I have a Remington 700 SPS Tactical 308, I'm getting a YHM QD suppressor, I need my barrel threaded, simple right? Not so far..
I find a shop 30 minutes away and they allegedly build bench shooting rifles, high dollar stuff, they should know what they're doing... I call them and they confirm they can do the work. I print out the CAD drawing for the threading and take it up there with me, the two older gentlemen don't quite seem to understand how to read the printout, and then they tell me they can't thread it without the suppressor... I don't have the suppressor or the flash hider yet, and they can't do it off the drawing, and seem confused by the drawing, I lost confidence after that and left.
I understand them wanting to check the threading against the actual piece, but the drawing showed EXACTLY thread pitch, count, depth, everything... I'm not a machinist and I understood it... Would a skilled gunsmith/machinist not be able to do the work off of the drawing alone?
So after doing some searching I find a shop much closer, 10 minutes away. I call them and they confirm they can thread it for the flash hider/suppressor. I ask if they can do it off of the drawing alone as I don't have the piece yet and they say yes. When dropping it off on a Friday I ask how long until it's ready, they say mid following week, Tuesday or Wednesday... By Friday I haven't heard anything so I call them, their machine is "broken" and they're getting it repaired, it'll be done and ready mid next week... I give them the ENTIRE week and hear nothing, call back the following Saturday. Their machinist is a little behind so it's not done yet, but it's the next batch going up to be machined, it'll be done Monday or Tuesday. I give them another week, hear nothing so I call back on Friday again... Not done yet, It'll be done Tuesday....
I go in today in person at noon today, ask for my barrel. "Oh, it's the next batch going on the machine, it's all taken apart and ready to go". His machinist apparently didn't show up and wasn't answering his phone, allegedly. I tell I have to have my gun by the end of the day, he tells me its off the receiver and his machinist indexed it and he doesn't want to jump in the middle of someone else's work. I tell him that's fine, I'm going to leave and come back at the end of the day, try and get ahold of the guy and figure out how he indexed it so he can put it back together, I'm picking it up before they close.
I show back up 15 minutes before they close just like I promised, he starts making excuses how his guy hasn't answered his phone all day and didn't show up to work and either better be in jail or the hospital, but he'll keep calling him all night and it'll be done by 9am tomorrow. I tell him to go ahead and get my pieces and give them to me, I'll have someone else check the head space, that I need to take it with me tonight. He seemed put out... Anyway, I was tired of being dicked around and he wasn't going to make a liar out of me, I told him I was coming back to pick it up today, if everyone just stuck to their word we'd all be better off...
So now I have my barrel off the receiver and no closer to having it threaded. After all of the above BS I'm a bit concerned on finding someone that knows their shit and does the job rob, out of the box this gun was shooting REALLY good and I don't want it screwed up.
So I need a barrel threaded and... what affordable options do I have for work to the receiver that would improve upon accuracy? How much does blueprinting normally run? How much should I expect to pay for having the barrel threaded?
I find a shop 30 minutes away and they allegedly build bench shooting rifles, high dollar stuff, they should know what they're doing... I call them and they confirm they can do the work. I print out the CAD drawing for the threading and take it up there with me, the two older gentlemen don't quite seem to understand how to read the printout, and then they tell me they can't thread it without the suppressor... I don't have the suppressor or the flash hider yet, and they can't do it off the drawing, and seem confused by the drawing, I lost confidence after that and left.
I understand them wanting to check the threading against the actual piece, but the drawing showed EXACTLY thread pitch, count, depth, everything... I'm not a machinist and I understood it... Would a skilled gunsmith/machinist not be able to do the work off of the drawing alone?
So after doing some searching I find a shop much closer, 10 minutes away. I call them and they confirm they can thread it for the flash hider/suppressor. I ask if they can do it off of the drawing alone as I don't have the piece yet and they say yes. When dropping it off on a Friday I ask how long until it's ready, they say mid following week, Tuesday or Wednesday... By Friday I haven't heard anything so I call them, their machine is "broken" and they're getting it repaired, it'll be done and ready mid next week... I give them the ENTIRE week and hear nothing, call back the following Saturday. Their machinist is a little behind so it's not done yet, but it's the next batch going up to be machined, it'll be done Monday or Tuesday. I give them another week, hear nothing so I call back on Friday again... Not done yet, It'll be done Tuesday....
I go in today in person at noon today, ask for my barrel. "Oh, it's the next batch going on the machine, it's all taken apart and ready to go". His machinist apparently didn't show up and wasn't answering his phone, allegedly. I tell I have to have my gun by the end of the day, he tells me its off the receiver and his machinist indexed it and he doesn't want to jump in the middle of someone else's work. I tell him that's fine, I'm going to leave and come back at the end of the day, try and get ahold of the guy and figure out how he indexed it so he can put it back together, I'm picking it up before they close.
I show back up 15 minutes before they close just like I promised, he starts making excuses how his guy hasn't answered his phone all day and didn't show up to work and either better be in jail or the hospital, but he'll keep calling him all night and it'll be done by 9am tomorrow. I tell him to go ahead and get my pieces and give them to me, I'll have someone else check the head space, that I need to take it with me tonight. He seemed put out... Anyway, I was tired of being dicked around and he wasn't going to make a liar out of me, I told him I was coming back to pick it up today, if everyone just stuck to their word we'd all be better off...
So now I have my barrel off the receiver and no closer to having it threaded. After all of the above BS I'm a bit concerned on finding someone that knows their shit and does the job rob, out of the box this gun was shooting REALLY good and I don't want it screwed up.
So I need a barrel threaded and... what affordable options do I have for work to the receiver that would improve upon accuracy? How much does blueprinting normally run? How much should I expect to pay for having the barrel threaded?
