I spoke to Danny Pederson recently and he told me he tried to assemble a reboring guild 20 some years ago. Back then there were a number of smiths offering that service to include: himself, Jesse Ocumpaugh, Wayne York, Randy Selby, Norm Johnson, Al Siegrist, Cliff LaBounty, and Randall Redman.
Nowadays I'm only aware of Jesse, Wayne, Al, and Danny regularly doing that work.
Of that bunch, Danny has announced his retirement, Al is in his mid to late 70s, Wayne is 72, and Jesse is 65 this year.
How many of them will be doing this work in 5-10 years?
I know of a few machines that may be available for purchase in the next few years and I'm interested in learning the trade, but I have concerns for the future.
Will the cost of reboring still be cheaper than buying a new barrel?
Will the shipping carriers make it too difficult or costly to ship a rifle for reboring?
Will business insurance be too costly to operate?
What are other things one should consider before delving into this trade?
Thanks, Dinny
