short capes

I will mount whatever they want neck mount head mount I don't care, I don't charge them extra, I do try to talk them into a new cape if it's cut short. as for your set measurements I don't see a need for it, if the brisket is there and the arm pits then you have enough, if your still having problems with it being short then you ordered the wrong form. Plus you can't have a set measurement because depending on the pose ..if it's border line being short I will convince them to do a semi or full sneak.

 

Do most of your clients cape their own animals out? Most of mine are done at the deer coolers and they come in with the tail and all left on for use to cut down. And when I do get a short cape in like Keith said if you have the pits and brisket you can make it work. Also if I do get in a client cut cape that looks to be short I try and get them to do an semi-upright mount dont need as much cape.

Kim

 

I instruct hunters to bring the whole hide, I will do the cutting. Now and then a short one will come in, and I just make it fit if there is something to sew on to the bottom.

 

I always know if the cape is long enough if the skin touches the bottom of the sink when it is hanging from the screw that is driven into the shelf above it when i hang it up by the nostril to drip dry when ever i thaw it out ,So their you go just screw a screw into the shelf and if the skin touches the sink Bingo.
Just kidding it is the same everywhere you go the customer will bring in the skin and boldly say" i know i left enough skin "and sure enough he does, the whole dang hide is there and it is usually cut almost to the throat when field dressing, then they always ask "well can't you just sew it up"? and i reply well i sure can, but don't ask me about the scar that runs from the chin to the base board when i"m finished with it !!
Now back to your original question I've never measured the distance from the screw to the sink bottom but i will some day the point is i use it for a quick bench mark to tell if i have been shorted before i start fleshing the cape. and it is surprising how close of a tell it is. and most forms are about the same measurement.
I tell my customers if they skin the deer to cut a ring all the way around the deer at the 1/2 way point of the deer from nose to tail and don't cut down the legs if possible just pull the skin down the legs to where the feet are cut off.
[the other guys giving advice to get them to do a full sneak is a good idea quote author=Keith. C link=topic=43166.msg255350#msg255350 date=1187377013]
I will mount whatever they want neck mount head mount I don't care, ..if it's border line being short I will convince them to do a semi or full sneak.
[/quote]
it's surprising how good a full sneak looks and how many people will never consider doing that type of a mount, i did my first this year.
A Young fellow cut Up to far on the first deer of the year i took in, and i did a full sneak on it. When other customers saw it they said that they would have mounted their deer that way when they picked up their deer later.Try it Mount one and hang it in your shop and see if it don't work for you. i get more for a shoulder mount than a neck mount and if you do have to fix a cape in that area in this pose it is allot less noticeable good luck Tod.

 

If it's a little short I make it work. If it's cut way short I have them get another cape. I ussually have a few extra from Euro mounts I can comp them. But if I don't I will persuade them to buy a different cape or get another one. I will NOT do a neck mount!! This is not a down play on Keith's opinion, it is just my opinion.....but a neck mount looks cheap & bad.....no matter how good the artist is. When you give your work back to a customer it then becomes advertisement for your business & I do not want a neck mount hanging in a customers house with my name on it.

You can talk me into doing alot of things, but a neck mount is not one of them

 

Well put Michael, yeah, what Mike said!

 

I agree with you michael I just threw that out there to basicly say if the customer wants to drop the money I'll do it for him...Thankfully i have never been asked to do a neck mount, but yeah your right they look really tacky! I will do what ever I can to talk then into a new cape..but in the end if there is no way around it I think I would do the neck mount rather than losing the customer.

 

Most people want their original cape and are not willing to pay the price to buy a new one. I will modify the mannikin if a cape is cut short. I usually tack on for the time and materials. As a matter of fact I did one today that was cut short. I don't like neck mounts either but its their money if they want a stovepipe they get it.,Mark V.

 

Glad you took it the right way, I respect your opinion & did not want what I was saying to be taken in the wrong way

As far as losing the customer, you stand a better chance of losing the customer if you do not guide him to the right direction & get him a different cape. The customer (after his friends raz him about the neck mount) will start blaming you for him getting that kind of mount. Which hunter wants his ego crushed by his friends. He will blame the Taxidermist enough that he will also convince himself that he was wronged by you. That is one thing I flat out refuse to do is a neck mount........in the short & long term you will do more damage by producing that kind of mount than you will by turning it down.

You always have to look at the effects your work will produce for future clients. I will get 5-10% (maybe) of new business by telephone book or some sort of advertising I have done. I will get 90-95% of my new business by customer referral or by work I have produced that people have seen. Your work IS your best advertisement.

I have done work in the past that I personally did not want to do, but did just to get the business. It is something that has bit me in the ass & lost me customers.

 

True very True I guess I was not thinking the whole thing out. LOL

 

My exact quote to customers who have a too short cape & want it mounted is " it's gonna cost alot more money for a lot less quality & I am not gonna rip you off that way!" They tend to get the point. I suggest a European if I cannot give them a cape or they do not want to pay for one or simply do not want another deer' cape on there mount. If they must get that deer mounted with a neck mount there is a gentleman 5 miles out of town that would be happy to do that for them..... I will give them the directions. I do not want a customer that does not care about the quality of their mount, only how cheap they can get it. Those real cheap bastards tend to be your biggest pain in the ass anyways when it comes to there satisfaction or getting your money.

 

"Those real cheap bastards tend to be your biggest pain in the ass anyways when it comes to there satisfaction or getting your money."

Man your not shiten there! I had the exact thing happen to me the guy wanted a horn plaque and he started bitchin thats all he could afford due to shoulder mounts being so high...so me trying to be nice I asked well what could I offer to change your mind, I ended up doing a shoulder mount for $400.00 and the guy turned into a total pain in the ass. bad mouthed me and all.

 

Here's one for ya. I had a gentleman call me to mount a really nice 8 point that was his son's first deer. I said bring 'em in and when he showed up with the "cape" it was literally cut off just behind the ears!! I told him it was ruined and that since my Dad and my father-in-law both butcher deer, I could get him a new cape. Since it was his son's first deer, he didn't want to hear that. I suggested both the european or just an antler mount but he wasn't sure. He went home to talk to his son and would let me know what he wanted to do. Well after he left, I was grumping that he wouldn't let me get another cape and that it was so stupid how this one was ruined. I was griping to my wife and grabbed a replacement head and put it up on the wall showing her how dumb it would look when she said she thought it was kinda different and neat looking. I almost had a stroke! Anyway, I called the guy and told him to bring his son to the shop the next day that I had an idea. I wound up mounting just that. A replacement head. I put the finished head on a wall plaque for a european mount (so it didn't look straight down) and the fellas just loved it!! Go figure. Anyway, everyone was happy in the end as he gave me a $30.00 tip to boot. Go figure. And yes ... I split the tip with my wife.

 

do ya have any pictures TROY

 

JasonO, I think I have some in the camera somewhere. If I can find them and, more importantly, if I can figure out how to get them from the camera onto here I surely will post some for you. I am embarrassed to say but I am pretty computer illiterate when it comes to anything other than doing the checkbook but I will definitely give it a try.

 

Troy, that is a good idea. Here on this forum the standard customer come back is to make them pay for a new cape, no exceptions.
I have always worked with the customer,, within reason. You turned a bad situation into a win win situation. You better keep the wife.

 

I gotta agree with "T", that sounds like a really cool idea. I'd like to see one on one of those oak european table pedestals

 

Ya gotta think outside the box ;D