Gentlemen:

I just received a custom project back from the metalsmith and I have some concerns about the work and could use a second opinion.

The rifle in question is a Martini Cadet in a small capacity centerfire wildcat. Here are my issues:

[1] The straight cylinder portion of the 22" barrel at the breech is 2.7" long. In my opinion, that is way too long, especially for a Martini and a .22 Jet based wildcat [the muzzle dia. is .640"]. The straight cylindrical portion is so long it just does not look proportional to the small action and the rest of the rifle. The metalsmith who rebarreled the rifle is a well known artisan and I just can't figure why he lft the straight cylinder so damn long---2 3/4" when it should have been no more than an inch.

[2] The second issue is this: the barrel has two Talley bases affixed to it. On the rear base, which sits on the straight cylinder portion of the barrel [the overly long portion I just complained about], there is a snug fit [no gap] between the radius on the underside of the Talley base and the top of the barrel. However, regarding the front Talley base, there is a significant gap [about .020-.025"] between the radius on the underside of the base and the top of the barrel itself. Now granted, where the base is attached, the barrel is tapering with a slight inside radius from the straight cylinder portion. On the other hand, I paid $1800.00 to have this Martini worked over [rebarreled with a barrel I furnished, scope mounts, handle bent, barrel band and front sight]. For that price, it seems to me that there should be no gap between the radius on the underside of the Talley base and the corresponding radius on the top of the barrel.

Am I being too picky here? I don't think so. Every time I pick up the rifle, the first thing I am drawn to is that damn gap on the front base and that 3" long straight cylinder at the breech. I am not happy about this. What say you?


Jordan

I think you have answered your own question. It’s your rifle, you paid for the work...and you don’t sound as though you’re real pleased with the finished product.

I would call the guy up and explain the problems you want fixed and see what he says.

Maybe your smith thinks the barrel contour looks good. And it might, to him, but it's not his rifle.

As far as the gap goes on the front base, very tacky work. If the guy is a precision machinist and knows what he's doing there should be NO gap. The base contour should match the barrel contour.

For 1800 bucks I'd definately be talkin' to him

I am wondering why you haven't talked to him already. Sounding off here does you no good, try to get some satifaction from him.

quote:

On the other hand, I paid $1800.00 to have this Martini worked over [rebarreled with a barrel I furnished, scope mounts, handle bent, barrel band and front sight]. For that price, it seems to me that there should be no gap between the radius on the underside of the Talley base and the corresponding radius on the top of the barrel.

Did you inform your smith of what the final dimensions of the barrel were to be before he started work?

For the amount of money you spent, plus furnishing the barrel, etc., I believe you are entitled to have it done to your satisfaction, as long as he knew what you wanted before he started work!

This is another example of 'smith and customer not having a very clear understanding of the expectations surrounding the finished product. I see this happening often with friends that are "gunsmiths" (some are very good, some are shadetree bubbas). Not having a firm dollar figure for the complete job also often leads to problems.
The 'smith or artist and the customer need to have a very clear understanding of what is expected and what can be done.
The gap under the front sight is shoddy workmanship, IMO.

I doubt if you will get the sight reworked to your satisfaction, especially since it is probably already blued. But I hope that it works out for you and for the person that did the work.

1800 bucks for the work you mentioned seems WAY WAY too much money, even if it were done to your liking.

quote:

Originally posted by b beyer:
1800 bucks for the work you mentioned seems WAY WAY too much money, even if it were done to your liking.

You are correct. The price was way too high. Unfortunately, I did not specify a price before the work was started. Actually, I tried to pin him down on a price down and was told that because the work was so specialized, it was difficult to put a price quote on it. Retrospectively, this was merely a pretext to allow for an exorbitant price. I got ripped off.

The 'smith has agreed to let me return the rifle and he will move the inside radius on the barrel rear ward so the straight cylinder is only one inch long. He also said he would redo the Talley base and conceded there should not be a gap between barrel and base.


Jordan

Just wondering if you specified that you wanted 1" of cylinder when you had him barrel it. 2 to 3" of cylinder length doesn't seem excessive to me. If the barrel is fitting into an inletted stock blank, I'll cut the cylinder length to where it fits the best in the stock. If you didn't specify what length cylinder you wanted, he can't read your mind. Although $1800 seems excessive for fitting a barrel to a Martini especially with you furnishing the barrel, odds and ends can add up, but I'd be hard pressed to find enough to add up to that amount. Sounds like he is going to work with you hopefully to your satisfaction, though. Personally, I'd rather barrel a bolt action any time as a falling block single shot. There is a lot more work in barreling a falling block in fitting sight bases, cutting extractor slots, etc than there is in barreling a bolt action.

Usually before I start machining parts for a custom barreled action, I do a set of drawings and share them with the customer. From the metalsmiths point of view, it's hard to manufacture a project that's in your customer's mind. It's important to get on the same page and have an understanding with your customer. I don't think that happened in this case, and because the metalsmith is the professional here, he should have known better. He usually has had problems with customers in the past over this issue.

I have a computer aided design program (CAD) that has save my a** many a time. If I've done work for you, you've seen one of my drawing packages.

I'm not sure what the solution is in this case, not being there from the start and not knowing what was agreed to by either party. I think that $1,800 is not out of line for this kind of project. I do think the customer should get what he wanted because he is an important part of creating future work for the metalsmith.

Jordan,
Did you supply the smith a straight or tapered blank? That could be the root of the issue on why, as a "decent" gunny doesn't HAVE to make judgements on what the customer asks for, he just does what the customer asks.

In fact, this fella could have had one too many people complain that he changed their barrel profile, ruining their project. Myself, unless it was SPECIALLY asked for, I don't change anything about a customers contoured/tapered barrel outside threading, chambering, crowning.

So, if he was supplied with a contoured/tapered blank, and you didn't tell him to cut it off, it's actually a good thing that he didn't recontour your barrel. So, with a comminication breakdown, at least the taper can be trimmed, rather than a new barrel.

The base was a complete miss on the smith's part, period

jeffe