Still Building America: From ranch manager to welder and beyond

Photo courtesy of Jared Craver, Mad Cow Branding Irons.

Jared Craver is a craftsman I came across on Instagram, where you can follow him at @madcowbrandingirons. I can relate to Jared, as he also took a bit of the “road less traveled” on his journey to become a metalworker.

Right out of high school Jared’s ambition was to become a professional landscaper. After going to school for horticulture and then working in the landscaping field for a bit, he changed course and took a job as a ranch manager at a cattle/hunting ranch in Hollister, Calif.

At the ranch Jared was honing his “jack of all trades” skill set, but a glaring need soon became apparent: welding repair and fabrication. The ranch was outsourcing those jobs at the time, and spending a decent amount of money to do so. Jared was able to make a case to the ranch owner to send him to the local community college to take welding classes. He was able to pick up some valuable training, and in exchange, the ranch was able to move metal fabrication in-house.

I love his reaction to the first class he took, as it has a very familiar ring to it: “That was it for me. The first night of class was gas and TIG. The instructor started us on gas welding as a means of prepping for TIG. It felt very natural to me, and I was instantly hooked. I knew this was going to be more than just learning to weld for the ranch; I wanted to do this for the rest of my life, no doubt about it.”

Jared continued to take classes and earn credits at the local community college, both for metalworking and in engineering. He also became a shop rat, hanging around the school for access to its shop and equipment, all the while gaining valuable experience and skills.

It seems pretty natural for a ranch hand with an interest in metal to find his way into creating branding irons. His first iron was actually created as an intro graphic to his YouTube channel (The Pro Rancher).

As soon as the video launched, he had his first request for a custom branding iron. Using a combination of blacksmithing, welding, and engraving techniques, he forms some of the slickest, cleanest, and most detailed irons you’ll find anywhere.

After leaving his job at the ranch and moving to Ohio, Jared got by as project manager for a landscaping firm. But the urge to melt metal was still strong, and he began piecing together his own shop. In 2014 he started Mad Cow Branding Irons, and it became his main source of income, supplemented with maintenance contracting for a local factory.

I asked Jared what his favorite part of what he does is, and here is his response: “My favorite thing about running MCBI is, again, the freedom that self-employment brings, but I also have to say the artistic outlet I have via the handmade process is a part of the job I thoroughly enjoy. Seeing the finished burn and knowing it was done by hand is very satisfying. I wouldn’t be able to get that if I was machining the irons using a CNC mill. I like to think I am more intimately involved with each design than even the owner or designer of each logo. I think that’s a very cool aspect of my job.”

His future goals are pretty much to stay self-employed while doing what he loves. Branding irons will be made to order as long as there is the demand for them, but as a man with many interests and skills, he sees himself “designing, patenting, and manufacturing products” down the road as well, with every step from inception to fabrication in-house.

“Work hard and never settle” are the words of advice Jared would give to his peers. If you don’t like your current situation, change it. “Life is too short to be unhappy.” I couldn’t agree more!

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