My Story
Cow-ral towns started as a conversation at Christmas a few years back... When our kids were little my brother made a corral set out of Popsicle
sticks for the nieces and nephews. Growing up on a farm and ranch in Rapelje, MT, I had the opportunity to see how a lot of corral systems worked and how many had changed from wood to steel. I worked with my father on the ranch until 2006 when
we sold the property and moved to Columbus, MT. I still have the opportunity with my job with the NRCS to view cattle working systems and let my imagination go to work. After that Christmas conversation, I started to experiment with some steel projects and came up with my first project that was on a 4'x4' sheet of steel. Things turned out pretty good except it was big and heavy. My nephew was my first guinea pig, but three years have passed and his kids play with it regularly. I have since scaled it down and made a few different styles. All of the corral systems are designed for 1/32 size toys. The toy corral systems are welded to a sheet of 10 gauge steel. I pre-drill the steel so the posts are not just welded to the plate but are flush with the bottom and then welded. The posts are 3/8" cr rod drilled so the 1/8" cr rod that serves as the fence rails go through the posts: not just welded to the outside of the posts. The gates are also 1/8" cr rod and have spring-loaded
handmade latches. The processing chute does about everything a regular squeeze shoot does except for squeeze. The sets come with a variety of waterers, feed bunks, load-out facilities for stock trailers and big rigs, and some have yard lights or barn lights. Fence line feeders can be added to a system. Some systems have been customized with brands of logos. So many operations nowadays could not get by without portable panels, so I decided to add my take on them and then needed a trailer to haul them around. These units are built sturdy and as realistic as I can make them. It sure helps having the 1/32 toys and animals that complete the sets. It also is rewarding to watch a child play and use their imagination to recreate what they have seen their parents do, not to mention to watch a person with those more experienced years behind them sit down and share their time and wisdom with our younger generation. Thanks for taking a look,
Mark
