Ive just read "Customary Concerns".

Its an article about gunsmiths and the wait time to have stuff done, he mentions 18 months to have scope mounts made! and 10 YEARS for bottom metal I remember reading that Echolls spends 40 or more hours working on a mauser action to straighten it up WTF. I wanted a re barrel and was told 11 months, Im sorry but thats BS. Its a pretty harsh "correct" IMO view of the custom gun industry but will it have the affect of getting these idle smiths of there arses and bring some integrity to the industry?

I believe the good ones are far from idle.

I haven't read Terry's article but I assume he was talking about top "name" gunsmiths. If you want to use the very well known smiths then you likely will have to wait. There have to be lots of gunsmiths available who are quite capable of barrel installations and the associated work. Just takes a little looking to find them.

I had a rifle rebarreled last Spring and after the barrel was received the installation was done within about a week (after he completed work for someone who was ahead of me in the line.)

Jim

How long does it take to actually rebarrel a rifle?.

I did metal work at school, so have a little understanding of setting up a lathe etc so Im guessing that from start to finnish would be no more than 90 mins and thats allowing for a coffee break!! how far of am I?

Yep, custom rifles take 90 minutes apiece to make and gunsmiths all over the world are getting rich!
(grin)


Terry

I said re barrel? But Darcy does take? 40 hrs to straighten up a mauser action

Musta been a pretty crooked mauser to take that long to straighten. At 40 bucks an hour, 1600 bucks to straighten?? Buy a new rifle!

You know I was only kidding.

That said, I would rather have my work done good than fast.

Terry

I believe the good ones are far from idle.


YEP !

Perhaps it would be more accurate if we changed the spelling to say that they are "idol" rather than idle.

I know that the wait is painful, but the better smith's have a large clientel and the volume of work is what takes so looonnnngggg. At least that is what I have seen with my own 2 eyes

If you want a new barrel, contact Douglas or Hart and ask them for a time estimate. I have two Harts and a Douglas and the estimate I got from Harts was 4 months, and from Douglas, 2 months. Their estimates were correct and I'm happy with the work done by both firms.

I've also had a couple of barrels re-bored by Clearwater/Delta, Cliff LaBounty's old outfit. The estimate they gave me was 4 - 5 months both times and they did the work within that timeframe. I'm happy with their work also.

I know that the wait is painful, but the better smith's have a large clientel and the volume of work is what takes so looonnnngggg. At least that is what I have seen with my own 2 eyes [/quote]

Try Forkin Arms in White Sulpher Springs, Montana. Ben Forkin has installed three Pac-Nor barrels for me over the last few years, and the turn-around time has been very reasonable. I could not expect better service, and the finished product has been superb in all three cases!

M Bell

Hand work and attention to detail takes time, I don't know how long it takes to do a proper rust blue job, my guess more that an hour or two. The point is that good gunsmithing from a guy who is good at his craft, its both time consuming and you are going to pay for it. Wieland made a point that there are fewer taking up the trade, I like to call it a craft. Since it takes years to get to the level Wieland is talking about. How I would love to be able to commission a rifle from Echol's. He makes rifles to shoot and hunt with. He the best or dam close to it.

Guys,

I think we're beginning to stray from the point. Terry's point was not the length of time it takes to get work done, it was promising the work would be done by a certain time, and missing that date by several orders of magnitude. If a maker says it will take ten years to do a job, that's fine -- so long as he delivers in ten years. At least the customer has a basis for making an educated decision. However, if said maker quotes a two-year delivery, and takes ten to deliver, that is a problem. And, that is one of the problems that Terry was referring to.

TT

This topic has been totally plowed under the topsoil by a 20 mule team over on accurate reloading, hit the custom rifle section. Fun reading!!!

If Echols told someone it was 11months for a re- barrel job, its most likely due to the fact that his shop already has the priority task of fulfilling complete rifle build orders already in process and possibly other previously booked re-barrel jobs.

as already stated, such top tier smiths are rarely idle.

I am thinking you would have a tough time finding a top tier gunsmith that only charges $40/hour.

When a restaurant is busy, you have to wait for a table.




Travis

PLUS,at least to me,a GOOD meal is worth the wait.

I'm more likely to leave and find someplace else or go home and make do with what I have.

Nothing wrong with BigMac's or off the shelf rifles.

Tom, nothing stays on topic around here

Terry

Agreed. As long as they have a bar.


Travis

When one supplier gets too busy, the market will find another/others.

Redneck on this forum has a good reputation. I've talked about a project with him, haven't used him, yet.

Ray Bowman at Precision Rifle Sales in NC has done 5 barrel jobs for me and I'm pleased with him and his work. His turnaround time is reasonable, although he stays busy doing mostly high end target and precision rifles. Mine were hunting type guns and he was very helpful with my questions and concerns.

Shop around and check reputations. You can get state of the art work done a lot quicker than that.

DF

Or when they tell you the the rifle is ready to ship and ask for the balance of the payment and don't ship it for 5 to 6 months later!...

You can go by reputation or walk in the door and meet the man! I did the latter... a smith who did all of Terry Wieland's work when he lived in Canada.

I've known him for over 20 years... I pick up the phone, give him a call and within 45 minutes I'm at his door. Recently, he removed a scope for me that he'd replaced the slot screws on Ruger rings with torx a couple of years ago. I couldn't get them out, I wanted to replace the scope, which I normally do on my own. He did the job within an hour of my call and charged $0.00. He's a world-class smith and his work has been written up in some journals.

I'm lucky... I can just walk in. Not all gun smiths are dishonest or lazy!! Far from it.

Bob

www.bigbores.ca

cz you have a PM