Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Hoping for a SHD/ Turpin Reply

SHD: I know what your saying about the 350 hours in that shotgun, and its funny when you tell someone you have over 40+ hours in just the stock finish. Why, i sprayed mine on in one evening and finished it up the next day! Yup, i couldnt tell, it looks soooo good! Thanks for the info on keeping a record that way, dad has been telling me i need to do this but i know it takes a lot of hours to do em up right. Guess i didnt want to know i was making $5.00 an hour. I'll get myself to do that on the next project, and i'm sure i'll be shocked to find just how much time i will have in it.
You know, i was thinking over what you said about writing a book "Survival Guide for Artisans". To me that would make for some very good reading for the Artist, and write in such a way that a customer can relate. The Artist would grin from ear to ear, but i think a customer could be educated at the same time. Keeping everyone in mind.

Again my friend, I Thank you for answering my questions, if you got more (or the time,) I'm all ears. P.S. Nice photos!

Here are a couple of ideas to think about:

If you build a rifle for a client today, would you be just as happy with that rifle if that same client sent it back to you for cleaning and possibly refinishing 20 years from now? What I'm saying is, make your efforts as timeless and as all-around practical as you can today, so that you, as well as the client, will be just as pleased with it many years from now as you are presently. Avoid trendy cliches, and stay within the classic constructs. Keep it all simple, functional, and elegant...

I would also think very seriously about wood finishes. Lots of "traditional" oil finishes look absolutely wonderful in the drawing room, but end up looking like heck after one rainy elk hunt. But finishes like Earl Milliron's epoxy finish, Al Biesen's Varathane finish, and D'Arcy Echols' intercellular-sealer/synthetic-oil finish can stand up to just about anything, plus they protect the wood better from dings, yet STILL look like "traditional oil".

Think long-term/worst-case in everything you carry out in the creation of a true custom hunting rifle...........

AD

allenday: Sorry i didnt reply earlier, was out of town.

Yes good point. I would hope that a gun of such quality and expence would last a few generations if reasonably taken care of. I've had a customer bring one back for a cleaning once. As he lifted it out of the hard case i couldnt help but get excited again. Funny though, as well as the gun looked, i knew the one after that one or the one i was building at the time was a better rifle. Each one is always just a little better than the last one. They get a little easier or you learn a lot from the last one you did. I like the classic look and seems most people do, just cant beat the clean lines that go with them!

Finishes, oh boy, now there is another book in itself even though there are several out already, nothing i know of updated. I have tried about every finish out there, but have not tried the ones you talk about here. May have to try some. I have on my personal rifle an oil finish and so far it has held up real well. It has been in an all day rain and faired well. I do at times rub on a small coat every now and then, may be why it is holding up so well? Always looking for an improvment in anything though!

I have a post in the single shot area called "My First Custom Ruger #1" with a picture. It is a little premature because mostly just the buttstock is near finished, got excited and had to show it off, even though it has a long way to go yet.

Anyway, thank you for your responce, and all others, this has been informative and fun talking with each and every one of you!