Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing Portland is ripe for a new reasonable gunsmith shop

Wow. I went to two of the better know shops in the area for a simple muzzle break installation on a Rem 700. I already had the muzzle break made for it. The first shop was making excuses of why they probably couldn't do the work before I even told them what I was wanting. Then they turned down the work because they have a deal with a well known muzzle break company and will not install any other...mind U this is a authorized rem and weatherby shop I believe. Off to the next shop; Remember, I supplied the break and after was said and done I found out they charge $240.00 for installation of a holland style muzzle break which meant threading the barrel and drilling out the break to 25 thou over caliber and making it concentric of course...yes you heard me right...good god almighty.. is that price reasonable??? It doesn't seem like it. Anyway, no wonder I sent my guns out of state when they need worked on for anything major. I thought this would be a simple job that i would get done here in town...will I ever learn??? Anyway, quality work and reasonable prices would rule the day in Portland Oregon... Maybe there's a shop I don't know about. Makes me appreciate smiths that do quality work for not an arm and a leg and turn around time is usually much better than most shops...aka the fire's redneck comes to mind

Do quality work and reasonable prices go together?

Call this smith in Vancouver, he's installed hundreds of muzzle brakes and more.

He's very reasonable.

Loren Peter, 360-892-0734

Portland is ripe for a gunsmith, the only one in the area I know of is Riches in Donald, Oregon (around 15-20 miles south). They quoted me $460 to reblue and slick up my M99, plus theres a 3 month back log. I'm not too experience with comparing prices, but this seems steep.

This guy in Vancouver is a really nice fella though and I'm told his work is good. He doesn't have a shop but does the work from home (shop) which cuts costs.

http://clarkcountygunsmithing.services.officelive.com/default.aspx

Thats funny you mention that place Thanks for the references guys, I'll be sure to check into it. For simple jobs--or what you think to be simple; you just want it done local and drop off and pick up your gun in a timely fashion and not get bent over in the process..

Just a thought: reasonable doesn't necessarily mean cheap.

So I'd say quality and reasonable can and should go together. Of course it's true that you get what you pay for, usually. To me, reasonable relates to value.

Paul

Could not have stated it better!

Let's think about this brake job for a minute. To install a muzzle brake on a rifle you have to thread the barrel precisely to match the threads inside the brake, with a bit of trial and error to get the parts to fit right. This requires precision machinery and tooling, and the expertise to use it. Then you might have to turn the brake to the proper diameter to match the barrel so it looks decent on the rifle. Then you might have to polish and blue the brake to match the barrel as closely as possible. The barreled action might not fit in the lathe so you might have to remove the barrel from the action to thread it (which requires special tools). Before the job even starts the 'smith has to stand at the counter and discuss the job with the client for a half-hour before the client commits to the job. After it's done the 'smith has to stand at the counter for a half-hour while the client examines the job with a critical eye. Then the client might not be happy with the job and require some re-work (We can't have unhappy clients). How many hours do we have in the job now? Four hours? Six? Eight? And how much money did the 'smith pay for that lathe, the cutter, the files and other abrasives, the bluing chemicals and tanks? How much did he pay for that special tool he used to remove the barrel?

Anybody with the knowledge, skill, and ability to be a good gunsmith thinks they deserve to make a good living, and they are correct. So what is a good living? Let's say that $70,000 per year salary and another $20,000 per year for insurance and other benefits makes-up a good salary. And let's also say the 'smith spends $10,000 per year on machinery, tooling, maintenance, and expendibles. That means he needs to do $100,000 per year in business (in general, round figures) to make a decent living. Provided that ALL his work time is billable (yeah, right) that means he must charge about $50 per hour, right? Remember, that is IF his 40-hours-per-week is 100% billable, which is not true (remember standing at the counter discussing the job with the client?). Now we haven't even included that he also has to pay utility bills and a mortgage for his shop.

Is it so hard to see now why there are not many gunsmiths around, and quite a few guys that "used to be" gunsmiths?

When I went into the military I too was an aspiring gunsmith. My MOS was 45B, which is small arms repairman. I was also company armorer. This was all before the realities of real life began sinking in.

Quality work by skilled craftsmen is expensive, whether it be by a doctor, lawyer, or gunsmith. Be ready to pay if you want the good stuff.

Just remember, you sometimes pay for the name and not how good the work is. I was looking for someone who would install a barrel on a Sako and a Mini Mauser. One guy quoted me $450 for each barrel. I checked out some recommended by this site, and found out the job they did, was how they felt that day. No thanks, I want a good chambering job so I have accuracy.

