Going rate for drill and tap

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Still in Alberta! By Wainwright with plenty of go
I just dropped off a rifle yesterday to have 4 holes drilled and tapped. Price quoted is $25/hole (ttl of $100). I was in a hurry as I want the rifle ready to try out before I go to Afghanistan in 3 wks as it is my latest acquistion, so I didn't hesitate or quibble. However, this seems a bit steep

Opinions???
 
$40 per hole? Are you SERIOUS?

Sorry, that's a rip off by any account. Unless it takes the guy over 1/2 per hole (at which point, I would declare him incompetant), it's robbery.

Maybe I'm just in la-la land, but that's retarded.
 
Ever done it?
Takes about an hour for all 4 holes all together to do the set up and take down, plus when drilling and tapping a reciever properly it should be done in a drill mill not a drill press to ensure that the holes are straight and in line. Remember you actually do this thing in several steps. Drill the hole, starting tap, bottoming tap 4 times. Would you prefer I use a hand drill and get it close or do it properly? $ 40.00 is the out side charge, a lot of things come into play, like what is the rifle, do I have to spot soften the area to get a drill to start, do I have a likely hood of breaking off the tap due to the inconsistant hardness of that old reciever?. Epps, as a business has been doing this for at least 75 years, I'm not sure who the smith there is but they also have a depressed market in the east where people are perhaps not willing to pay for the work. Just try to get a job done in under 3 months here in Alberta! Machine work is leaning all towards the oilfield, why would I give up $1,000 job that will take me 15 minutes to do a hour job that will net me
$ 120.00?
Scott
 
It depends on how much fiddling is needed to do the job properly...

...it is not just a matter of drilling and tapping 4 holes in a flat piece of steel someone hands you... they have to be located correctly... at the correct position on the action and square with the bore, then all the holes need to maintain this relationship...

I can see different shops charging different prices depending on the level of skill and the equipment they have and how busy they are and the difficulty of the job at hand ... $15 to $30 would be quite normal, $40 not necessarily out of order...
 
Pffft, it's easy. You just take your Black and Decker cordless drill, throw in the bit, eyeball it 'level' and give'r... ;)

I guess when you look at it like m93a2 and guntech, maybe it's not THAT bad for $40. :) Still, seems like a lot of money for a little work.
 
m93a2 and guntech are completely correct because they've done it!!if you think a gunsmith can whip out a black and decker cordless drill slap in a bit , eye ball it and run a business and satisfy customers , think again. the smith is using the best drills and taps he can get, and i don't mean a $10.00 set from crappy tire. the inconsistent steel in older guns is one thing, what if it's stainless steel.if it was that simple $10.00 a hole would be great. somebody said here a few months ago, that all you had to do to open up the choke on a shotgun barrel,is to put a grinding bit on a dremel tool, stick her in the muzzle and hit the on switch. priced charged $25.00 and your good to go.for another $25.00 to $30.00 you could have it done the correct way. whatever!!
 
I have never sniffed at paying good hard earned money for the services of a craftsman. Deal with the same smith for all your work and over the years deals come that make up for those times you choked on the bill a little.
There is also a difference between a "gunsmith" and a gunsmith who is also a craftsman, these fellows go the xtra mile for thier 85.00 per hour basic shop rate... and i gots no problem payin it. We need to support the guys who are thier (and love what they do) when our toys break down or need upgrades.
100 and change is not so bad for drilling and tapping for a mount... as long as you are happy with the result, sounds about right to me.
 
Most Smiths use a forester jig and drill guides and bushings
BUT it will not work on all guns some have to be completely set up by hand and this takes much more time
Not to mention the cost of the drilling jig is around $400.00 plus Dies Taps and Drill bits
$25.00 thats a bargain

Oh and with the jig...Yes you can use a drill press:)
 
if you have owned a rifle a poor smith has drilled and tapped you would think $100 to $150 or so is resonable to have it done properly. the mess a supposed "gunsmith" did to a mauser 98 i owned was criminal. when i got it back and removed the base he had misdrilled and welded up an incorrect hole. the base covered up most of his mess. you could see the bluing touch up under the edges of the base.
 
and the guys around here cringe when i tell them $12/hole plus set up on some of the not so straight forward receivers that do not readily fit into the jig.
 
i agree Camk, i use the jig and you can use a drill press if the jig can be used on the model of gun. too bad all drill and tap jobs aren't a marlin 336. i suppose it would depend on what value you place on the gun when you eyeballed it and used a hand drill.
 
Seems pretty reasonable to me. Depends on how the smith references the holes though, pretty easy to throw it in a mill and find center of the action, fair bit more time consuming to lightly press a brass rod into the chamber indicate it and align the holes to that.
 
there is also the consideration of if the receiver is really hard and you need to spot anneal before you drill. everything is a factor, I'ts funny reading on this forum I've learned so much I think I might become a Gunsmith:rolleyes:

Oh yeah I forgot.....:p

the best drills are the skil ones with the wobbly chuck they kinda free float and line themselves up in line with the bore;)
 
12magnum said:
i agree Camk, i use the jig and you can use a drill press if the jig can be used on the model of gun. too bad all drill and tap jobs aren't a marlin 336. i suppose it would depend on what value you place on the gun when you eyeballed it and used a hand drill.
Click to expand...


What Jig you using?
Hope its this one
untitled.jpg


And I hope you don't limit yourself to marlins LOL!!!!!!!!!:D
 
Camk said:
there is also the consideration of if the receiver is really hard and you need to spot anneal before you drill.

OSG negative rake taps and a cnc mill, yeah I know almost no one has one, but 54 rockwell taping with a carbide tap drill makes this look easy. However thats going to run you about 400 bucks. And if its super hard ( not that I have ever seen an action this hard) you can have them sink edm'd for 75\ hole.
Click to expand...
 
John Marshall said:
Camk said:
there is also the consideration of if the receiver is really hard and you need to spot anneal before you drill.

OSG negative rake taps and a cnc mill, yeah I know almost no one has one, but 54 rockwell taping with a carbide tap drill makes this look easy. However thats going to run you about 400 bucks. And if its super hard ( not that I have ever seen an action this hard) you can have them sink edm'd for 75\ hole.
Click to expand...

Oh See now you made $40.00 a hole look really GOOOOOD:D
Click to expand...
 
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