I have a rem 700 that I am thinking of rebarreling to something like a 338-06. Any idea what this would cost?

I would charge $185 labor, the price of the barrel is extra and bluing if needed.

email me if interested.

Jim

Does that include lapping lugs, squaring bolt face, receiver face and installing a heavier recoil lug? Or, precision crown and special throat?

My smith in Alaska charges me $280 to rebarrel. This includes fitting and chambering, crowning and squaring the action. Add another $40 for a first class trigger job.
These prices are on actions such as Rugers, Win 70, and Rem 700's

FWIW, I charge $230 labor for: squaring the receiver face, lapping the lugs, threading, chambering, crowning, marking the barrel and rebluing. Shipping, bluprinting, opening boltface and extractor cuts are done at additional charges.

what do these prices work out to be on an hourly basis? Or, to put it another way, how long does it take to do a full barrel install?

That depends on how carefully it is done. With all the blueprinting of the action, marking of the barrel, polishing or glass-beading the barrel (they don't normally come from the maker already polished or surface finished in any way), threading, chambering, crowning, etc., I personally am looking at just a couple of jobs a day, if I stick at it and don't get interrupted.

I think with careful blue-printing of the action anything under $300 is a charitable gift. Not only is time involved, but the machinery, power, and tools aren't free either. Their cost must be amortized if the 'smith is to stay in business. (Which he must do, to stand behind his work.)

If a guy wants the work done at the best possible price, then he probably ought to keep his eyes open and find a good used lathe, hie himself to the local Junior College and learn to operate it. Then with some experience and reading, and keeping his brain in gear before starting every effort, he can begin doing his own. It'll take time to learn to do it well (but it can be done).

so you are saying that its about $600/8 or about $75.00 per hour?

A) I am an amateur gunsmith.
I have cut the threads and chambers on 19 rifles over the last 5 years.
I get the barrel dialed in, shoulder cut, thread relief cut, breech cut, all the first evening.
I get the threads cut the second evening.
I cut the chamber and head space the third evening.
I have a 12x36 Atlas lathe and a 13x36 Clausing lathe.
I work in the headstock 4 jaw and spider half the time and the steady rest the other half the time.
I have sometimes just put the muzzle in the 3 jaw and the live center in the muzzle. Then I cut the seat for the steady rest if the outside is not concentric.
When cutting threads, I advance the compound ~ .003" per pass. I get some tearing.
When cutting the chamber, I advance the tailstock ram ~.050" before pulling out the reamer, cleaning off the chips, and putting more Sulfured cutting oil on the reamer.

B) My brother is an amateur gunsmith. He has cut threads and chambers on 12 rifles in the last 10 years.
He advances the compound .001" per pass when cutting threads.
He has a 13x40 Jet lathe.
He always works in the 4 jaw and spider on the headstock with a plastic bonnet over the chuck so he gets no cutting on on the jaw teeth that could cause slippage.
He dials in the breech on the grooves, hold the barrel in a Copper wire gimbal, and dials in the muzzle in the spider on the grooves.
He never has any tearing, and his work looks like jewelry.
He takes all week to chamber a rifle.


C) Randy Ketchum is a real gunsmith.
He can cut the threads in 1/2 hour.
He can cut the chamber in 1/2 hour.
He has an elaborate reamer sharpening fixture.
His work always looks great.
He says that he maintains the high speed by turning the carriage hand wheel with one hand while turning the tool post hand wheel with the other.
His lathe is 16" feet long, but he only uses 8' of it. He always works in the steady rest, because the barrels are not long enough to reach a spider.
He tool post grinds a spud and dials in the bore to be concentric with the lathe near the chamber, and assumes the rest of the barrel is bent.
10 years ago he wanted $40 for the threads and $40 for the chamber.
He also charges for reamer rental.

tnekkcc,
You confused me. What are you saying? It doesn't sound like any of the 3 are what I would call a gunsmith.
Butch

quote:

Originally posted by 22WRF:
so you are saying that its about $600/8 or about $75.00 per hour?

No, I am not. I am saying that different 'smiths take differing amounts of time to do the same things, and that the more carefully they do it, often the longer it takes. Some of course are faster than others depending on their experience, their skills, their equipment, and the specifics of the rifle being worked on.

And, I am not basing two per day on an eight-hour day. Such a day, for me, is more like 12-14 hours, because I try my damnedest to do them perfectly...better than I would do them for myself. I TRY to never do two in one day. (And now that I am retired, none for paying customers, just for friends of long standing.)

Just putting a barrel on can easily be done on two rifles in 8 hours, but just threading, chambering, crowning & polishing a barrel are not what we are talking about...or at least I wasn't.