Jambo,
Years ago I became friends with a local gunsmith. He was particularly skilled at modifying and building custom M1911 pistols. He often would take up to a year to complete work on a pistol. This gentleman was in his 60s, retired, and worked when he felt like it and on whatever gun he felt like working on at that particular moment. For about the last ten years I have occasionally sent firearms to a gunsmith in another state. He does great work but is slow as Christmas and has at times taken a year to return my gun. I know this does not provide you with any advice nor insight into a resolution to your problem. I just thought I would share with you that it seems, to me at least, that often one will have to wait an extremely long time for gunsmithing work to be completed. I think perhaps this is especially true for an out of state customer. In any event good luck to you with whatever you choose to do.
