Bob Stearns deomnstrates how his wooden model moves.

Bob Stearns recently won two blue ribbons and a second place red ribbon at the SEMO District Fair with some of his wood work that he has been doing since last summer.

Stearns is disabled and working with wood has kept him busy while he hasn't been able to work.

"I enjoy it. It's a hobby," Stearns said.

Steans won a blue ribbon in the woodworking article class and the modeling wood class at the fair recently. He took second place in the model car and truck class.

He could only enter three of his works and he won something for each of them.

He got started with the hobby when a friend introduced him to it last summer. Since then he has made numerous wood models of tractor trailers, cars, a golf cart, rocking horses, a bulldozer and many other things.

What makes his wood working so special is that most of his models have numerous moving parts.

He now plans to build a model dump truck and a front-end loader.

He uses many tools at his home in Jackson where he makes the models.

Stearns uses a band saw, platform sander, belt sander, drill press and hand tools and other electrical tools to make the models.

The only part of the models that Stearns doesn't make himself are the wheels, which he buys.

He is planning to bring more of his works to next year's fair. He wasn't going to enter his works in this year's fair, but his wife Georgia kept encouraging him to enter the models.

What Stearns hasn't made for his grandchildren and children, he keeps for himself.

The hobby has helped him cope with being disabled.

"When you're a workaholic and you all of the sudden have to quit, you have to have something to do," Stearns said.