![]() “No one had used those two metals as a design element before with this method,” he says. Balding has a registered trademark for welding stainless to mild steel and inducing a finish he calls rust browning. Some of the pieces border on high-end jewelry, with drops of stainless steel welding rod, as well as brass, silver and gold overlays accentuating the visual appeal and various oxide finishes. ![]() Some assemblies require as many as 30 parts. But Balding’s bits are cut from mild and stainless steel and can be custom-measured to a rider’s specifications. Most mass-produced bits are assembled from cast metal parts. Now, with five full-time employees and an annual revenue of under $1 million, the company has earned the esteem of the equestrian community for durable, American-made bits, spurs and tack with aesthetic appeal to match. Balding started working from out of a salvaged mobile home. In 2014, Tom Balding Bits and Spurs celebrated its 30th anniversary. The next day I drove into town and had business cards printed.” “I fixed her bit, and that evening I went out into the shop and put together my first bit with scrap sailboat parts. ![]() At that moment, his welding experience came back into the picture. “She’d heard I could weld anything,” says Balding. In 1984, a few years after he settled in Sheridan, Wyoming, a woman knocked on Balding’s door with a broken bit-the metal mouthpiece for a horse’s mouth that lets the rider communicate with the horse. He’d perform welding repair jobs, fixing trailers and rebuilding engines for people around town. He learned to ride a horse, and got by as a ranch hand. As idyllic as it may sound, Balding was drawn to the cowboy lifestyle. In 1980, he set down his torch and boldly left Southern California for the wilderness of northern Wyoming. I thought, ‘Someday I’ll make a product where people admire the welds,’” he says. “I grew frustrated by the fact that these beautiful welds would be buried, unseen, in the bottom of the sailboat or plane. Like nearly every bit in our store, this Tom Balding Dr Tom Loose Ring is eligible for Mary's Bit Rental Program.Tom Balding Bits and Spurs welds its way into a successful niche of equestrian componentsįebruary 2015 - After almost two decades of welding aircraft parts, sailboat components and other precision TIG welding jobs, Tom Balding was burned out. Mary's Tack is proud to offer top quality Tom Balding bits in our Del Mar store and online. ![]() Tom Balding is a self-taught expert welder who created custom hot rod engine parts and sailboat equipment before finding his true passion creating custom bits and spurs. This bit is hand made at the Tom Balding shop in Sheridan, Wyoming. Baseline bits are the choice of riders who want function plus superior craftsmanship for everyday use. This bit is part of the Tom Balding Baseline collection of useful bits that are attractively priced and boast the handmade quality riders appreciate. This heavy, well-balanced Western bit is hand crafted in Sheridan, Wyoming. The mouthpiece is curved to lie evenly over the tongue. The Large Iron Worker D-Ring Snaffle By Tom Balding Horse Tack has a single jointed mouthpiece that allows quick action. The ridges are found only on the mouthpiece ends, starting near the cheek and extending approximately one inch toward the center, to impact lips and bars. Tom Balding Large Iron Worker Dee has Tom Balding Snaffle mouthpiece with angled ridge. ![]()
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