Henriksen reamers

S

switchbarrel

Registered Nurse
Does anybody have any contact info for Hugh Henriksen besides his shop number of (541) 535-2309? I ordered a .284 Shehane reamer from him last May. I did reach him at the beginning of February and was assured I would have it by the end of the month. Here we are at the end of March and still no reamer. Now, I can't even get an answering machine to cancel the order. I want to move on with my life and this project. Any help would be appreciated...PM an email or cell phone if you have it. Thank you.

-Rick
 
Send a fax.
I tried to call 2 times last week to order another reamer and the Fax picked up both times, I'm wondering if he's OK.
 
JerrySharrett said:
try hwhjls@netzero.net

Hugh stays busy and so is hard to contact.
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Too busy to fulfill an order that's nearly a YEAR old?

Too busy to return a phone call to a customer that's been patient as hell?

Too busy to keep his word that a product was supposed to ship more than a month ago?

Busy? More like BS!
 
Bill Ohio said:
Too busy to fulfill an order that's nearly a YEAR old?

Too busy to return a phone call to a customer that's been patient as hell?

Too busy to keep his word that a product was supposed to ship more than a month ago?

Busy? More like BS!
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Next time I'll be too busy to offer my help to you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You think you are the only person that orders stuff from benchrest providers. This ain't WalMart!!!!
 
email

Hi Jerry-

Thank you for the help, I appreciate it. I'm gonna give that email a try (as well as continue trying to call).

-Rick
 
Rick,

I can tell you that Hugh is a very nice fellow and produces an excellent product.

That said, it does take a long time to get product from him. Like many who make parts and items for our sport, I am sure that it is not his primary business. I would suspect that Hugh does the reamers and HS Gauges as a sideline.

If you need something in a hurry, then perhaps JGS or PT&G are better outlets. They do have much shorter lead times on their line of reamers and gauges.


I have had reamers on order from Hugh for over a year +. Now one thing I will say, his reamers cut a fine chamber and they are the exact dimensions that the print calls out. Alan Warner is a pretty picky sort of fellow when it comes to tooling and he recommends Hugh's products.


Take a 10 or 20 power magnifier and look at the cutting edges of reamers from the various manufacturers and see for yourself what you think about the finish in the product. You don't have to be a tool and die maker to make a judgment for yourself.

RGDS

Bob
 
Reamer

Hi Bob-

I'd heard that Hugh's reamers are one of the best out there, which is why I went with him. When I ordered the reamer, Hugh made it sound like it would be a month or so, I figured no problem. I thought the Krieger barrel was going to be the hold up in this project...it's been sittin' on my office floor for over 6 months now.

It kills me believing I could have been shooting this new setup for 6 months or so now had I gone with a PTG reamer - still not a bad reamer either. I really wanted the 7mm for the 1000 yd. Nats. last October. Now I won't even have it for the 600 yd. Nats. this month.

I've been patient, no hard feelings, it's just life is too short...time to cut bait and move on.

-Rick
 
switchbarrel said:
Hi Jerry-

Thank you for the help, I appreciate it. I'm gonna give that email a try (as well as continue trying to call).

-Rick
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Hugh is a very busy person and at times he is a one man operation. He does not use CNC, just a Cincinnatti #2.

He has a woman that does some of his finish honing but she lost a finger a while back in an accident.

I know for fact of two benchrest gun builders that send Hugh 10 to 30 reamers at a time to resharpen, plus all the new ones he grinds.

One thing he will not do though that some of the others will do is resharpen a reamer he did not make originally. Why? He has gotten into other reamers that the heat treat was bad and when he sharpened them they would not cut because of the bad heat treat.
 
Rick,

If you have the dimensions of the reamer you want, I would call JGS and order a reamer from them. They make a very good reamer and quality control is good. Delivery times are not bad either.

Just for grins, I would keep the reamer from Hugh on order. Having the best is never a problem.

I feel your pain when it comes to waiting for a product. I commissioned an AR10 match rifle years ago. Was told that it would take 6 mo to complete. I sent all the parts so that nothing had to be ordered. At 14 mo and many phone calls, the rifle finally arrived. It worked very well and accuracy was wonderful. But 14 mo is a bit much especially when you don't have to wait for parts, just labor.

That is what got me to working on my own rifles. It's not just the money but the lack of control over the time issue. Now, you just order bbls in advance and have them sitting on the shelf. When you need one chambered up and fitted, viola', you take care of that stuff yourself.

Best of luck with your project.

Bob
 
Waiting

Most of us in the real world of business thinks this is absolutly absurd to have to wait on something as simple as a reamer for over a year. But, since the backlog remains, there is ample evidence that those who do wait consider it worth the time.

I get reamers from Dave Kiff at Pacific tool. I can't say as I have ever had a bad one, and Dave gives me exactly what I want when requesting something out of the ordinary.

Sometimes we get into the mind think that just because something is difficult to obtain, it must be more valuable than one that is more readilly available. Benchrest seems to be permiated with this particular mindset.

If you believe that the only way to get the reamer that you really want is to wait a year, then by all means wait.

