Barrel chamber and fitting price

After reading all the posts that discuss the Tikka barrel threads being TPI and not metric as the 'smith claimed, I have to wonder if that guy really IS a decent 'smith or if he really HAS rebarreled one of those rifles.
Sounds to me to be a marginally-experienced 'smith that is over-selling his work time, padding the job/hours to ensure he has enough time to actually complete the job.
And literally destroying your old barrel to remove it?!? That's unconscionable unless someone spot welded the original barrel to the action which would be unheard of IMHO. But that's just me.
As a minimum I'd be asking a LOT of shooters in the area and googling that 'smith to see if there are any bad reports of him, and not just for his cost per job.
And as others have already said, the job shouldn't cost what he is asking UNLESS that takes into account the price of the replacement barrel.
Even then, ruining your original barrel to remove it?
Hmm.
Me thinks I'd be looking elsewhere but YMMV.
Good Luck and keep us posted on the outcome and ultimate resolution WRT how that Sweetheart gun shoots.
If you send your barreled tikka action to PVA, they will always perform a relief cut to remove the factory barrel. They don't have the time and also don't want to be liable for potential action damage from trying to get a stubborn barrel off.
 
Take a look at Preferred Barrel Blanks. They did a wildcat remage barrel for me which shoots lights out. I believe they make a shoulded Tikka prefit. They should have a video on their website on how to do it.
 
After reading all the posts that discuss the Tikka barrel threads being TPI and not metric as the 'smith claimed, I have to wonder if that guy really IS a decent 'smith or if he really HAS rebarreled one of those rifles.
Sounds to me to be a marginally-experienced 'smith that is over-selling his work time, padding the job/hours to ensure he has enough time to actually complete the job.
And literally destroying your old barrel to remove it?!? That's unconscionable unless someone spot welded the original barrel to the action which would be unheard of IMHO. But that's just me.
As a minimum I'd be asking a LOT of shooters in the area and googling that 'smith to see if there are any bad reports of him, and not just for his cost per job.
And as others have already said, the job shouldn't cost what he is asking UNLESS that takes into account the price of the replacement barrel.
Even then, ruining your original barrel to remove it?
Hmm.
Me thinks I'd be looking elsewhere but YMMV.
Good Luck and keep us posted on the outcome and ultimate resolution WRT how that Sweetheart gun shoots.

I had a guy recommend him. I checked back to see how the smiths work was but never heard back from the guy. So maybe that's not a good sign!

I got in touch with a couple of good ones though, so i think I'm just n business.
 
I could not get this Tikka barrel off without risk to damaging the action. Maybe there's a special Tikka wrench to protect the dovetail etc. I had to make a relief cut..i then set the barrel back so he could fireform brass while i chamber the new barrel. Îve had to do the same thing to a few mausers too.
Of someone is charging that much they simply don't want to do the job. You can buy a brand new Tikka for $600.
 
He said it costs so much because the threads on the Tikka barrels are metric and it takes him about 4 times longer to thread them than other barrels.
Whether or not the barrel is metric, that sounds like a lame excuse. Back in the '80s when I worked a lathe, we had auto-feed gearing for SAE and Metric threads.
Back in 2014 I was quoted $1000 to rebarrel a CZ550 Magnum (Chamber, thread & install), excluding the barrel price. I doubt the extractor claw cut added a few hundred dollars extra.
Though the gunshop has an excellent reputation, I've not considered them again for any work.
 
Tikka barrels are very straightforward to machine. I charge $325, same as the others without an extractor cut. As DennisinAz said, 16 tpi. A relief cut isn't needed, just solid setup and technique.
 
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