Blackfeather MIA 6 months

there are a few reasons I closed my m14 dedicated smithing shop.
the biggest was getting a rifle that needed parts replaced and trying to find decent ones on the EE as no one sells Chinese rifle parts...... save for buying rifles 10 at a time for parts..... and that got old and very non profitable very fast. Time lines were always a big issue and doing it ALL yourself, from emails and forums and the work and ordering overhead and shipping and yikes..... in the end I got overwhelmed, way behind and totally disorganized. So, I called it quits after failing one too many customers with wayyyy overdue timelines..... mind you a lot of folks got rifles back that worked perfect and were FARRR from that when they arrived on my bench.

there are few smiths in Canada that I would trust with an M14. Elwood epps and TacOrd are ones I know other guys have used with great success. the ONLY shop in the lowermainland I would send an m14 too is Dlask for barrel work.

maybe those guys at M14.ca will get their shop licenced and put that ol coot Larry to work smiting m14's again .......
 
45ACPKING said:
there are a few reasons I closed my m14 dedicated smithing shop.
the biggest was getting a rifle that needed parts replaced and trying to find decent ones on the EE as no one sells Chinese rifle parts...... save for buying rifles 10 at a time for parts..... and that got old and very non profitable very fast. Time lines were always a big issue and doing it ALL yourself, from emails and forums and the work and ordering overhead and shipping and yikes..... in the end I got overwhelmed, way behind and totally disorganized. So, I called it quits after failing one too many customers with wayyyy overdue timelines..... mind you a lot of folks got rifles back that worked perfect and were FARRR from that when they arrived on my bench.

there are few smiths in Canada that I would trust with an M14. Elwood epps and TacOrd are ones I know other guys have used with great success. the ONLY shop in the lowermainland I would send an m14 too is Dlask for barrel work.

maybe those guys at M14.ca will get their shop licenced and put that ol coot Larry to work smiting m14's again .......
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I'd love to see those guys at m14.ca get there shop licensed , so you can buy a stock and have true professionals install it , that's the whole reason I sent it out to be " professionally built " . I totally understand the waiting for parts thing and I get how hard they are to source but keep in mind the gun I sent in was brand new , never fired , it also went in with all the parts needed to build it already sourced and provided . I don't mind waiting my turn for a craftsman to finish , but I do mind being BS'd about time lines , how about just telling us Were number 200 on the list and I'll call you when it's your turn . This way we'd all have full use of our gear and not just have it sit on a shelf (1500-1800$) gathering dust . I wish you were still building , I have a few other toys that need upgrades and having a good smith to call on is always time well spent please let us know if you change your mind .
 
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Somerset Bar said:
As with anything, showing up in person is 10000x more effective than calling. It's easy to ignore a phone, definitely harder to ignore a person.

I used to be very "oh I hate to bug you", however, more often than not people take kindness for weakness, and you get shuffled to the bottom of the pile. If a deadline gets missed, there should be a VERY good reason why. If a second deadline gets missed, there should be recompense of some kind, and the work should get done "that day". I'm not saying there is anything wrong with a gunsmith that is busy (they must be good), but that should be disclosed up front... "next time I get something on the lathe" would have had me blowing a cork..."well put my gun in the lathe and then something will be in it!!!".
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I couldn't agree more , I'm trying not to "blow my cork " , as I find yelling at people that service your firearms isn't always the best idea , if you plan on getting any kind of quality work out of them your usually better not freaking out over stuff . That being said I don't have a problem firing them and taking my business elsewhere , so much better for my blood pressure to !
 
Well the saga continues , I just got out of bed a called him like I told him I would on Monday morning ( hopefully to pick up by noon ) and lo and behold he's not answering his phone . When I talked to him Wednesday he told me " it's on my bench right now " and " I'll have it ready by Friday ,my reply was ill pick it up on Monday as it's the first day of my week off . I've got my new scope sitting here just waiting to go on , and my brothers taking a day off this week so we can go shooting . I thought of driving out there but my wife's really sick at the moment and I have to get her to the doctor later , and I'm not wasting a hour driving one way.
 
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Well, if you aren't happy with the work or it's incomplete .... Pm me, won't cost you a thing other than shipping to have some experienced hands get er done right. I'm not making that offer much these days but if ya need it , pm me
 
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45ACPKING said:
Well, if you aren't happy with the work or it's incomplete .... Pm me, won't cost you a thing other than shipping to have some experienced hands get er done right. I'm not making that offer much these days but if ya need it , pm me
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That is a very generous offer and very much appreciated ! Thank you and I will pm you , I got it back today but he didn't do the whole job , he did unitize the gas system and put it in the stock and installed the new spring guide and casm mount , but he didn't install the gas block sight or cut crown or thread the barrell because I gave him the wrong flash hider ( pws fsc-30 , 5/8-24 rh ) so that's on me but that was also the whole reason I sent it in lol ! I can't help thinking i wish he noticed this earlier and called me so I could just have him thread it to the correct thread pitch and get a target crown out of it as well , then just order a new flash hider and screw it on myself , I also wanted the the head space and lug engagement checked and this didn't happen either , I got it home only to notice that he forgot to tighten the flash hider & put the front sight on it and it was still at his shop , but it's home and looks great and I've got a great new scope for it ( viper pst 4/16-50 ) and I figure all the stuff that was missed probably happend for a reason and I'm good with it . I'm going shooting on Friday so I'm hoping it runs fine ( might take a old full face motorcycle helmet for the first 5-10 rounds lol! ) , I've got a 1000 rnd box of ammo and a bunch of tannerite 1lbs'ers , so I'm thinking my brother and I are going to have a great day !
 
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cody c said:
This is pretty typical for gunsmiths, they give you a time and take about 5 times as long, and seem frustrated to talk to you when you check why it isn't done.

There are a few good ones out there who do good work and also are on time, but it's hard to find out who isn't punctual because no one wants to share names.

Plus, this time of year everyone seems to need their hunting rigs fixed up asap.
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Once upon a time....I was told my re chambering to Ackley improved would be done by christmas...as year 2 rolled by I realized he hadn't specified which year...

In the last 25 or so years I've only been surprised a few times by projects being completed in what I considered a timely manner...
 
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