If you would rather get on with the buisness of shooting, then I feel safe in saying that any of the other reamer manufacturer's product will work just fine........jackie
 
There is the best, then there is the rest

jackie schmidt said:
Most of us in the real world of business thinks this is absolutly absurd to have to wait on something as simple as a reamer for over a year. But, since the backlog remains, there is ample evidence that those who do wait consider it worth the time.


other reamer manufacturer's product will work just fine........jackie
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As in many custon-build businesses there are producers that are only one man operations. Why? These unique people insist on the very best that they feel that only they can produce. For example, world class stockbuilder Terry Leonard. Does he even hire helpers to simply do some of the wood sanding? Nope.

Try to get an ultra top quality hunting rifle from a Dave Miller. Wait a year, sometimes years!! That is just how it is.

George Kelblys little gun shop beside the road has been building actions, complete rifles, fitting barrels, and making stocks for some 30 odd years. George's little shop chambers a few thousand benchrest barrels each year. Would he order his reamers from anyone but Hugh Henriksen? Not likely.

There are a few other reamer shops that provide reamers that will chamber winning barrels. But if you want the very very best of anything custom, sometimes you wait till it gets built.
 
JerrySharrett said:
George's little shop chambers a few thousand benchrest barrels each year. ----Pheew..!! now that's a busy man...is he a one man shop ?
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Interesting responses... I am a one shop....I am behind... I have people who have waited in excess of a year.. And no one really complains. Not that I am the greatest that ever lived,,, but there is one thing I am very good at, "I answer my phone, and I promply return my e-mails.." I owe that to my customers.. most phones calls are short in duration, and not an inconvienence.. The customer is happy that I spoke with them in person, and our relationship remains in tact...I recently had a reamer holder question..
I called Manson reamers, and Dave answered the phone..It doesn't get better than that...

Jerry
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JerrySharrett said:
As in many custon-build businesses there are producers that are only one man operations. Why? These unique people insist on the very best that they feel that only they can produce.
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Go ahead and defend the guy and his craftsmanship all you want. But for him to promise one thing -- a month -- and then to leave a paying customer hanging for almost TWELVE TIMES that long, is pure BS. If the guy was responsible, he'd tell his customers the truth, and then keep them informed as conditions changed.

Not much different than if you go to Morton's to get a top steak. If they tell you the wait is 15 minutes, and then it's an hour, well that's a problem. If your server doesn't bring your food for another hour after telling you it would be just a few minutes, that's adding insult to injury. In which case, if I was the restaurant manager, that customer is getting a free dinner, and half off the next one.

But maybe HH is your buddy, and you think he can do no wrong. Misleading and ignoring your customers IS wrong, even so. And rest assured I'm not fixin' to be one of your customers, whatever you might sell. Attitude is everything. )chill(
 
Rick
I called Hugh to get a 300 Ackley reamer made and he asked if I was in a hurry.I told him to take his time as I could wait a whole month even 5 weeks if need be.He asked me who told told you to call me as he was laughing his head off on the phone.He then said it would take a minimum of atleast 6 months on any reamer he had a blank for so I went elsewhere.I made his day with my I'm in no hurry call.
If time is an issue get it elsewhere and start shooting.
When you finaly do get the reamer from Hugh I would like to buy it from you.
Lynn aka Waterboy
 
Reamer

Hi Guys-

I wasn't trying to start anything, just looking for a little contact info. I've got no hard feelings, he does sound like a really nice guy on the phone. I just want to move on and go shooting.


Hi Lynn-

I've emailed and faxed now trying to find out about or cancel the order, I don't know if he'll get either. If it does show up, you're more than welcome to use it. I'll probably have two by then.

Lynn said:
Rick
If time is an issue get it elsewhere and start shooting.
When you finaly do get the reamer from Hugh I would like to buy it from you.
Lynn aka Waterboy
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-Rick
 
congratulations moderaters

it seems that it is not what bashing is done but if the one getting bashed is an advertier they get protected, if they are not an advertiser they can, like hendtiksen, its ok to bash them,,,really an injustice wilbur)chill()chill(
 
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I obviously don't know who told who what about when, but even from a distance one thing is clear.

In a market (for reamers for instance) there is price elasticity of demand. Hugh could raise his prices, he would get fewer orders, and the wait for his work would shorten. Or one can plan ahead, get in line and pay partly with the other currency; time.

Another way to look at this is that Hugh undervalues his work (and his time) and he could and should charge more.

Other reamer makers are available to us who's time price is lower. Unless and until the current administration discovers the reamer market and decides it needs regulation also, we all get to decide for ourselves what we are willing to pay in time and treasure. This is a good thing (while it lasts).
 
Henricksen reamers

From what I've learned Henricksen reamers are excellent but the wait is long. I've had reamers made by Manson in a very reasonable time and know that PTG has a reasonable response time as well. My gunsmith has been using Henricksen reamers for years and there is a reason. For my skills and shooting ability, I doubt I would ever be able to tell the difference but it matters to some. My gunsmith is a seasoned benchrest shooter, excellent gunsmith and has a preference for Henricksen; again there is a reason.

As mentioned by other posters, some guys are one man operations. For probably 98% of most projects, any of the other reamer makers will fit the bill. For the remaining 2%, they are willing to wait. Just lending a disinterested third party opinion.

Lou Baccino
 
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