[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Gunsmith - Fail... (Page 1 of 2)
Posted: 6/25/2010 11:41:09 AM EDT
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So in my area, there are exactly Zero gun shops with an in house smith capable or willing to work on 1911s.
One of my favorite shops, Hoover Tactical, is a great place, with great folks, and they mentioned I try a guy, named Findlay Smith, who works out of his house. So I bought a set of MGM front and rear high sights, and delivered the slide and parts to him. He said, no problem, it will be about $35 to install the sights. A week or so later, I haven't heard anything, so I give him a call, and he says to come on by. When I show up, the sights are installed, and the slide still has blueing residue on it. He says that the sights were 1/1000th of an inch off, and he had to "machine them" to get them on the slide, then he had to re-blue it to get it looking good. The cost was then $130. I reluctantly paid said price to get my slide back. All in all, I was mostly satisfied. Putting 50 rnds through the gun, and the sights held OK. In the mean time, I'm talking with some buddies of mine and they nearly dropped out when I mentioned the smith's name. They pointed me here: http://www.thegunsafe.net/search/label/Gunsmithing Ok, so I won't use the guy again, but he did an OK, if not overpriced job right? Wrong. I took my 1911 to the range today, and the rear sight has now moved, and is loose. In addition, my slide is rusting. Not my frame, just the portion of the gun he re-blued. I have another of the exact same model gun, with sequential serials, stored in the same place, cared for the same way, that doesn't have a spec of rust on it. I'm pissed. How hard is it to cold-blue a slide? Pics coming. |
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Cold blue sucks ass for rust prevention. It's just barely better than bare steel. The thing that pisses me off is that my original blueing was fine. I've got another gun that is the same, its fine, and the frame of the gun he worked on is fine. So it has something to do with His ass job of blueing. |
| When it comes to gunsmithing........I want to see photos of the smith's completed work and lots of them.............photos like Jason and Bob post on here all the time and make me mad.............If it is someone local, I want to see their work.............and lots of it...........a picture is worth a thousand words............ |
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Sorry to hear your plight. I had a very similar situation re-barreling a post ban HBAR to a no-ban Govt profile while I was up in OH. I take it over to Stonewalls range (a fucking terrible one at that, which requires ar mags be loaded w single rounds of JHP only). Anyway, the job was supposed to be $50. I find out it's done, drive 20 min and find the quote is easily double what we agreed upon. I have words with the clerk who knows nothing about this, so I drive 20 min back empty-handed to return later that week. Then I have my discussion with the butcher.
The poor little asshole had a hard time taking the barrel off (which he scratched the hell out of removing), so he was charging so much for his aggrevation. This was where you (OP) and I parted company, I told him hell no. I snatched the ticket off from under the soft case and stuck it under his fat nose revealing my telephone number. I told him if he had any problems, he should have called that number and either renegotiated before completing the job butchering or told me to pick the rifle up if I didn't want to pay the money. He was enraged, but he knew I was just as pissed over his HBAR handiwork and most of all that he was wrong. I paid what was agreed upon, discounted the HBAR on the EE, and moved on mentioning this story everywhere it was relevant. In your case I would (calmly) talk with him about the job and have him make it right or refund your money. If that fails I would inform him that you will get your money either willingly from him or unwillingly from small claims court, dragging his name through the mud all the way over this botched job (Now is the time to give him the address to three threads it's posted on and the numbers to all 4 gunshops you mentioned the situation about, all of whom are waiting to see how he handles it...). |
| To the OP. After reading your initial post and the linked thread. Take his ass to court and do what Pulpsmack stated as far as discrediting this asshole. DO NOT do what the guy in the linked thread did and keep throwing money/favors into a thankless pit. Or, wait, get the gun fixed properly by a quality Smith and send the Ass the bill, plus your money for the original shit work. |
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Quoted:
When it comes to gunsmithing........I want to see photos of the smith's completed work and lots of them.............photos like Jason and Bob post on here all the time and make me mad.............If it is someone local, I want to see their work.............and lots of it...........a picture is worth a thousand words............ The pictures of the rusted slide are pathetic. It would have taken a lot of restraint when dealing with someone who just defaced my property. |
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It's early and I need more coffee but I'm not understanding what this asshole did to the slide to make it so rusty? While installing the sights how did he ruin the whole slide? Sorry for your problem bcauz3y. 
