doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Mike Orlan --- please respond.

So, Ken's barrel's sat for 2 years, untouched, while everyone else's work was done as fast as the boxes could be opened. If the work was of a nature that the shop could not do promptly, they should have said so. That would have been the end of the discussion.
When I ran a tool shop, we had a range of tool makers. Apprentices to masters. Some guys only did some stuff. Some weren't very good at some things. Our schedule was based on who could do what, and how long it should take. We did not take work that the right people could not get done by the required delivery date.
I expect every gunsmith I work with to understand this, and respect it. Some don't like that, and I DON'T CARE.
It is no crime to say, I cannot get to it, I cannot do it, I don't want to do it. And there are those who will say, "I don't want to do it for you."
Honesty is the best policy.
Answering the phone is better yet.
Setting desk time aside to do that stuff, and tell all your customers, "I only do desk time from 7:00am until 10:30am, then I am in the shop", is better yet. Every craftsman has only time to sell. Customers should work to not waste the craftsman's time.
Waving cash around just makes you look like a beggar.

I'm glad Ken is back to zero. Now he can move ahead. There is peace in the valley.

CZ, very well said!

JC

Maybe Mike didn't get the messages because his name was misspelled.

This is why one should consider Krieghoff, Briley, Simmons, Kolar, etc. before sending item off to some second tier smith who offers discounted rates.

A version of my rant should be a sticky. It could be called, "How to work with Craftspeople"
It's all about clarity in the relationship.

All doublegun owners, furniture collectors, clock afficionado's, competition shooters, and anyone else that requires unique, specialized services, should respect the craft person's time and abilities. (You don't have the skills or the time, that's why you called me)
All craftspeople should know when they take their first paid job, that "When your living comes $50.00 at a time, you cannot afford to lose repeat customers".

I bear no ill will toward anyone plying their trade well. I actually send work to beginners so that as their skill develops, they are ready for more challenging jobs. I like seeing apprentices grow and develop. And not every task requires Michaelangelo. Specing a micro-finish may or may not be acceptable to some craftspeople.
But I am always clear in my expectations on the front end, and I would urge anyone using a craftsperson of any form to save themselves the aggravation, and get things straight at the beginning. It's cheaper.

We've all seen horror stories from the big shops here, too. Briley's had a hand in the destruction of a board member's 10 gauge Darne barrels, which, led to it's resurection somewhere else.
Paying a lot doesn't always mean you get a lot. Look at William Ford's pair of Purdey's.
Best,
Ted

William Ford? I handled a pair of Henry Ford II's Purdeys which had been mangled by some butcher, presumably in Detroit. He attempted to change the cast from "On" to "Off" (Henry was a lefty) When he finished, the locks wouldn't fire, safety didn't work, and the only way the guns would ever be right was to restock them. Incidently, At H&H, if they are going to put cast on a gun, they don't bend the stock, they bend the top and bottom tangs and the sidelocks, then the stock is straight to the mechanicals. Assume the same at Purdey.