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Posted: 3/20/2014 7:44:37 AM EDT
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Just a question and rant here:
So I dropped a new barrel off at my local gunsmith on March 6th. They told me it would take about a week, which surprised me even then. So a week went by and I called to see if it was ready and they said 3 more days. So, 3 days later called again and STILL not done. I was told "it'll be done in one more day." Called again, and got yet another "it'll be done tomorrow" answer. That day is today, so hopefully they have it done, if not I'll just have to take it elsewhere. I understand companies are very busy, this one included, but 14 days (if it's done today) for a pin/weld?!? The muzzle device is the Rainier Arms XTC which has a whole pre-drilled just for this reason. I've never had this done before, but talking with my brother who is a welder and AR fanatic says he could have had it done in about an hour. My question to you guys is, is this what to expect for certain gunsmithing jobs? What have you guys experienced? I'm don't want to be mad and disappointed if this is the "norm" for a pin and weld job. I love this shop, hence why there is no names involved, and hope they are just extremely busy, but, come on now. They didn't have to do and chopping, cutting, re-threading...they got a 14.5 barrel and muzzle brake. So, is this me just being an a-hole, or crappy business? Look forward to hear from you guys! Stay Safe! - firemandan |
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How much did he charge you? Must be a busy shop or there are more interesting projects ahead of him.
And it takes just a little more than just welding. There is some set up time and mill work involved. Imagine how pissed you would be if the muzzle device was not perfectly clocked before being pinned? Or they are just assholes. |
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Quoted:
How much did he charge you? Must be a busy shop or there are more interesting projects ahead of him. And it takes just a little more than just welding. There is some set up time and mill work involved. Imagine how pissed you would be if the muzzle device was not perfectly clocked before being pinned? Or they are just assholes. They only charged me like $30. But, your right, I would think after this long I should barely be able to notice the weld. I'll post some pics when I get it. I'll be very pissed if it's not positioned right and looks like shit, that's for sure. They are a small operation and a GREAT shop, so that's why I'm not raising hell. I just wanted to hear some other input. Thanks for the comment! |
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From my experience, depending on the "shop" jobs are put into the system in the order they are received. Easy jobs do not get to "line jump" just because its an hour job. Since they told you a week, I would expect it to take a week (+/- a couple of days). If you just have to have this shop do the work, there is nothing you can do but wait (they "may" knock off a few $$ for the hassle). If you are still waiting you can pull the job and wait while some one else does the work for you.
Just my .02 rant 1/10 |
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Quoted:
From my experience, depending on the "shop" jobs are put into the system in the order they are received. Easy jobs do not get to "line jump" just because its an hour job. Since they told you a week, I would expect it to take a week (+/- a couple of days). If you just have to have this shop do the work, there is nothing you can do but wait (they "may" knock off a few $$ for the hassle). If you are still waiting you can pull the job and wait while some one else does the work for you. Just my .02 rant 1/10 I hear ya, if I DO I fact get it today, I'm going to ask for a discount for all the un-met due dates. Off subject, saw the fire helmet and assume your a FF. Stay safe out there and thanks for the comment! -firemandan |
| It took 2 weeks to get mine back from my LGS for a pin job. It was worth it though. I can't imagine it being any better. They did tell me they were backed up with work when I dropped it off. If its a major busy store I wouldn't be mad at all. If they went over their projected time then likely they ran into a few hiccups but took the time to do things right instead of just blowing through putting out crappy work. |
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There's a good chance that they don't have a welder there at the shop, that one of the employees has a brother or friend who agrees to come in and do the welding. He probably waits for them to have a few to do at once since he most likely works for store credit rather than cash.
That could explain the wait at least. 
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I sent mine to ADCO and came back in 4 days.  This is a hard concept for arfcommers to figure out. There is no need to find a place that can do it, get over charged, have to drive both ways, accept delays, and have undesired results. All you need to do is package it, print a label, and off it goes. Just pad the end of the box well. Barrels tend to poke out of boxes. I pin/weld my own, but Adco has threaded a lot of stuff for me. |
So a little update. I stopped in today to pick my barrell up and it's nowhere to be found. I guess their gunsmith was at a gun show and they couldn't get ahold of him. This is beyond bullshit now. Either they sold it, someone stole it, or just totally screwed the job up and don't want to tell me. It's a small shop and rather busy, but not that damn busy. Calling the owner tomorrow.  We'll see how that goes. So more updates to come!! Thanks for all the comments!
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Quoted:
This is a hard concept for arfcommers to figure out. There is no need to find a place that can do it, get over charged, have to drive both ways, accept delays, and have undesired results. All you need to do is package it, print a label, and off it goes. Just pad the end of the box well. Barrels tend to poke out of boxes. I pin/weld my own, but Adco has threaded a lot of stuff for me. Quoted:
Quoted:
I sent mine to ADCO and came back in 4 days. This is a hard concept for arfcommers to figure out. There is no need to find a place that can do it, get over charged, have to drive both ways, accept delays, and have undesired results. All you need to do is package it, print a label, and off it goes. Just pad the end of the box well. Barrels tend to poke out of boxes. I pin/weld my own, but Adco has threaded a lot of stuff for me. Although to any techs, mechs, engineers, etc its an easy job with proper tools, it is a specialized enuff concept thatd make me prefer to just send it out somewhere proven if yer not gonna do it yerself. Anyways, get that thing back asap, thats some serious bullsh@t, sounds like it is damaged, even if they give it to u complete man inspect the hell out of it bcuz now theyre trying to fix whatever they jacked up. I see people all too often committing to shit they are nowhere near capable of man, pretty frustrating, and im not even the customer. |
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I would call the owner. Tell him the whole story. Then you say very respectfully "if my barrel is not back in my possession within the next day I will report it stolen"
Tell him how serious this is to you and you are left with no other choice. This is why these "mom and pop" shops can't compete anymore. Halfass employees that are not even close to being qualified. Most probably don't even have a HS diploma. Then when you get your barrel back (if you do) you tell everybody you come across how shity they did you. I supported my local gunshop until a similar incident happend. (They tried to give me a dpms barrel to replace my DD chf they "lost") Needless to say my DD was back in my hands the next day when the investigators showed up. |
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Quoted:
I would call the owner. Tell him the whole story. Then you say very respectfully "if my barrel is not back in my possession within the next day I will report it stolen" Tell him how serious this is to you and you are left with no other choice. This is why these "mom and pop" shops can't compete anymore. Halfass employees that are not even close to being qualified. Most probably don't even have a HS diploma. Then when you get your barrel back (if you do) you tell everybody you come across how shity they did you. I supported my local gunshop until a similar incident happend. (They tried to give me a dpms barrel to replace my DD chf they "lost") Needless to say my DD was back in my hands the next day when the investigators showed up. Yulp, something along those lines. I mean at this point id either want my stuff back untouched, or replacement brand new same or better. |
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Steve at ADCO did one for me in about 10 minutes.
If your work request contains the word "barrel", "build" or "suppressor", don't even think twice, just send it to ADCO. Now if you ask him for a good steakhouse, that's a different matter, but when it comes to ARs, I trust them completely. |
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My guy will do it while I wait in front room even if he has other projects since thats a quick job. Now if I wanted him to cerakote then it would be a week, and your guy sounds like a crappy gunsmith like the first guys I used which took 2 weeks to install sights on my Glock. So happy I found my current gunsmith. ETA: My guy has a very small garage shop, but he does get a lot of business. |
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So.....finally after another 3 weeks I have my barrel on my AR and very pleased! With the looks and it's seems to have a little less recoil, and accuracy. Not so happy with the shop. Long story short...I left for vacation and stopped in to pick up my upper. Turns out it wasn't mine and my barrel is gone. About 2 days later they found it, but didn't have the gas block,so they replaced it with another. I was told p, once again, it'll take 2-3 days. Called last Tuesday, not done. They apparently had more important thing to do than make it a priority to get my barrel done and installed. So he said it'll be done Friday. So, I didn't bother calling Friday and stopped in on Saturday and would you believe it! It was DONE! So, all in all about 5-6 weeks for a pin and weld. Defiantly going elsewhere for gunsmithing work! Thanks for all the support, comments, and advice. ADCO sounds like a good option next time. I'll post some pics for you guys to see. Barrel is 14.5 Chrome Lined 1:7 twist by RedEx.
Thanks fellas! Before: 
After: 
Weld: 
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I've done two myself. The hardest part is having the right equipment. Took me a half hour, mostly drilling the muzzle device and dimpling the barrel threads. The weld takes a second.
First one i did i got all the info from a member here, can't remember who. It worked perfectly and came out 100x's better than i thought possible. 2nd one, well, i wasn't as careful. Still fine, but not pretty. Yours came out great, but no way in hell should you have to put up with that type of crap. |
| Better than my LGS, I brought a barrel in for them to cut and threw and they tried making me sign a waiver stating that they're not responsible for any damages if they fuck it up and that they couldnt be held responsible for replacing it if they fucked it up... i told the guy to get fucked. He tried telling me all places do that. Bullshit |
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