Where are the good gunsmiths at?

[adamsredlines]

I forgot one, which was a good experience...so I'm 4 for 8. Batting .500 here which is not very encouraging.

Arts Gun Shop, a former master gunsmith for Browning who does his own work out of his business in the St Louis area, I took him two shotguns and he was everything you'd want a gunsmith to be. He let me watch him work one issue on my Auto 5 and said he'd have my Superposed done the next morning which it was...so I went and enjoyed an evening in St Louis and was on my way.

https://artsgunshop.com/

 

[HiredHand]

What’s the old line… You can have good, fast or cheap.

I have a hunch that talented folks that do good work are often terrible when it comes to customer service and general business practices.

 

[Matt Giroux]

I can do a decent amount by myself, but when it comes to triggers, and all things 1911 I use Ryan at Wilshire Gun. He is knowledgeable about a vast array of firearms, has good experience, and has even polished out a few of my stupid cosmetic slip ups from trying to DIY something. Sometimes a week has turned into 3 weeks but he is normally pretty good about getting it done or at least letting you know.

 

[adamsredlines]

I don't care about fast, I care about getting stuff done when you say you will. And as said above...I'm not holding anybody to the exact day or even week or month that they quote...but if you're off by a factor of 10...that is a problem.
I don't think that should be too much to ask.

 

[adamsredlines]

As far as Don at The Action Works, he never even told me my gun was done or anything...I just got a random shipping notification from the carrier that a package was on the way so I didnt know if I was getting a box of parts back or a finished gun or what. Thankfully I was in town to get it but that was a big ordeal also.

 

[wawazat]

I don't have anything helpful to offer on how to avoid this, but my observation between the great gunsmiths are inline with a great engine builder or great paint and body guy. I have never had the work completed in the initial quoted timeline. I just always assume double the quoted time would be fast and 3-4x the quoted time is realistic. For myself, when it comes to engine assembly, gunsmithing, etc. I have to be in the right headspace to get the work done right. I can't count how many times I walk out into the garage to do something on the fun car, gather the tools I need on the cart and realize I have too much stuff on my mind to concentrate on the task at hand and put everything back up and go back to the house. That is why I don't do that kind of work for other people. It would be prohibitively expensive for my time and entirely unfair to the customer to put up with my OCD on that kind of work.

The engine builder for the V was similar to the way I work. He was going through evaluations for a fire department and would hit me up to let me know he just wasn't in the right place to sit down and work on the engine. He always was honest about his time and updates on the engine so I didnt worry about it. Also, I planned on putting the engine through the ringer so I wanted him to be at 100% when he was working on it. Communication was key to my satisfaction with the amount of time it took him to complete the rotating assembly and block machining.

 

[HiredHand]

It’s not too much and you’re understandably frustrated. A lot of us have been burned by someone that didn’t deliver what was promised.

 

[gerhard1]

I'd talk to Dave (SPDGuns) in Stillwater. He might be in a position to give a few suggestions.

 

[SPDguns]

I don't have anything helpful to offer on how to avoid this, but my observation between the great gunsmiths are inline with a great engine builder or great paint and body guy. I have never had the work completed in the initial quoted timeline. I just always assume double the quoted time would be fast and 3-4x the quoted time is realistic. For myself, when it comes to engine assembly, gunsmithing, etc. I have to be in the right headspace to get the work done right. I can't count how many times I walk out into the garage to do something on the fun car, gather the tools I need on the cart and realize I have too much stuff on my mind to concentrate on the task at hand and put everything back up and go back to the house. That is why I don't do that kind of work for other people. It would be prohibitively expensive for my time and entirely unfair to the customer to put up with my OCD on that kind of work.

The engine builder for the V was similar to the way I work. He was going through evaluations for a fire department and would hit me up to let me know he just wasn't in the right place to sit down and work on the engine. He always was honest about his time and updates on the engine so I didnt worry about it. Also, I planned on putting the engine through the ringer so I wanted him to be at 100% when he was working on it. Communication was key to my satisfaction with the amount of time it took him to complete the rotating assembly and block machining.

You still need to post pics of the V.....

 

[wawazat]

You still need to post pics of the V.....

I sent them to you via PM, I guess I can toss together a thread in the Gearheads section. I have a buddy with a built 04 GTO with manual trans that really wants to trade me plus cash on his side.

ETA: I have tossed together a thread with some pics, haha. Thank you again for helping us sort out our mail issues. We didnt have anymore issues and the road project is now complete.