I sent my Mauser action and chrome-moly barrel blank to a 'smith for work.

The barrel has the turning flange left on from the maker, to facilitate putting it in a lathe.
The contour for the barrel is already shaped.

I am asking the 'smith to cut threads on the shank, chamber it, cut a recess muzzle crown, and attach it to the receiver (and check the headspace).

Everything is pretty standard about this (i.e. no titanium action, no special alloys).

He wants to square the action and bolt as part of the job (which he feels needs to be done). It's a new action.

He wants $300 for the work.
Seems just a tad high to me. What do you all think?

Thanks,
Garrett

quote:

Originally posted by N. Garrett:
I sent my Mauser action and chrome-moly barrel blank to a 'smith for work.

The barrel has the turning flange left on from the maker, to facilitate putting it in a lathe.
The contour for the barrel is already shaped.

I am asking the 'smith to cut threads on the shank, chamber it, cut a recess muzzle crown, and attach it to the receiver (and check the headspace).

Everything is pretty standard about this (i.e. no titanium action, no special alloys).

He wants to square the action and bolt as part of the job (which he feels needs to be done). It's a new action.

He wants $300 for the work.
Seems just a tad high to me. What do you all think?

Thanks,
Garrett

When Rebarreling a rifle, it's always a good idea to start by making sure that the receiver and bolt are fairly true. Depending on the action this may or may not require much work. Uusually no more than squaring the receiver face, the "C" ring and lapping the bolt lugs so that they bear evenly.

If your gunsmith does quality work, then $300.00 doesn't seem too out of place these days. I'm sure you can find it cheaper, but cheap isn't always good.

Depends on who the 'smith is.

Locally, the most expensive 'smith who is not a "big name" nationally will charge you a flat $125.00 to thread, chamber, headspace, and crown a barrel, whether chrome-moly or stainless. All this assumes he already owns a reamer for the chamber you want cut.

Obviously bluing, if requested, will be a separate fee.

"Blue-printing" (the truing work) will depend entirely on what he finds when he commences the process...and therefore, how much he has to do.

Squaring the action face is usually only a part of a blueprinting job...if the bolt face also needs squaring, or the lug recesses need squaring or lapping, or any one of a half-dozen ther things need doing, then $300 is not at all necessarily out of line in this neck of the woods.

Do you have a brownells catalog ? they have a page for doing gunnsmith work all across the country according to the standard wage for the area , their catalog is worth having for just such a Question as you have presented , Chamber and thread to action=$150./250 Head space is done when attaching and chambering,Crowning $35./95.New or old action it should be checked ans faced if necessary He's doing a professional Job so it seems .Services per man Hr.$40./80 Man & machine Hr. $50./95 Call a machine shop close to you and ask what their Hourly cost is and that is what the smith is charging for his machine work , Threading and chambering is not a snap of the fingers job $ 300 seems very fair

I can go to the store here and buy a new Remington 700 ADL synthetic in .30-06 for #385 plus sales tax......

It makes that bit of custom work look expensive......right?

Buy your own lathe and tools and reamers and muzzle tools and all the fixins to do this work.....you'll discover whay custom guns are expensive.....
Pay the $300....it's not unfair at all.....

Whoa!

I was under the understanding that you didn't lap 98 Lugs of any sort. That they are heat treated.

Am I wrong?

Lugs on all centerfire rifles better be heat treated.

did some reasearch, don't let that gunsmith grind on those lugs!

D99 where did you get the idea that bolt lugs and actions should not be laped ? I have a set of lapping tools from Gunsmithing school , we had to make them as part of the training couse , I have personally checked every action I ever barreled and had poor fitting inside of lug contact , some were excellent ! some only had one lug contact , want a cracked lug or lost head space from battering ? unlaped actions is the way to get it !

$300 is not out of line, and blueprinting the action is mandatory for best accuracy.

Would you install new pistons in your car engine without first honing the cylinder walls? Of course not.

I get more accuracy out of my rifles than I can shoot.. I think too many guys think they have to spend all of this extra money on "all the works" in a rifle....Sure it can shoot better.. with a shooter that can shoot better than most of us...like a benchrest guy...

Most of my rifles I can get less than 3/4 inch groups or less at 100 yds, with handload developments....And I am talking hunting rifles.. not varmint rifles...varmint rifles I expect better from and usually handloads give me just that....

Locally I pay $175.00 to have a rifle barrel, threaded, chambered, and crowned and blued.....when I supply the barrel...which I usually get via PacNor...

As far as the smiths.... one is the last guy alive who worked under Parker Ackley.. altho he is in his 70s.....so that won't be an option much longer.. but he has a national reputation...Another gentleman that I use also has a lesser known national reputation...but his work is good enough for me by a long shot....also charges $175.00 for all the above when I supply the barrel.. whether it is stainless or blued...

I never understand it.. but if you order a barrel in stainless... it doesn't have to be blued... yet the job is usually a $100.00 cheaper... but when I order a barrel from PacNor...a stainless one is usually $20.00 higher than chrome moly... so I usually just rebarrel a rifle using stainless....

Funny tho.. I once called up one of the local smiths... when I lived in far away Minnesota... I asked the price for a rebarrel.. and I was quoted $800.00 signed sealed deliver..... I move here.. and contact the same guy and the price was $300.00.... I asked him what was the difference in price.... He told me if I was locally... It was $300.00.. if I was from another part of the country.. it was $800.00.... $500.00 extra and another 6 weeks wait.. to cater to his national reputation....

That would tink me off if I was far away.. being a local.. I had to laugh at the poetic justice...

If we all could add $500.00 to something we do.. just because someone somewhere else is willing to pay it.... well I guess we all would....

But consider what some people cough up for the Kenny Jarretts of the world....

cheers
seafire

quote:

Originally posted by onefunzr2:
$300 is not out of line, and blueprinting the action is mandatory for best accuracy.

Would you install new pistons in your car engine without first honing the cylinder walls? Of course not.

Best accuracy is shooting in the same hole every time. There are so many variables to getting best accuracy, and I am not sure that blueprinting an action that is already pretty close is going to get you even better accuracy unless every other variable to accuracy has been taken care of.