Rflshootr
Well-Known Member
Well there ya go...send it to Biff and he'll have it for you in an hour.
Looking for a Unicorn- in KY, TN or close by.
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biff's reloading
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Well there ya go...send it to Biff and he'll have it for you in an hour.
Point was... a simple clambering job shouldn't have a 6 month wait.
Ps, dont send it to me. I'm not interested in mail order work.
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DHBWA
Well-Known Member
Lots of good information and suggestions.
For years (1980-1995) I built engines. Very good engines. Some were grocery getters and some oval track.
The riflesmith and engine business is so similar it's scary.
Some guys are willing to work hard and learn to do great work efficiently and make a decent living while some are content to muck around and live in a trailer…..
Then some guys do the work for 40 years and still aren't any good (met one locally that was so stupid on chambering and chamber dimensions that its scary to think he does chambering occasionally)
As seen here there are riflesmiths in business that can do the 4-6 hour job in 2-3 weeks.
I'll add a small shop and a large one that normally are about 3-5 weeks if you provide all the parts.
Alamo Precision Rifles in TX
Shaen Rifles in CA
For years (1980-1995) I built engines. Very good engines. Some were grocery getters and some oval track.
The riflesmith and engine business is so similar it's scary.
Some guys are willing to work hard and learn to do great work efficiently and make a decent living while some are content to muck around and live in a trailer…..
Then some guys do the work for 40 years and still aren't any good (met one locally that was so stupid on chambering and chamber dimensions that its scary to think he does chambering occasionally)
As seen here there are riflesmiths in business that can do the 4-6 hour job in 2-3 weeks.
I'll add a small shop and a large one that normally are about 3-5 weeks if you provide all the parts.
Alamo Precision Rifles in TX
Shaen Rifles in CA
Rflshootr
Well-Known Member
Then take the job and give the man what he wants, charge him an hours labor...then you can go fishing. All I am saying is I would have to see you chamber a barrel properly, including setting up the compound on the correct body taper and pre-boring for concentricity and then reaming to the proper head space in an hour......not to mention the polishing that you mentioned. I'd bet you can't......even if it was already set up and indicated in to .0002 on each end. I'm not belittling you at all. I've been a papered journeyman machinist for 40+ years, and I know you can't do it that fast and have it right. And if you're that good, you should be able to polish your own pud at the same that you're polishing the barrel. If you would have said 5 or 6 hours, that's doable.
Crown Ridge Barrel Works. He does excellent work and has a fast turn around time, if he has the blanks in stock.
Crown Ridge Barrel Works | Colville | 99114
www.crownridgebarrelworks.com
This whole thread is precisely why I just buy factory rifles, not that I don't dream about it, I don't want to spend the extra money nor the time waiting, to get one. Same with my truck, I've envisioned a lift with 44's, lockers, articulated steering, but just don't need it.
biff's reloading
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if You want, go read my first post in this thread. I think we are arguing very different Points. Nutshell: a chamber is an hour when you're already set up for chambering barrels. Sure, if he wants the works done on a raw blank, it's a job. Agreed. I thought He was just asking for a chamber cut.
I ordered a reamer on 10/8/21 and still waiting I feel your pain it's not acceptable to me.
Bang4theBuck
Well-Known Member
Well, you are correct in saying that I've never run a lathe. I know what I am good at and what I am not. That said, I have have had numerous rifles built, and numerous others rebarrelled, and I've always been able to talk the smith into letting me watch all of the machining and be part of the build. Once the guy running the machinery realizes that I have a genuine appreciation and interest in the work, they are fine with allowing me to watch. I've got numerous rifles that shoot sub .200" groups built by 2 different smiths, and none of them took more than 4 hours, start to finish, including all the set up, indicating the barrel (both ends), actual machining, etc. This is not an indictment on anyone that takes longer than that, but that really is what it is. Additionally, the market price for these services ranges between 300 and 500. I have a hard time believing that anyone doing this work for profit out of a legitimate shop, is working for less than $80-100/hr. Why would they? All that expensive equipment, overhead, etc. would not allow for a project of that value to take all day. It just doesn't add up. You can't get the brakes changed on your car anymore for much under a $100/hr. Just saying!3 to 4 hours worth of work huh? I'd wager that you've never done any precision barrel work or even run a lathe for that matter............just my guess
Rflshootr
Well-Known Member
Look Biff, again, I'm not belittling you but, you can't possibly have a set up ready to go, that allows you to throw any contour barrel up in a lathe, have it run concentric to benchrest standards, (which is what people expect when they are spending money) without spending time indicating properly within .0002 end to end. First of all, the barrels are not finished on the outside that concentric to the bore so they have to be indicated, And without inducing any bend or distortion to the barrel. Secondly, to do a proper job, the compound should be set to the same angle as the body taper of the reamer, then the barrel gets rough drilled and pre-bored so it is concentric for the reamer to follow. That's before you even touch the reamer. There is no way on God's green Earth that any person can do that in just an hour. I've had problem barrels that were crooked as a dog's hind leg that take an hour just to get running true enough that I feel comfortable enough to continue the process on. Did you know that when a barrel is turned and rifled that they finish the outside with a belt sander? I'm here to tell you that is the way it is done. They don't pay people to stand there and hand polish all the tool marks from the outside by hand. They're not concentric....period!
