what to expect from a gunsmith???

saskgunowner101

saskgunowner101

CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Rating - 100%
132   0   0
Location
near Prince Albert
Hey guys, I was wondering what to expect from a gunsmith when you bring in a firearm for work. Yes, I'm the guy that screwed up the set screw on my M&P 40 rear sight. I tried to use one of those screw removers from ct, but no luck. So I brought the slide to a smith to make it all better, rather than make a bigger mess or scratch/marr the finish on the slide. Well, the screw was drilled out, and he didnt have a replacement for it. The sight is back in the slide without it. I can live with that, as I'm guessing it won't vibrate out. The problem is, the slide now has new marks on both sides. I was under the impression that it should come back looking like it did when it left here. While it won't affect the function any, if I wanted scratches all over the place, I could've done that myself. What should I be expecting??? And does anyone know which is the correct set screw for the back?? He has 3 x .5 mm on the bill for set screw size, does this sound right? I hope I'm not over reacting, but I'm not rightly impressed. Any input and thoughts appreciated. If you're from the S'toon area, feel free to p.m. me if you've had bad experiences with a local gunsmith.
 
It's the same story as dealing with any tradesman, ......there's some quality gunsmiths, and more "not so quality". With gunsmithing, it's more often often a case of finding someone in your local area who'll even tackle a job, with or without the expertise in a particular area, and guess what quality you'll get.

With the few "quality" smiths we have in Canada, you can expect quality service and results. Each has his own specialty area of work, some custom rifles, some handguns, some just repair. The big problem for "Joe Average" is locating a quality smith, with the proper tools, that will cater to his particular needs at a price he finds affordable. And very seldom will that smith be a local, so you have to be prepared to ship your firearms or accept lesser quality.

And good smiths will have a backlog, so be prepared to wait your turn!

~Arctic~
 
Any repairman being a gunsmith or other tradesman should be responsible for marks, damage, etc.

What if you took your car in for an oil change and they left a dent in the hood of your vehicle? Wouldn't you mention that to them when you saw it and expect them to fix it..?

Last year I had the soft jaws in my vice fail and I marked a wooden stock. The marks were not that bad but I gave the customer the option of refinishing the stock at no charge later in the season... and I did that after he finished hunting with it for the year... you have to stand behind your work...

If you approach your smith politely and point out what he did he will probably do something... hopefully anyway...
 
As a customer/client, it's up to your discretion to asess the quality of work done in your gun.
Ask yourself.... Are you happy with the quality of his service? If your answer is YES. End of story, but if your answer is NO, get down to business and talk to him, raise your concern to your gunsmith. Afterall you paid him for his services. Right????

Good luck. :)
 
As a tradesman, I find there are two main reasons for this: 1. A new guy learning the ropes OR 2. An old guy who is tired and has given up.

Personally, I take pride in my work. When I work on a lock, I make damn sure it gets back into the customer's hand in the same condition it left. I did a bunch of high end locks for a hotel today, the mech. override cyl had to be keyed up. The manager commented that he wouldn't have known anyone even touched the locks if it wasn't for the tape on each box being slit. We wiped everything down, and put them back in their plastic bags before reboxing. This isn't just for big jobs or high end locks, I'll inspect and wipe down your 10$ 15-year old Kwikset lockset before I had it back to you, as well. :D

If I have to drill a safe, I make sure when I leave it is in BETTER condition than when I left. Welded carbide plugs in my hole, replace fire insulation, etc. Mechanical locks are thoroughly inspected for wear marks or burs, I make sure the torque is adjusted and then I grease her up. Screws are tightened and the boltwork is inspected. If I'm working on a visible area of the safe (outside the dial ring, hinges, side shot, etc), I make sure to talk to my paint guy first to verify that we can match the paint once the job is done. I take pictures and document the job.

There's no excuse. :slap:
 
Last edited:
tiriaq said:
Wouldn't it make more sense to talk to the gunsmith than to complain on the 'net?
Click to expand...
I was actually done complaining about it(to myself out loud) before I posted this. And I wasnt sure if this is what to expect or not. Not okay in my books, but thought I'd maybe ask around in here before I bring it up to the smith. As I said, cosmetically, the blueing on the slide and drift marks by the rear sight won't hurt the functioning. It might be minor, and I don't want to get anal about it to him, I guess I should have paid more attention when I picked it up. Hard lessons are the best ones to learn from I suppose. :slap: Any recommended gunsmiths in the Saskatoon area??
 
I've found there's 2 sets of values out there: 1) It's a gun, it goes bang, and marks don't make it less accurate.. or 2) It's a gun that I paid hard earned $$ for, I clean it after each use, wipe it down and bag it in something soft, and "set" it in the safe. Too late now, but a lesson to all I guess, be sure to let the smith know what you expect before handing it over.. In a previous life in the sport's business (boats, skidoos, bikes), we often had similar issues,, eg why is there tar on my bike.... we test drove it to see if it was fixed.... yeah, okay, so make it clean like it was when I brought it in... versus the next guy, is it fixed... cool... how much..
Just my 2 cents...
 
Im a amatur gun smith and i wont tackle a job unless i am sure i can do it with out something going wrong or marking up a gun. I take pride in working on rifles and do all my own work, If i am not sure of a job it take to a proffesional smith and then watch him work for a couple of times. When i perfect it then i will do it. I like to tinker with guns so i started to learn. I want to open a shop some day.
 
Well it won't make you feel better ... but it helps me to vent...THIS is NOT about GUNS ... just still pisses me off.. so SWMBO informs me we are getting new curtains...mindful of the last bonehead that came to install blinds..I meet the "tradesman" at the front door (having previously carefully removed all the old blinds) ... I hold out my studfinder and ask him if he would like to use it as the last guy didn't apparently have one.

The "expert" declines pointing out that he knows where the studs are.

SWMBO glares at me to leave the expert alone! I persist - only one more time and point out emphatically that the walls are PLASTER ....to please understand that they have to be drilled in steps or the plaster comes out in chunks.

He gives me this knowing look ... "you mean drywall" he says sarcastically... no "plaster" I say again...this time I get a another look and a grinning nod from him as he tries to humour me ( obviously I know fxxk nothing - let alone fxxk all!) ... I repeated "plaster" the vein in my temple throbbing. SWMBO is red with anger at me... I back down ... help him with his ladder to one of the rooms and ... under more glares from herself .. I retreat to the basement!

20 minutes go by and there is small voice from upstairs .. SWMBO is calling in a plaintiff fashion .. quietly but urgently.... I go up ... I feel like I have walked into a downtown neighborhood in Beirut... the walls covered with .50 cal bullet holes ... only it is my sons bedroom!

The "craftsman" is standing in the middle of the room staring at his dewalt 18volt power screwdriver with a long wood screw spinning on the end of a Robertson bit ... dust settling slowly with half a dozen large pieces of plaster across the floor and 7 or 8 blue plugs half hanging at odd angles from various crevasses in my previously pristine wall!:eek: (and not a single one was anywhere near a stud!!)

"Your wall is plaster" he informs me without exactly making eye contact ... SWMBO skulks away quietly as I try to find the words that will convey my true feeling without subsequently incriminating me in any potential charge of threat bodily harm! f############xkkkkk.

SWMBO says later I should learn to control myself better...F############K!!!

I have found that mixing plaster and patching large holes in walls, smoothing them down with a nice damp sponge and gently touching them up with pastel paint is quite therapeutic!!:dancingbanana:

So watch out for some of those baxtards though ... even when they claim to be pro's..

:shotgun:
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom