Posted: 10/20/2007 2:23:25 PM EDT
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From LTW... Yes you heard right... we were going to make an "announcement" of sorts around the first of November but we’ve been beat to it in a few instances. The basics are that Lew (the "Bonitz" in Yost-Bonitz) bought some property in Montana and moved there in early July. This move is something he had been planning and as such Ted and I knew this would necessitate some changes at the shop. So in order to continue to do what there is apparently still allot of demand for and something we both truly love, Ted and I along with Steve Bailey have formed a new company called Heirloom Precision, LLC. The company is essentially an extension of what Ted and I have been doing here all along, building high end 1911s and Browning Hi-Powers... Heirloom Precision is basically the next step or evolution for us. As part of this evolution Ted and I will be limiting the focus of exactly what we do here to only include the things that are most time efficient and rewarding for us, which is to only offer the absolute best in every gun we build with absolutely no functional corners cut. Some of those things previously done in the Yo-Bo shop don't completely fall in line with the philosophy of Heirloom Precision so in addition to no longer doing any long-gun work, this means eliminating the 1* packages as well the lower end and "piece-meal" pistol work that the Yo-Bo shop sometimes used to do. Rest assured we can and will still build a solid “working” pistol similar to the 1* guns however now every 1911 we build will follow our strict philosophy on building long-term 1911s and Browning Hi-Powers. That philosophy is to build nothing but the best guns we can and to do so one at a time and as one cohesive unit. A major component of our gun building philosophy is that all the parts in the pistols are interrelated and connected in one way or another, and the only way to construct what will in the long run be a truly durable gun is to fit and tune each part together and correctly the first time. Ted and I are very adamant about this, as it is a lesson we have learned and witnessed throughout our years of experience both building and using these guns. Some guns can work just fine with a small package of work, or a partial tweaking here, possibly a bit of work there, and a refinement as time allows. But both Ted and I feel very strongly that in order to build what we believe will be a durable gun at not just the 10,000 round mark but also the 50,000 or 60,000 round mark the gun needs to be fit and built completely as one unit... and that's what we're going to continue to do, build the best guns we can, one at a time. What all of this essentially means for the customer is that, since we won't have any employees under the new company, every gun that leaves the shop will be personally built from start to finish by Ted or myself or possibly Steve as his time allows. The reality is that, while a new company is being born, nothing dramatic is taking place. The same old players (Ted, me, and Steve) are still here in the exact same location with the same phone number doing the exact same thing we've been doing all along, building custom guns. Rest assured we are not going anywhere, in fact just the opposite. Instead we’re continuing our tradition of building nothing but the best 1911s and Browning Hi-Powers we can offer and with a renewed focus we look forward to even more and better guns than in years past... and all while hopefully working towards even shorter backlogs and lead times. As of now our new website is up and functional but only as a front page... in a short while we will have the whole thing working so keep an eye out for that, thanks! Ted also said that they're going to stop making sights and ignition parts. Sorry if this is a dupe. |
Yep...same here. ETA: Here is is on M1911.org also forum.m1911.org/showthread.php?t=37051 |
Hey guys... we certainly appreciate all the continued interest and look forward to building guns for all those who need and want them but I can assure you the changes happening with our business and the way it effects Ted and I are not catastrophic or even really that “big”. The reality is, for Ted and I, we are just continuing what we have been doing at the shop all along which is building one-off custom 1911s and Browning Hi-Powers. As I mentioned in the text posted above, the majority of the changes are based upon downsizing the business to a size that is manageable by two people, Ted and I. Not having employees is also somewhat of a luxury now in that it will hopefully allow Ted and I to build a bit faster and in the end reduce our backlog and lead time to better serve our customers. Heirloom Precision is literally just an extension of what we’ve been doing all along.
I can appreciate why you may think that but for us it’s really quite a good thing. With only Ted and I in the shop we are now able to focus all of our daily bench time on our builds which people are and have been waiting a good while for, at times for years. While the 1* packages were certainly a popular and very workable conversion they were not something Ted and I personally did for various reasons and focusing our time on the continuing large demand for full-house guns seems logical. With all that said, if one wants a pistol similar to one of the 1* “packages” we will still be happy to build that gun for them... only now they’ll just not be in “pre-packaged” form and will be much more complete in their construction with absolutely no functional corners cut, something people have come to expect from Ted and I and something we are still thrilled to deliver. If there are any questions on the “new” company or the “changes” taking place please feel free to send me an email or PM... thanks!  |
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Best wishes in your new journey Jason. Hope springs eternal for you new venture @ Heirloom custom. Hopefully you guys can continue to produce some of your parts in quantity for a short time in the future; I need a set of your YoBo pro sights for my Springer loaded which is sitting on the bench at the S.A Custom shop as we speak 
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| Will you have new packages up on the website soon? I may need some work done on a hipower. I'm still seeing if I can get used to it, and that trigger is not helping at all. I'm trying out a hogue to see if it will stay put in my hand while firing and if it does, I have to do something with the trigger. I did pull the mag disc. safety. |
Thank you very much... we all appreciate that! If your gun is at the S.A. shop now I'm sure you'll be good to go... we have a really good working relationship with Dave and all the folks at Springfield so I'm sure you'll get set up with what you need.
Packages… probably not. Other than the SRT Hi-Power package we are moving away from packages all together. One of the things we are trying to avoid is “pre-packaged” builds and piece-meal work… Ted and I have found that tailoring each build to each individual customer is a much more efficient and effective way to build custom pistols, at least for us. Shoot me an email at the shop or give me a call and I can recommend what you may want done and let you know lead times. Thanks guys!
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Thats good because Dave is working on my pistol! 
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THANK GOD!  Seriously, I think the SRT package is perfect blend of function and beauty for the HP and I felt it was reasonable priced as well. I'm been meaning to call to get on the list to have mine worked over but have been trying to get some money together first. The whole time I was reading this I was thinking to myself "Man, I screwed up for waiting". Glad to read it's still an option and hope that price doesn't change much either! Seriously - Good luck to all of you fine craftsman in your new beginning!  (Hopefully I will be calling you guys real soon!) |