People on here must think that the top gunsmiths in the country get up in the morning, go out to the lathe and get everything ready and sit around in the shop twiddling his thumbs waiting for joeblow to show up with his XYZ barrel and reamer(that he has already set up the machine for because he has a crystal ball) so they can walk in and be the only work that the gunsmith has to do that day...and expect him to be done their barrel in a couple of hours. Being a well know, top notch, match winning, precision accuracy gunsmith doesn't happen overnight. And to think he is going to stop what he is doing, letting all of his other top customers go to the back of the line because joeshmo stomped his feet and threw a tizzy fit in the shop isn't going to happen. If it did, he wouldn't be a top gunsmith very long. And if he did **** work, he wouldn't be in business very long either. Understand that I've been in this trade all of my adult life, served a state and union certified apprenticeship, made precision parts for jet fighter engines to parts that are in outer space of which many have tolerances on surfaces within helium light bands, and everything in between. (look that up on google) I know when I hear bs about machining. Sorry if I hurt your feelings.
People on here must think that the top gunsmiths in the country get up in the morning, go out to the lathe and get everything ready and sit around in the shop twiddling his thumbs waiting for joeblow to show up with his XYZ barrel and reamer(that he has already set up the machine for because he has a crystal ball) so they can walk in and be the only work that the gunsmith has to do that day...and expect him to be done their barrel in a couple of hours. Being a well know, top notch, match winning, precision accuracy gunsmith doesn't happen overnight. And to think he is going to stop what he is doing, letting all of his other top customers go to the back of the line because joeshmo stomped his feet and threw a tizzy fit in the shop isn't going to happen. If it did, he wouldn't be a top gunsmith very long. And if he did **** work, he wouldn't be in business very long either. Understand that I've been in this trade all of my adult life, served a state and union certified apprenticeship, made precision parts for jet fighter engines to parts that are in outer space of which many have tolerances on surfaces within helium light bands, and everything in between. (look that up on google) I know when I hear bs about machining. Sorry if I hurt your feelings.
DHBWA
Well-Known Member
Let's be honest. Most barrels getting chambered aren't being indicated to .0002….
Some smith's aren't capable and aren't willing….Again, in all honesty most customers don't have the ability to shoot well enough to know.
Lastly, a LOT of barrels are so crooked it's almost impossible to get them setup as what's been suggested with tweaking them which doesn't work……
Some smith's aren't capable and aren't willing….Again, in all honesty most customers don't have the ability to shoot well enough to know.
Lastly, a LOT of barrels are so crooked it's almost impossible to get them setup as what's been suggested with tweaking them which doesn't work……
Wow what an interesting Post with different view points. If you are a first time or even many times custom barrel buyer this will get you thinking and then want to ask you GS how they chamber a rifle! Whether you get the TOP GS and wait 6 to 12 months or get an unknown GS that can get you a chamber in one week or month.
it all comes down to not the wait, but the quality of the work.
As far as most shooters don't know the difference - well that should not be a factor. Every rifle SHOULD be chambered the same way. All chambering should be done to MATCH. I never did a chamber and was asked to do a "Hunting" or "Target" chamber. The only difference is in the REAMER. Is it made to SAAMI specks or to tighter tolerances?
As far as Barrels being CROOKED - they all are to a certain point. Thats why when you purchase a barrel from a GREAT company it is "AIR GAUAGED" to test the barrel. You can have the Best Reamer and Best Lathe, but you need a Great Barrel to produce results.
I can elaborate more on this subject another time. It is late and past my bed time!
it all comes down to not the wait, but the quality of the work.
As far as most shooters don't know the difference - well that should not be a factor. Every rifle SHOULD be chambered the same way. All chambering should be done to MATCH. I never did a chamber and was asked to do a "Hunting" or "Target" chamber. The only difference is in the REAMER. Is it made to SAAMI specks or to tighter tolerances?
As far as Barrels being CROOKED - they all are to a certain point. Thats why when you purchase a barrel from a GREAT company it is "AIR GAUAGED" to test the barrel. You can have the Best Reamer and Best Lathe, but you need a Great Barrel to produce results.
I can elaborate more on this subject another time. It is late and past my bed time!
DHBWA
Well-Known Member
I hope you don't bet your life on air gauged barrels……
I am very sure that many machinists are capable of doing barrel work, however a gunsmith is specially trained to do this task, plus they most likely have the tools and equipment to perform essential machining on firearms. Barrel blanks don't come cheap these days and If I had my choice, I would much rather trust my expensive match grade barrel to a well qualified gunsmith than a machinist in the local machine shop who probably has not had any training since it's not his primary job.
