Looking for any contacts with Swift Blackburn to correct their CNC programs of their standard depth no.9 and no.9F bottom metal, unsure about the other bottom metals. Their bottom metal is very good, the hinge is tight and meets the latch and closes perfectly. The issue right now is the deep groves around the trigger bow and the floor plate release as can be seen on the photos. The other minor marks can be polished out.

Every Blackburn bottom metal I have ever had, either from Ted or Swift had those machining marks. A few hours drafting and re-writing the toolpaths would fix that but the last time I checked I couldn't even get product from them, let alone asking them to improve things. Fun times with a file and Emory paper.

Another member here referred me to ACGG member Bruce Farman of Bremerton , WA. Bruce did a commendable job of polishing a couple of Swift Blackburn bottom metals for me at $130.00 apiece or about $65.00 @hour. Still less expensive then what SunnyHill quoted me for one of their similar pre-polished bottom metals.
4WD

My blackburn didn't have a ridge like that at the release lever.
These little blocks (URL is below) remove material fast, give great control and the grit is super sharp and lasts a long time. Short strokes recommended.
I just bought another one for the extra pads here.


FLEX BLOCK

Yeah, I don't see the problem. Nothing is perfect; everything on earth requires modification by me.

Compalining about the finish will be like complaiing to a stump. A friend did so and was told "Take it or leave it"

Realistically, the price of bottom metal is about 50% of reasonably profitable. Putting in an hour or so to finish them up is a pretty small price to pay

quote:

Originally posted by Duane Wiebe (CG&R):
Compalining about the finish will be like complaiing to a stump. A friend did so and was told "Take it or leave it"

Realistically, the price of bottom metal is about 50% of reasonably profitable. Putting in an hour or so to finish them up is a pretty small price to pay

As I remember it, the bottom metal I got from you was pretty much perfect right out of the box.

How much did the Swift bottom metal cost?

quote:

Originally posted by dpcd:
Nothing is perfect; everything on earth requires modification by me.

Ain't that the truth!

OK,
for that price you get out your files and stones and quit complaining.

quote:

Originally posted by hogfarmer:

quote:

Originally posted by Duane Wiebe (CG&R):
Compalining about the finish will be like complaiing to a stump. A friend did so and was told "Take it or leave it"

Realistically, the price of bottom metal is about 50% of reasonably profitable. Putting in an hour or so to finish them up is a pretty small price to pay

As I remember it, the bottom metal I got from you was pretty much perfect right out of the box.

I did put extra effort into the finish, Just the German in me, but didn't help the bottom line

Roger,

Can you post a straight on profile photo of trigger guard bow? It looks like the step on the bow that Swift left you could be 20 - 30 thous. Is that about the depth of it?

It ain't that much, .005 to .010 at the most, comes off easily with a file and some elbow grease

quote:

Originally posted by Bitterroot:
OK,
for that price you get out your files and stones and quit complaining.

"get out your files and stones"?,,, those are always within reach!

They have none available, after about 5 calls I talked to the right guy and got on the list, supposedly in a few weeks for the standard and some 375 late this spring. Not holding my breath

I'm not denying the overall quality of the bottom metal and that these issues can be addressed by the consumer through filing and polishing, however the program needs to be recalibrated so that the bottom metal isn't left with the deep marks left over during the milling process. Hence my original question regarding finding a direct contact with swift blackburn so they can correct their programs. As far as pricing is concerned that's up to them as the seller, they could raise the price and we'd still buy them because they are some of the best on the market. However just because they are the best doesn't mean that they shouldn't have a good quality control with their products. This bottom metal was purchased in November 2021 and I had received it in late 2022 and as recently as 2023, all with the same model, the No.9. As a side note, shipping from America to Australia has been bloody awful taking weeks to receive anything, last package took 6 weeks as a priority pay. Meanwhile shipping to America from Australia took about 5 days to be delivered door to door. I have provided more photos below to further the issues with some of their new inventory.



The left most bottom metal is a standard magnum manufactured by Ted Blackburn in the 90's, the middle bottom is a colab between Blackburn and Vardy for a BRNO Model 1 .22 Rifle in 90's these were also made for Winchester Model 52 rimfire rifles, the right bottom metal is the current swift blackburn bottom metal that's been discussed in this thread.



Top is the current swift blackburn bottom metal, middle is the Blackburn BRNO Rim rifle and the bottom is Ted Blackburn's standard magnum bottom metal from the 90's

You are right of course, but if we can't even get them to make more, we certainly won't get them to make them better.

I'm pretty familiar with the stiching set up. I can see it's an issue of a slight change of fixture angle to lower the front of the guard slightly.

The manaement at Swift seems pretty aloof. I think you're beating a dead horse

If the 90's version shown looked like that when received, you paid Ted $200 extra to polish it. I have had several of both the original Blackburn and Swift units. They are all pretty similar although some models from both are better than others in regard to the step. The only real difference is on Ted's, the latch was in place prior to contouring.