the creative thoughts and get some sleep.

"I would lay in bed and get an idea ... and come here." He builds the wagons at his business in Pennville. He sometimes worked on the wagons until dawn.

Now that he has seen his ideas come to fruition, he is making some big plans for the future.

To help gain exposure for the wagon business to be named later, Harris recently displayed some of his wagons at the Fall Jubilee in Pennville and took kids there for rides in the wagons. He also hopes to display some at the Tri-State Gas Engine and Tractor Show next summer.

He also dreams of making the wagons for a company some day. "I would like to get hooked up with John Deere or International," he said. Harris has been in contact with John Deere officials who are interested in seeing some of his work.

Harris also has several other inventions in mind. He is considering building miniature tractors to pull around the wagons. He would like to build a miniature combine, just for show. "I can't build a miniature combine that would work - I guarantee ya," he said with a smile.[[In-content Ad]]