Yes, it was an interesting interview. I have huge respect for Richard, not only for his sense of humor and collection of New Yorker magazine covers, but he makes pretty nice bikes too.
I am speculating now but I think the reason he's no longer taking orders from new customers for the "signature" frame is that working with new customers is a lot of extra work that he does not have the time or interest in doing. I'm not talking about torch and file work, but communication.
There was a discussion on another forum recently about a builder who just "went quiet" with a bunch of deposits for confirmed orders in the queue. This builder was a talented individual and honest as they come. His email inbox just overflowed with requests for obscure details and changes from client that had orders in the queue and "wanted to know the status".
It would drive me crazy too. There's more than an little art in what framebuilders do, and managing some customers can be a real PITA. I can't speak for Mr. Sachs, but I think this was work he would rather not do, and was in the fortunate position of being able to make a choice about it.
Mark Petry
Bainbridge Island, WA 206 618 9642 <mailto:mark@petry.org> mark@petry.org