Good luck to you. He told me that the slid got "scratched" while he was putting the sights on. So he "re-blued" it. I'm not an expert, but I suppose if you don't leave it in the blueing tank long enough, the metal doesn't soak enough of it up. Those of you that know more, feel free to correct me. |
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1. You should have never paid the extra money. You asked him to install a dovetail sight into a dovetail. Fitting is always required with dovetail sights.
2. No refinish was necessary, and he fucked up. 3. You could have purchased a set of Novak Low-Mount sights and had them installed, by Novaks, for $172. |
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Quoted:
1. You should have never paid the extra money. You asked him to install a dovetail sight into a dovetail. Fitting is always required with dovetail sights. 2. No refinish was necessary, and he fucked up. 3. You could have purchased a set of Novak Low-Mount sights and had them installed, by Novaks, for $172. Agreed. |
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er....huh ?
what he told you makes sod all sense... did he machine the "1000th" off of the sight or the slide ? How come your whole slide is shittily cold blued if it got a scratch ? Did he blast the slide of it's whole finish ? That is such a staggeringly piss poor job, 
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Quoted: To the OP. After reading your initial post and the linked thread.Take his ass to court and do what Pulpsmack stated as far as discrediting this asshole. DO NOT do what the guy in the linked thread did and keep throwing money/favors into a thankless pit. Or, wait, get the gun fixed properly by a quality Smith and send the Ass the bill, plus your money for the original shit work. I dont think id take him to court right away, first id try to see if i could get him to fix the mistake. Im sure if you tried to take him to court they will ask if you asked him to try and fix it outside of court. It is pretty ghey what he is doing even if i spent 20 bucks on what he did id be pissed at what is happening to your pistol that does look pretty jacked up. But try to settle with him forst before you try and jump to taking him to court. |
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It wouldn't even be worth my time trying to take him to court or even giving him a chance to correct it. If he'd be willing to reimburse me in full, I'd settle for that. Otherwise I'd just take the $130 loss and take it as a lesson to be learned and have it fixed by a real gunsmith. No way I'd let him touch my gun again.
Quoted:
To the OP. After reading your initial post and the linked thread.Take his ass to court and do what Pulpsmack stated as far as discrediting this asshole. DO NOT do what the guy in the linked thread did and keep throwing money/favors into a thankless pit. Or, wait, get the gun fixed properly by a quality Smith and send the Ass the bill, plus your money for the original shit work. I dont think id take him to court right away, first id try to see if i could get him to fix the mistake. Im sure if you tried to take him to court they will ask if you asked him to try and fix it outside of court. It is pretty ghey what he is doing even if i spent 20 bucks on what he did id be pissed at what is happening to your pistol that does look pretty jacked up. But try to settle with him forst before you try and jump to taking him to court. |
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e I'd just take the $130 loss and take it as a lesson to be learned and have it fixed by a real gunsmith. No way I'd let him touch my gun again. I'm really leaning hard in this direction. I just want a gun that doesn't suck. The guy is a real jack-ass, and it would hours of haggling over, to get a result, and I still don't know what that would be. I know it wouldn't involve him and my guns in the same room again. 
So Novak can fix the sights and re-coat the slide? |
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That gun has been cold blued over phosphate, I would bet money it never saw a bluing tank as mentioned on an earlier Post.
