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Merry Christmas Red Beard

JCLINE84

Well-Known Member
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Joined
Oct 31, 2017
Messages
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Been talking with @Red Beard about a kids saddle for the past few days. Finally got my last final exam done last night so I sat down and made his daughter a saddle. For anyone interested, it is not easier to make a smaller saddle. Might be more difficult with the smaller dimensions. But it turned out good. I tried 1 inch webbing for the suspension to see if it will support a kids weight and still be comfortable. Other than that it has a slightly smaller functioning pleat, linemans loops with molle, and I borrowed 3 knaider slides for this prototype. Figured for a kids saddle it’s safer for mom or dad to strap them in than to have quick release buckles.
 

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If I could find a way to make these kids saddles affordable I wouldn’t mind making them and selling them. How much is a fair price for a kids saddle? They require as much work but you could save money using slides instead of buckles. Half the price of an adult saddle??
 
If I could find a way to make these kids saddles affordable I wouldn’t mind making them and selling them. How much is a fair price for a kids saddle? They require as much work but you could save money using slides instead of buckles. Half the price of an adult saddle??
Whatever your time is worth to you is a fair price. If someone doesn’t like it they can go buy it elsewhere. That’s my theory on handmade stuff.

oh and by the way, you do nice work. I saw in another thread you talking about your machine and how often you use it, what all do you use it for? I made my own saddle as well using the wife’s sewing machine, wouldn’t mind investing in my own someday but not sure what I would make.
 
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Whatever your time is worth to you is a fair price. If someone doesn’t like it they can go buy it elsewhere. That’s my theory on handmade stuff.
Time is the big thing. Granted I had to do some measuring, cutting, and figuring along the way which added a lot of time to that kid saddle but it took me about 4 hours. Could probably do it again in 3 or less. Sewing is honestly pretty hard on you when you sit down to do it for 8 hours lol. I’d love to find a way to make them for people and keep them under $130-140
 
Whatever your time is worth to you is a fair price. If someone doesn’t like it they can go buy it elsewhere. That’s my theory on handmade stuff.

oh and by the way, you do nice work. I saw in another thread you talking about your machine and how often you use it, what all do you use it for? I made my own saddle as well using the wife’s sewing machine, wouldn’t mind investing in my own someday but not sure what I would make.
I have 3 machines now. All juki. An 8700H, a 1541s, and I just paid for a 1508NH that I pick up next week. I sew every day. Mostly knaiders and swaiders. Lots of gear for me and friends. And the occasional boat cover or some other random thing someone may need. With school, work, and a kid I rarely sew for more than a few hours a day but I’ve debated quitting the job and focusing on school and sewing
 
Do u climb with the kid attached to u or do u need a beefier pull up rope...
We've had a thread or two about this in the past; what I and others have done is to climb up and set a long lifeline with a prusik (or similar friction knot), have your kid hook their bridge on at the ground and start climbing. Gotta teach them to always advance the prusik as they go up, of course. Use the lifeline as their tether when at height - the less messing around with stuff with a kid 15-20' off the ground the better!
 
We've had a thread or two about this in the past; what I and others have done is to climb up and set a long lifeline with a prusik (or similar friction knot), have your kid hook their bridge on at the ground and start climbing. Gotta teach them to always advance the prusik as they go up, of course. Use the lifeline as their tether when at height - the less messing around with stuff with a kid 15-20' off the ground the better!
That doesn't sound as much fun
 
Been talking with @Red Beard about a kids saddle for the past few days. Finally got my last final exam done last night so I sat down and made his daughter a saddle.
DUUUUUUUUDE!!! This is completely AWESOME! Thank you so much Jamie! Can't wait to have her try it out man! Her sisters and brother are going to be jealous.
 
I have to say this is one of the coolest things I have seen on this site... and there are ALOT of cool things on this site! I can't wait to see pictures of little Red Beard in a tree!

I was discussing taking my daughter with me this year. She is 14 and I think she can use my climber and my old harness while I hang near her in my saddle. We may go do a little low ground practice soon.
 
I hope he doesn’t mind me sharing his daughters measurements but she is 15 inches from one hip bone around her backside to the other hip bone. I made her saddle 18 inches wide and 10 inches tall but the pleat lets out around 5 inches so hopefully she can get a couple years out of it. I’ve been that creepy guy looking at kids all week trying to see exactly how much they grow from one age to the next.
 
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