Got to looking at some of the accuracy sites and had a highly recommended smith in Pa. He charges $165 per barrel with $55 extra for the mini Mauser because of the extractor cuts. He does a lot of work for target shooters as well as the average joe.

Guys that know what they are doing can turn out a job quickly and with accuracy in the process of installing the barrel and cutting the chamber.

There are smiths out there who do good work and not charge an arm and a leg in the process.

I'm not going to argue what you have said big red. But I went armed with lots of the details already for the job. It was a common thread 28 tpi, and a common diameter, so any gunsmith should be able to match. The lathe thing makes sense. If the lathe isn't big enough then the barrel must be removed. It was stainless to stainless. Needed glass beaded to match the finish however. I've yet to have any gunsmith ever spend a 1/2 hr talking at the counter with me. I'm lucky if I get 5 minutes. You usually talk to the counter person, not the smith much. I know being accurate with the work is important and that costs money. I was just kind of shocked at cost quoted..maybe I'm the one who needs to be reasonable. I'm not against paying for good work. But I've paid for bad work before so I'm a little "cautious" if you will, all of my gunsmithing woes have happened here locally. Work I've sent out has come back to me and I've been very satisfied. Thanks to sites like this where word of mouth lets you know who's doing work that the customers are satisfied with. You've made some good points and I'll keep that in mind before I'm quick to judge.

So... Brownell's shop survey says $50 - $95 per man and machine hour. Does it really take 2.5 - 4.8 hours for this kind of job?

It can. Quality work at a reasonable price is the break point most people will go for.

Quality doesn't have to be "fancy" it just has to be done right. You can also get fancy for a reasonable price.

When it falls out of reasonable is when you feel you didn't get what you paid for.

In another realted note mentioned above I've never been to an acutal gunsmith that had a counter person. The ones I stumble into is always one guy making coffe, running the late, talking on the phone, and running the cash register - all in one.

There are a lot of decent gunsmiths in the state, that are NOT located in Metro Potland..... via mail or UPS, you can ship a gun to them and have some good work done..
I can only vouche for those in Southern Oregon here...

Sadly, good competent gunsmiths are hard to find. I have a list of several that I have do work for me who are very good and reasonably priced, including Redneck here at the campfire. I've just gotten used to shipping rifles out of state to have the work done that I want. I don't know of any decent gunsmiths in my area, anyone around here who calls himself a gunsmith is more of a hack, I wouldn't trust them to work on anything I own. I'd just consider it a stroke of luck if I were able to find a good gunsmith locally. I just plan on shipping anything that needs quality work out of state, it's not that much of a hassle.

Save money, buy your own lathe and do it yourself. Easy cheesy.

Gunsmiths can be right under your nose and still hard to find. I've found the best way to locate one in a particular area is to just start asking people that live there, but you have to ask the right guy to get the right info.
I was in eastern Washington a couple weeks ago and asked a clerk in a farm supply store (where he sells guns)if there were any gunsmiths in that town. He said there is a guy at the saw shop that works on them part time and is pretty good, and then there's the Delta Gunshop and Clearwater Reboring...but they get guns mailed to them from all over. I'm not sure what that implies.

Dufur, you were right in thinking the quote was out of line. One thing to remember though with work like this is that the smith usually figures in profit in selling you the muzzle brake. Figure that the smith will often add on that profit but it is not that much. The same applies when it comes to supplying a barrel that you want to have fitted to your action.

As for Big Redhead's comment, he was extravagant to an extreme. Anyone who even needs to take 2 hours to do this is incompetent and 8 hours???? Anyone in this business has the tools to take off a barrel (5 min job tops)and they are not expensive. I do not disagree with his assessment of the hourly rate except that it is even on the low side. You have to factor in more things that he left out like utilities, etc and it all adds up in a hurry.

I would suggest you talk to Loren Peters. I have known him for almost 30 years but have not seen him in way to long a time. He is an excellent smith and will do you a great job. Tell him Chic said hi for me. You will be in good hands with him.

Some excellent feedback guys! Thanks.

Delta Gun Shop, run by Jim DuBell, is one of the best around. They get guns mailed from all over because DuBell took over Cliff LaBounty's barrel reboring business when LaBounty retired. They do reboring work for some of the best gunsmiths in the country; pistolsmith Hamilton Bowen uses them, to name just one.