How long does it take to chop a barrel?!

[King Reptar]

Hey guys, I'm new to the Pittsburgh area and found a shop on FB. I've been following them since before I moved and thought they'd be a cool shop. I took my AK in about a month ago to have the barrel chopped and a Saker FH permanently attached. I called a couple times the days before I actually got to talk to the gunsmith, he was either gone for the day or going to pick up parts. At one point, they said something about the hospital. I didn't think much of it, called back again the next day. When I finally spoke to the gunsmith, he told me it'd cost about $75 and that they charge $45 an hour, which is the cheapest in town. When I took it in, the worker told me that they don't even think about threading a barrel for less than $100. They told me that the gunsmith would call me to verify the price, but he wasn't in at the moment. I waited a week before I called to ask what was going on and the girl that answered the phone told me he had been away from work for a few days. The next week, the gunsmith finally called me back and told me it would be about $100-$150. It would have cost me that much if I sent it off, so whatever. I'd like to know who told me $75 and why, but... It is what it is. Well I told him to go ahead and do the work because I just wanted it done and the tools to do it at home would cost me $250 or more. He told me it would be about a week because he was going on vacation. Well, it's been two weeks since he called and I gave him the go ahead. Still no word, still no gun. I emailed the shop a message from SilencerCo for indexing the FH on the muzzle (won't be much of a shoulder) and never got a response from that either.

Just wondering how long it should take for a gunsmith to do the work? I understand that stuff happens and things come up. Gunsmiths are generally busy or have a backlog... But I feel like this is a bit excessive. Am I crazy or wrong?

[blottermachine]

If I treated my customers that way I wouldn't have any! Wow, anyways...there is no set time because of to many variants. Iv'e done some in an hr or less and some in 6 hrs, depends on the type of gun and lathe the gunsmith has, not including backlog. An AK is a pain in the neck to do sometimes. But the point here is he should quote you a time it will be done and that's it.

[King Reptar]

Yeah, I know the work doesn't take TOO terribly wrong. Pulling the barrel and stripping it can be a pain, but I already removed the handguard and ultimak, and I removed the GB and FSB so that's 25% of the work. I just don't see why it would be three weeks, ya know?
So far the shop isn't impressive. I asked the same question on some local FB groups and most people had good things to say. The owner wrote me a private message that just said "..." Which seemed unprofessional to me. I responded and he never wrote back. Well I went it yesterday to pick up the gun and the manager/PR person told me that the gunsmith is supposed to call once a week to update customers and apparently he failed to do so. She told me that she would lower the price and assured me that it will be done this week. I'm giving them a second chance, and we'll see. If not, they're going to have one VERY unhappy customer.

[sgtsandman]

It's water over the dam now but the alarm bells would have been going off before I even took the rifle in to get work done on it. He told you it would take about a week to do the work and didn't follow through. The discount better be pretty good or I wouldn't go back to them again. Personal opinion, take it how you wish.

[King Reptar]

Yeah, I was definitely worried before dropping it off, but I'm new to the area and it was the only shop I'd ever heard of. I won't be going back after I pick up my rifle, unless the job is done correctly and it's free. Otherwise, never going back. If it's not done by this weekend like they told me it would be, I'll make sure that people know not to go there. I'm HOPING I don't have to be that way

[King Reptar]

Update: the gunsmith called this morning. He asked about why he should index the FH on the muzzle and what I meant by "pinning at the wrench flats" so... There's that. He said he's going to start working on it today. I guess we'll see what happens. I really hope he doesn't screw up my barrel.

[aubie515]

Sounds like you went cheap and now you are figuring out that cost is only one aspect when it comes to firearms. Sure, I want the best bang for the buck, however I want the job to be completed by a professional that knows what they are doing.

Why do you think there is a long waiting list for the top gun smiths in the country? It's because their work is considered the best and that takes time to do the job properly.

I am very impatient and I dislike sending off my firearms for work, but when I do...I always choose the right gunsmith for the work being performed. Money aside, I want my firearm to come back without any concerns. That old adage of "buy once cry once" also applies when choosing a gunsmith.

[King Reptar]

Did you read the post? It had nothing to do with being cheap. It bothered me that he incorrectly quoted me, not that it's going to cost $150 because that's still well within reason for him to do the job. Of course I'd like it to be cheaper, but that's not my main concern. Screwing up my Saker is the main concern. I've never mailed off a gun and don't know anything about doing that. Threading a barrel is a pretty common task, and cutting and crowning it really isn't that much harder, so I chose to go to the only shop in town that I had ever heard of. When I finally spoke to the gunsmith, he seemed to know what he was talking about and made it sound like he could get it done pretty quickly, in about a week. It wasn't until after I had dropped off the gun that things started to seem sketchy. Apparently that makes me cheap, because the guy seemed confident that he had the tools and the know-how. The only reason most shops won't do it is because it's an AK and they're afraid of them. It's not like I'm asking him to build me an AK out of scrap metal.

[King Reptar]

Just picked up the gun... The PR/Manager wasn't there so no discount and I need to get in contact with her. Doesn't look good. The pin and weld is pretty bad, he didn't even try to smooth it out. I'll have to file it down. Looking into the flash hider, I can see the end of the barrel and it isn't pretty. I can see machining marks and it doesn't look like there's any sort of a crown. I guess I'll have to fix it when I start school.image.jpgimage.jpg

[Gunsnwater]

Wow, you did say "chop" and that's what you got.