what do you do for a living

[greg gomersall]

Been building saddles full-time since 1988. Run a few cows on the side just in case I need a tax write-off from the saddle business. Greg

[rgerbitz]

Wide range of work around here. I am a livestock nutrition consultant. I travel around to the feedlots and dairies in the area and help the farmers to figure out how to feed their stock properly. And keep everyone on track, farmers can get a little side tracked with the 500 things they have to worry about.

[westtxcowboy1979]

I work for TDCJ I'm a Sergeant I've worked there for 8 years. I love doing leather on the side.

[Greybeard]

Probably should retire from the navy but dont think I can handle another 11yrs of the worst bordom you could possibly imagine. Sometimes you gotta wonder why people do some stuff.

Yep, That's one reason why I bailed....

[rdb]

Full time leather worker (actually, more than that, mostly seven days a week...lol)

Not making enough to rent a refrigerator box on a heating grate, but it's the only thing that ever made me feel happy while doing it. I'm too old to go back to being unhappy.

[Sawyer]

Right now i build custom motorcycles, rebuilds and repairs by day and leather work at night, mostly seats but i'm branching off into what ever i can make out of leather.

I'm working on a set of saddle bags for my ShovelheadSoftail now and some customers stuff.

I'm an ASE Certified Master Technician, have been for over 30 years,worked on automoblies for 40+ years.

Started working on Harley-Davidsons about 30 years ago as a hobby.

Opened my own shop in 2003 working on H-D's and building custom motorcycles

I got a couple of builds going on now.

Started leather work last year, i needed a seat for my custom bobber.

Got hooked on leather!

Between the motorcycle shop and leather work , i keep real busy, beats the time clock any day!

Edited January 14, 2009 by Sawyer

[cdthayer]

Worked Highlines (High Voltage Electric Power Lines) for 28 years, got tired of it, and now co-own an old fabric store in rural Oklahoma. Tooled a little leather as a hobby back in the 80s, now work half of the day servicing domestic sewing machines and mending (on industrial sewing machines) whatever fabric and leather gear walks into the shop. Spend the other half of the day selling auction & Estate Sale findings on the internet, riding my motorcycle, drinkin beer, and telling the wife how much I enjoy her making the living for us now.

[Butch]

I punched cows and wrangled horses during and right out of High School. Did a 180 and joined the Air Force and retired after 21 1/2 years of Fighter Aircraft Maintenance in 1998. So I'm in the Check of the Month Club. I've been a Software Engineer since my retirement. It's really not my passion though, so My wife and I are heading to our property in Cross Cut, Texas within the next few years without jobs, bills or worries and take it from there and hopefully retire early.

[TrooperChuck]

I was an Alaska State Trooper from 1981 t0 2003. During that time I was stationed in Fairbanks, Yakutat, Juneau, Sitka, Anchorage, and Sitka again. My last two assignments before retiring were serving as the statewide search and rescue coordinator and running the state trooper training academy.

After retiring in 2003 my wife and I moved to northeast Washinton to be closer to family again. I miss Alaska, but I'm fortunate in that the state troopers bring me back to Sitka about three times a year to teach search and rescue management and wilderness survival to the trooper recruits at the academy.

During all that time my wife was involved in wildlife rehabilitation. I never knew what I would find when I came home... baby harbor seals in our bathtub, owls perched on our kitchen table, a trumpeter swan in the guest bedroom. Her last job, before we retired, was rehabbing bald eagles and other raptors, and training the ones who couldn't be released back to the wild for education presentations. She travelled all over the country with an eagle named Volta sharing hotel rooms with her. She even went to the Bahamas with him twice, but never with me!!!

After retiring I started playing with leather, and really wanted to learn to make saddles. In 2007 I was introduced to an 82-year old cowboy/saddlemaker/jack-of-all-trades who agreed to teach me saddlemaking. I worked with him about 4 days a week for 5 months. His fee for teaching me was the cost of the materials I used and 5 cords of firewood! I learned a lot from him and will always be thankful for his willingness to spend time with me.

I'm thinking of making a couple saddles, saddle bags, pommel bags, and other horse gear and setting up a booth at fairs and other shows. But, beyond that, I just make stuff ordered by people who heard about me from other people.

[Jordan]

Medically retired now, but I was a Psychiatric Technician in California for a long time, a Patient Rights Advocate, Computer salesperson, HVAC repairperson, Pool cleaner, Kiln unloader, Bartender, Cotton sorter, a short stint as a streetperson with no visiable means of support, Carpenter, Long Haul Trucker, Radio/Telephone/Fieldwire lineman for the government (Pershing Nukes Europe), Dishwasher, Cook, Heavy Equipment operator/ Public Works peon, a smattering of drug and alcohol testing in the old days, lots of other stuff that didn't pay good enough to pursue and of course leatherworking. I still want to try a few things, like backwoods self sufficency, grape growing / wine making, pottery, painting and to get good at playing the guitar. Looks like the backwoods thing may be soon, judging by the mess this place is in!........Jordan....Jack of All Trades, Master of a few of the more interesting ones!!!