barrel issue

B

brad baryenbruc

Guest
Ok got a question and need opinions. I had a light 6Br built on a model 7. A local smith reworked and lightned the action, new PTG coned bolt Bartlien barrel. Had it made up for a carry varmint rifle. I sent it out to have another person install one of his less then pound kevlar stocks on it(weighs 18.125 oz when i got it) and cerakote the metal brown. Ok so the gun is sent back to the local smith today and he notices a little grit and takes a look in the chamber and barrel, he calls me and said he didnt plug the chamber when the other smith blasted the gun. So the chamber and the first 1/4" at the muzzle is roughed up a bit. I called the smith who coated the gun and he says its nothing just polish it out. The local smith is not that bugged by the chamber but is about the muzzle and still is not happy about polishing out what was a perfect chamber. both him and I think that it is a big deal that the muzzle is roughed up at all. There is no way to me you we should have to compromise the chamber job and especially the smooth lapped barrel. My questions are first the stock if told it WILL be under a pound shouldnt it be, this one is not a huge issue but still. The local smith did say the stock is very stiff and looks real good. Then the big one is the barrel, are we over reactting or what do you think? What would you do? What do you think the smith who did the stock and coating do? I will try to post picsof the gun soon, doing this from my phone.
Thanks
 
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Brad,

As you clearly know a throat rough from sand blasting is a no-go. I wouldn't surmise which smith is responsible for the problem since smith one said he failed to plug the chamber for smith two, but somebody or both screwed up. Without replacing the barrel there are two possible approaches for partial resolution. If the barrel has enough shank it might be possible to set it back far enough to eliminate the damaged throat. Since this gun was conceived as an ultralight walking varmint I suspect that the shank is short already, plus there is the inevitable barrel channel gap that would have to be addressed or accepted. Another solution that would work around a new barrel might be to re-chamber in 243 Win to remove the damaged throat. I can't imagine that either of these approaches would actually satisfy you since you obviously know exactly what you were seeking in this rifle. I think the smith you contracted with is obliged to deliver the rifle you sought and have or are paying for. If he thinks smith two screwed up then he should work out the details with him.

As far as the stock being a couple of ounces heavier than quoted I wouldn't sweat it. Might be significant if you needed to make weight on a competition rifle but that isn't the case here.

Greg
 
Do note that in my being upset and typing on my phone in the middle of an hour bike ride I typed throat and should have been 1/4" at the muzzle. Better then the throat but still wrong.
Sorry for that. BRad
 
damaged barrel

Sorry to hear of your troubles however i must in part agree with Mr Culpeper . I'm not trying to place the blame this is what I do . I make sure holes are plugged i trust that job to no one but myself .I make sure the coater knows what i have done and why . That being said when it comes back there always seems to be some imprefections however nothing like you describe. What to do about it well you can ask for a new barrel and redo but how much time will that take? or you can compromise .The muzzle end is more imporant than the chamber .inform the coater of your unhappiness with his work ask him if he wants to see the damage . Cut the bad portion off recrown and lightly polish chamber inform the coater what you intend to do . Take the gun out and give it a try. I know neither of these choices are easy to take or what you may be willing to do . But somtimes it is best to put a bad time behind you and find another smith .
 
Brad,

Since it's the muzzle I'd just ask for a trim and re-crown. Just assure yourself that it is shortened enough to remove all of the damage.

Greg
 
good help is hard to find...

Hi Brad....whoever messed up the crown or chamber shuould have to fix it ,,,and not just botch it up agin....if you can shorten the bbl. a lil and still be legal (not under 18") I would allow that ....I cant imagine anyone sand blasting a 500$$ bbl and just treatin it like a joint of pipe!!! (trust me being an ex-piper!!!)....as far as the stock weight goes ...Greg is rite...dont sweat it on a hunting gun....and if a stock makes says 16 oz or 22 oz or 4 lbs that is usually without bedding or pillars etc.....if the painter/blaster is not a reputable gunsmith he should pay someone todo it to your satisfaction....Roger
 
barrel trouble

I would have it set back and see if that will do it. However there is s a good chance it won't. Don't forget that the interior of that barrel was finished ( depending on who did it to what extent, but that is another conversation) and now that finish has been eroded and probably quite a bit past where you can see it.
Please contact the fellow that did the finish, yourself, and give him a chance to make it right. Personally I think that means another barrel comprable to what you have and if you can use what you have again all the better.
 
