Husher of boomsticks
Joined:
May 2023
Posts:
825
EE: 0% (0)
CO, USA
Posted: 6/17/2026 4:46:45 PM EDT
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The short answer is, a lot! As you all know, we have struggled to keep up since, well….just about forever. We kept doing things to increase our production capacity, and those changes were effective, but the demand just always stayed ahead of it. Yeah, it’s a good problem to have, but it’s also stressful to be perpetually behind. We want to always have what people need, when they need it, and that’s really from a “yeah, we got you covered!” standpoint rather than profit driven. So this spring, we added not one, not two, but three more CNCs; a small 2 axis lathe, a small 3 axis VMC, and another, larger 4 axis sub spindle lathe, bringing our total to five CNC lathes and two VMCs. And we are adding an employee in July. We did go to 4 axis laser welding last fall, too, so that has helped tremendously (mostly saving my eyes! But yes, it’s way faster), and also switched from hand-sanding every part to using a vibratory tumbler in order to both increase production and to avoid raising prices via use of a more efficient deburring & finishing method. Unfortunately, between getting these machines dialed in and tooled up (they are new to us, but not new, so require some clean up, maintenance and adjustments that are just typical after transport anyway), making new fixtures & jaws for them and getting an employee trained, we will likely end up with below normal production for a little while, but over a few month’s time, we should be able to increase productivity significantly and ultimately end up somewhere on the order of 60-70% over what I was able to do running all manufacturing operations completely on my own. My hope is that by this time next year, we’ll have inventory on nearly every product, including prototypes I have just not had the bandwidth to get into production, such as Caoga for non-BMG .50 cal, as well as (hopefully) a .50 BMG model. R&D suffers when you can’t keep up with demand. Fortunately, our designs have been excellent performers and remain at the top of their respective classes even with the wave of novel 3d printed stuff hitting the market, but I still want to develop new things if for no other reason than making the same parts day after day, month after month, year after year gets boring. And no, we have no plans to go to additive manufacturing, both due to machine cost and for the fact that I'm a machinist at heart, and I'd rather find an entirely new product line to make than switch from cutting & welding to printing I’ll also try to have more engagement on social media, and aim to actually get some videos done. These are just things I have not had the time for. Wishing all of you a happy 250th anniversary Independence Day! 
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Suppress all the things!
Husher of boomsticks
Joined:
May 2023
Posts:
826
EE: 0% (0)
CO, USA
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Originally Posted By User55645: Been following you since you were working on cars and doing shady meetups with Mark Serbu. Glad to hear business is booming and wish you the best 👍🏻 That seems like a lifetime ago. Lol. I live a whole different life today, from single dad of a toddler turning wrenches for a living and scraping by to married father of four doin' pretty OK at 44. A lot can change in a decade! The little boy in that video is a teenager now (well, 12-1/2, but a stout 5'5" 135 lb middle school wrestler who already had his voice drop and is sporting a faint mustache). I was a good mechanic, and a lot of people were really unhappy that I closed that business down in 2019, but I was burnt out after 21 years, and I was always meant to create things anyway, not just fix what other people built. Still a gear head, but only wrench on our daily drivers and project cars now. Still have a lift in the shop, too, but have to move things around to actually work on a car with so much packed in here these days. I thought a 50x56 building would be all I could ever need, but we ended up adding a 20' storage container for product boxes, shipping supplies and other overflow stuff a couple years back, and this past year built a new 36x50 garage for both personal and business stuff. Somehow I've managed to keep reorganizing things in the main shop to find more space for new equipment, but I don't think I can do much more of that. We still have a little Swiss machine coming that I'm not sure where I'm gonna put, but it's pretty compact and only about 3,500 lbs, so I'll figure it out. |
Suppress all the things!
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Originally Posted By ECCO_Machine: My hope is that by this time next year, we’ll have inventory on nearly every product, including prototypes I have just not had the bandwidth to get into production, such as Caoga for non-BMG .50 cal, as well as (hopefully) a .50 BMG model. Definite tag for a BMG can; been wanting to pick one up for years. 
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Husher of boomsticks
Joined:
May 2023
Posts:
827
EE: 0% (0)
CO, USA
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Originally Posted By NAM: Definite tag for a BMG can; been wanting to pick one up for years. We picked up a Barrett 82A1 last winter in order to develop one that will function with that platform. Of course it will do fine for bolt actions. The plan is basically a scaled-up version of Accipiter in 17-4 to keep cost down, as long as we can keep it light enough for the Barrett to function. And it will be a modular mount like HUB, but larger, in the back of a (probably) 2.25x14" suppressor. What I haven't settled on yet is the front end. We'll try without a brake and see how recoil is on the AR-50, but most likely the front will be able to accept either a flat cap or a brake, the latter probably configured with a thin spanner notch jam nut to time it. I don't have a pricepoint yet, but I want to keep it under $1,500. |
Suppress all the things!
