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why does everybody only show the closed bolt when they show a bolt handle job. Why not take a few photos and show the whole damn job?

quote:

Originally posted by lindy2:
why does everybody only show the closed bolt when they show a bolt handle job. Why not take a few photos and show the whole damn job?

Because they couldn't get a good clean weld on the underside.

he he he he he

Care to share any other details?

Is that $350 your cost, or your price? (or both?!)

Maybe someone really pissed him off.

I would have charged more than that ! You won't catch me giving work away.

I didn't take a pic of the underside; it was fine;
I didn't think you cared; it wasn't yours.
I did the job, and it cost a total of $350 but I didn't charge nearly that much. It's a long story.

quote:

I did the job, and it cost a total of $350 but I didn't charge nearly that much. It's a long story.

Sounds like some of my jobs!

quote:

Originally posted by dpcd:
I didn't take a pic of the underside; it was fine;
I didn't think you cared; it wasn't yours.
I did the job, and it cost a total of $350 but I didn't charge nearly that much. It's a long story.

Peanut Galleries are just MADDENING, aint they dpcd ?

he he he

quote:

Originally posted by speerchucker30x378:

quote:

Originally posted by lindy2:
why does everybody only show the closed bolt when they show a bolt handle job. Why not take a few photos and show the whole damn job?

Because they couldn't get a good clean weld on the underside.
he he he he he

DITTO.

I'm gonna guess it cost that because of new tools/equipment purchased to do it.
That's ok if so. I've got some pricey projects too. The next one will be cheap.

Here is the short story; I accidentally threw the first bolt handle away with some packing material. $135. Order another handle: $135. Go to weld it and find that my Argon gauge sprung a leak: $40. Weld on the handle: $65. Looks like the total is really 375 and the whole day didn't go well, mostly due to my mistakes.
And I assure the peanut gallery that the underside was as clean as the top.
The sole reason for this thread is to show, with the usual lame attempt at humor, that sometimes, projects do not go as planned. That is the only intent of it.

I know your pain. I once threw away a customer's Marlin 1894 by mistake...I don't want or talk about it.

quote:

Originally posted by Toomany Tools:
I know your pain. I once threw away a customers Marlin 1894 by mistake...I don't want or talk about it.

Once a number of years ago, in the 1990's, I get this phone call from USRA, yes Winchester.

Seems they had a customer ship in a pre 64 M70 for work. The customer had removed the bolt and it was wrapped up in the packing.

Well the factory unwrapped the gun, tossed the box and packing into the shreder, rattle, rattle, crunch, they found what was left of the bolt assembly and what was left of the shreder.

Short story was I sold a new reproduction $ 300 pre 64 Model 70 bolt assembly to USRA, and they had to buy a new shreder.

Sometimes things simply are not that simple, and Murphy is always looking over your shoulder for that one time for you to mess up for 5 seconds.


Jim Wisner

quote:

Murphy is always looking over your shoulder

true true true

LOL
Everyone who's been working for any length of time has a cluster-fuck story.

I was working in another shop with two other gunsmiths about 30 years ago and one of the other guys came up to me with a model 12 Winchester that he had been working on. He informed me that the thing wouldn't extract shells after firing. We went through the checklist for the model 12 and when I asked him about polishing the chamber he said he had done it three times to 600 WD. I finally asked him if he had remembered to polish the chamber from the muzzle end with the action on so that the header ring would be polished to the same dimensions. His eyes got about the size of fry pans and after checking, we found that the root problem was a slight bulge in the chamber, compounded with enough polishing to make the header ring .045 inch smaller in diameter than the chamber. The header ring had become nothing more than a cartridge anchor. Being a crafty little herring muncher, I suggested that he strip the barrel, set it up in the steady rest and over cut the chamber another .010 inch. I would get on the other machine with the tool post grinder and cut a false chamber .030 inch thick like a choke tube and we would soft solder it in. The other guy would be getting the bluing tanks fired up and by the time we were done, no one would be the wiser. That is exactly what we did and the owner of that shotgun is still shooting trap with it today.

I feel better now; my hose up wasn't nearly as bad as throwing a rifle away (about which we shall not speak) , or even the Model 12 thing.

you still have a chance to top that...

Rich

quote:

Originally posted by dpcd:
I feel better now; my hose up wasn't nearly as bad as throwing a rifle away (about which we shall not speak) , or even the Model 12 thing.

You're young dpcd, wait for it ! ! ! ! !

Like most gunsmiths, I make brakes to .224 caliber and then drilled them out to the caliber size as I need them. I have a habit of caliber drilling them first, before I drill, counter bore and thread. Then when I cut the tapers to match the barrel, I recheck the caliber size to make sure I have the correct caliber for that gun before the matching taper is cut. After I get them back from carbourizing and I'm ready to screw them on I recheck them again. When I finally turn them over to the customer I make sure that I check them in front of the customer with a digital micrometer and show him to verify the size. It's a habit. Like shoulder checking before you change lanes.

Well, we had a bunch of coconuts in town (sort of self taught gun plumbers) who decided that they were going to get into the muzzle brake business. Not so long after, a customer brought in one of these brakes that he had to retrieve about 80 yards from his bench. He suspected bad heat treatment in the barrel but closer examination reviled that the brake was 22 caliber, sort of and the bullet had ripped off the brake on it's way through. Some months later yet another showed up at my doorstep with a confuzzled customer. I think it took a couple of years before I stopped hearing stories of shot off brakes. I guess it took them a while to get in the habit of double checking their hole sizes. Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on your veiw point, they went out of business and that was the end of my entertainment package.

I haven't blown one off yet. Knock-on-wood !

quote:

OH MY. That certainly didn't go quite as planned !

Very true some times

Brownells; the pre-checkered ones. I can't checker metal.

quote:

Originally posted by Duane Wiebe (CG&R):
Just for giggles....Who is charging $135.00 for a bolt handle only

I charge $250 to book the gun in and out, make the handle, weld it on and polish to a mirror finish. If people want checkering, I tell them to go to Greggs Distributors or Acklands and buy a file, because I charge $100 per hour for idiot work. I did checker one about 4 years ago, just to see if I could still do it. Turns out that I still could. It was very purdy, I charged a lot and I still lost money on the job.

My expenses excluding wages are $3000 per month. I like to see wages at $2000 to $3000 per month. You can do the math yourself I assume. Some months its beans. Some months it's beans and wieners.

When I had access to a CNC lathe, I made a hundred Oberndorf-style handles. Cost me about four bucks apiece. I ended up charging about 125.00 total for installation on a Mauser. I am no longer accepting any work so what I charged doesn't mean much and shouldn't be taken as an indicator of what shops may be or should be charging now. Regards, Bill.

Hell Billy. I wish you hadn't added the last part. I was going to start sending you all of the cheapskates that I get in here. LOL

I send Murry Charlton in Brentwood Bay all of the cheap-ass pistol shooters that I see. He must be getting pretty sick of guys that call him, wanting to convert their prohibs to restricted for $50. I manage a small smile, every time I send one of those guys his way. I make a point of never going north of Cordova Bay when I go to the island now days. he he

quote:

My expenses excluding wages are $3000 per month. I like to see wages at $2000 to $3000 per month. You can do the math yourself I assume. Some months its beans. Some months it's beans and wieners.

It is all about how many billable hours one has.

There is one good way for everything to go to pot.

Bid the job too cheap. Kenny