My suggestion to the op is to vigorously apply a cleaner , with a nylon brush, and apply a healthy dose of Lube. I have touched up very light scratches on working guns with cold blue...and they rust like hell l if you dont oil them constantly for a few days. It takes me about once every 6 months to remind myself to throwthat stuff out Oil and rub should stop and cure that. Good luck CW |
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just a cold blue? that isn't a really resilient finish but should have not bloomed rust like that. Cannot imagine what he could have done to get such a crappy finish. - and to remachine a slide for a thousanth of an inch? no way. That is 10 seconds with a file.
ETA: 10 seconds with a file - filing the sights, not the slide. |
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Quoted: You got it right.1. You should have never paid the extra money. You asked him to install a dovetail sight into a dovetail. Fitting is always required with dovetail sights. 2. No refinish was necessary, and he fucked up. 3. You could have purchased a set of Novak Low-Mount sights and had them installed, by Novaks, for $172. As for "cold blue", I have good luck with #0000 steel wool, wiping down with alcohol and heating up the metal with a hair dryer on high followed by an immediate coat of oil. Nothing like a hot tank blue job but better than rubbing it on and hoping for the best.
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e I'd just take the $130 loss and take it as a lesson to be learned and have it fixed by a real gunsmith. No way I'd let him touch my gun again. I'm really leaning hard in this direction. I just want a gun that doesn't suck. The guy is a real jack-ass, and it would hours of haggling over, to get a result, and I still don't know what that would be. I know it wouldn't involve him and my guns in the same room again.
So Novak can fix the sights and re-coat the slide? you're going to drop more money into a 400 dollar 1911? |
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e I'd just take the $130 loss and take it as a lesson to be learned and have it fixed by a real gunsmith. No way I'd let him touch my gun again. I'm really leaning hard in this direction. I just want a gun that doesn't suck. The guy is a real jack-ass, and it would hours of haggling over, to get a result, and I still don't know what that would be. I know it wouldn't involve him and my guns in the same room again.
So Novak can fix the sights and re-coat the slide? Most likely. However, if bubba has fucked up the sight dovetails and they're now too large...I'm not sure. You might end up needing to get a new slide fitted. Wilson Combat can do that easily enough. Other than this clusterfuck, how does your RIA shoot and function? I've got one that I fought with for a year and have finally made reliable  I think mine was something of a lemon, found a few out of spec parts that got replaced with in spec Colt and Wilson Combat components. Everyone else I know with an RIA hasn't had these problems...I just have bad luck
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e I'd just take the $130 loss and take it as a lesson to be learned and have it fixed by a real gunsmith. No way I'd let him touch my gun again. I'm really leaning hard in this direction. I just want a gun that doesn't suck. The guy is a real jack-ass, and it would hours of haggling over, to get a result, and I still don't know what that would be. I know it wouldn't involve him and my guns in the same room again.
So Novak can fix the sights and re-coat the slide? you're going to drop more money into a 400 dollar 1911? Yep. I hate to bring this up, its kinda OT, but I paid $320 each for the two I bought, they run like a freaking top. Compare that to my two buddies who forked over $1000 each for a kimber, then they had to get $600 each worth of "work" done to make the guns not FTE and feed properly. I'll keep my "400 dollar 1911". |
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Most likely. However, if bubba has fucked up the sight dovetails and they're now too large...I'm not sure. You might end up needing to get a new slide fitted. Wilson Combat can do that easily enough. Other than this clusterfuck, how does your RIA shoot and function? I've got one that I fought with for a year and have finally made reliable I think mine was something of a lemon, found a few out of spec parts that got replaced with in spec Colt and Wilson Combat components. Everyone else I know with an RIA hasn't had these problems...I just have bad luck I actually bought two of them at the same time, and they both shoot fantastic. I did have one problem with one of the slide catches, but I emailed the US rep and had a replacement for free within a few days. My other one is factory stock, its actually the wife's. I'm bastardizing mine to prove to all my 1911 buddies that I can build a $500 1911 that runs better than their $1000 ones. 
So far, mr. foo-bar gunsmith isn't helping. |