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done the job in the first place, speaking from hindsight. I had a client show up a few weeks ago with a Remington 700 in .30-'06. He said he wanted me to rechamber it to AI and wanted a longer throat for seating his bullets out a little further. Well, not to get into a discussion on whether or not the AI chamber is even worth a damn, I tried to explain the procedure and why the barrel had to be set back for the new chamber. I told him I could do it but needed to have a dummy round available so I could determine the length of the new throat that he wanted. I had a hell of a time explaining to him why I wanted the dummys. It seems he ...."just wanted a longer throat". I finally got him to deliver a few dummys. I still had that uneasy feeling. It was a simple matter to rechamber the barrel but when it came to the throat, I used his dummy rounds. When the chambering was done and it came time to measure the throat, it turned out the standard reamer throat was only .008" shorter than his dummy rounds (I like to start with about .010" jump) but still about .003"-.004" jump, so I did not lengthen it. He came over to pick up the project and I explained the situation. He stated again "...I only wanted a longer throat." HUH? I then went into the procedure I prefer for fire forming his brass and I could see he had stars in his eyes again. When all was said and done and he walked out the door, all I could think was I should have turned down the job right at the git go. Have any of you guys experienced the same thing; wondered if you did the right thing by taking the job?

I recently talked with a nationally prominent gunmaker who has been at it since 1951. When asked for a few business pointers, he quickly replied, "The jobs you don't take are more important than the ones you do." I think he's right. Some jobs, either due to their complexity or the sorry state of the firearm concerned, can easily become an endless pit of unbillable labor and frustration. Some jobs just cannot be done satisfactorilly. And unfortunately, not all clients know what they want or are capable of serious handloading. (Please note this is a rarity; I enjoy my clients and keeping them happy.) Like my long experienced mentor, I've learned the hard way that it's better to refuse a job once in a while. I'd rather a client be upset with me for refusing a job than over a potentially expensive project that satisfies neither of us.
Roger

Jim I have a feeling this guy is gonna come back and wonder why his fired brass looks different than the unfired (AI).

An old timer once told me "Best money I ever made was on some of the jobs I didn't take."

If the person doesn't understand what he is talking about or is asking for something totally off the wall, i would not accept the work. Its like someone asking a muffler shop to install a F250 catback on his ford escort.