From what you have said, I would say that smith #1 did what you wanted him to do. Since you sent it to smith #2, thereby contracting him on your
own, I don't see how it is the responsibility of smith #1. Smith # 2 should have protected the crown in his process.IF not, its his baby
 
I am giving the guy (smith 2) a chance to make it right, hence why I have not given a name. Mistakes happen just do what it takes to fix them. No the stock is not a real issue, but when you do pay extra trying to make a very light weight I do expect to get what I was told I am paying for. But its the barrel I care about not the stock. I sent Greg a few pictures of it I couldn't get them to post, its already a short rifle and at what I wanted I don't really think that I should have to change the gun to cover his mistake.
 
brad baryenbruc said:
I am giving the guy (smith 2) a chance to make it right, hence why I have not given a name. Mistakes happen just do what it takes to fix them. No the stock is not a real issue, but when you do pay extra trying to make a very light weight I do expect to get what I was told I am paying for. But its the barrel I care about not the stock. I sent Greg a few pictures of it I couldn't get them to post, its already a short rifle and at what I wanted I don't really think that I should have to change the gun to cover his mistake.
Click to expand...

Brad I'm with you....... even regarding the weight of the stock. I'd be pissed if the guy guarantees "under a lb" and comes in way over. I'd probably give it back.

I've gone through a number of gunsmith's to find one who's in touch with the real world.

unfortunately, I've never found a clean, clear way to get satisfaction from a hacker ...... ya' just pays your bill, wipes y'er brow and moves on! This I can guarantee you, I'll never justify garbage work. In this culture of falling standards, excessive tipping for mediocre work and "don't say anything damaging" it's hard to find recourse once you've been wronged.

This is why so many professional shooters list 'self' as the gunsmith. Due to situations like yours many people, myself included, are doing more of their own work. I've got two brand new custom rifles which just set on the rack, I'm not interested in shooting them because they're hacked. I bought a lathe and will someday go back through these "pro-built" guns and try to debug them.


I'd like to believe that the 'smiths who advertise on BRC will keep their clients happy.

And BTW I think you're doing the right thing by asking here "just what ARE the standards??? And should I just suck this up?"

al
 
One of the worst experiences I ever had with a gun was when I let a burgeoning gunsmith talk me into buying parts which he promised he could turn into a working gun in a matter of an hour or less. 8 months into that saga I finally sold the rifle for much less than I had in it and the clear knowledge given to the buyer that it wasn't right and likely never would be. The gunsmith made mistakes that even a rank amateur like myself could see right off the bat. But I ended up spending far more in ammo than a new gun already built would have cost. The promises of "I'll give you your money back if I can't make it work" turned into unreturned phone calls and angry tirades if I even asked a question. He attempted to hide everything he was doing from me even when he was standing right beside me. He would put his body between me and the gun, fiddle with it a bit and pronounce it perfect and leave it with me. Soon I would find that it wasn't right (again) and I'd start the process of asking him to try again all over. I tried to work things out but he wasn't interested in doing that. He didn't want me to sell the gun and he couldn't fix it. He just wanted to keep trying while shooting up all of my ammo to test his latest fix. I didn't mind that for a long time but eventually it was just obvious it wasn't going to work.

To this day this guy won't speak to me and avoids me if he sees me anywhere. Somewhere out there is a horribly built AK-47 that I'm sure someone has probably sold as a working gun at some flea market to an unsuspecting soul. It was worth the $100 I sold it for just for the parts that did work. I just feel bad that eventually someone was probably sold a bill of goods at some point.

Thank goodness the AK kit gun era is over because there are likely a lot of inferior guns on the market because of things like this. I'm sure there are lots of hacked guns of all kinds out there.

That's why I try to stick with people I know are good at what they do. There are some people I would trust a great deal in this area. But I keep an eye out for people wanting to learn gunsmithing at my expense too.
 
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Good Grief

What kind of idiots are you dealing with.

This "gunsmith" who did not properly mask off the criticle areas when he did the blasting should be made to pay for a new barrel, including the labor to install it.

The bottom line is he ruined your barrel........jackie
 
jackie schmidt said:
What kind of idiots are you dealing with.
This "gunsmith" who did not properly mask off the criticle areas when he did the blasting should be made to pay for a new barrel, including the labor to install it.
The bottom line is he ruined your barrel........jackie
Click to expand...

Bingo. -Al
 
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