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Crown appears to have been destroyed by "gunsmith"

M

Mississippi-tacA1

Private
Minuteman
Aug 17, 2023
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Hey y'all this is my first post unfortunately. I was about to mount a Razor Gen II 3-18 I just bought off of @xxflyingturtlexx (great condition and nice packaging btw no issue there), on a bergara b14 hunter .300wm that I had the barrel threaded by someone in MS who seems to be a wannabe gunsmith. I am attaching pics to show the damage caused to my crown. I ran a qtip inside the barrel and the burred edges were so sharp it cut the qtip in half! Glad I didn't start shooting...

Unfortunately the man would not back up his work so I am going to take it to someone who is competent. Let this be a warning to those are considering taking their property to an unknown smith. I learned my lesson the hard way..
 

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Crowning a barrel takes a 15 seconds if you've already indicated everything and have just threaded the muzzle. It makes no sense why that wouldn't have been done.

When I first started crowning I ran a 45 degree pilot reamer in the muzzle to chamfer. I quit doing that since it was just another operation. It shot no different than a perfectly flat crown. When I first saw the pics I thought that's what was done but, nope, that wasn't it.
 
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parshal said:
Crowning a barrel takes a 15 seconds if you've already indicated everything and have just threaded the muzzle. It makes no sense why that wouldn't have been done.

When I first started crowning I ran a 45 degree pilot reamer in the muzzle to chamfer. I quit doing that since it was just another operation. It shot no different than a perfectly flat crown. When I first saw the pics I thought that's what was done but, nope, that wasn't it.
Click to expand...
Definitely would have rather had your 45 degree chamfer. I bet it was symmetrical and concentric anyway
 
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Pics are blurry for me. Is that threaded? End cap on there?
 
srt-4_uk said:
Doesn't look like enough shoulder for a suppressor either.
Click to expand...
It certainly doesn't.

OP, you should look into some of your options before you take it in somewhere else. Maybe post your intended suppressor mount (or suppressor, if direct thread) and the OD of the barrel at the shoulder.
 
Mississippi-tacA1 said:
bergara b14 hunter .300wm that I had the barrel threaded
Click to expand...

What thread pattern is that?

I'm not familiar with the B14 but gaggling the barrel profile there are good ones for threading and bad ... exactly what model do you have?

Looks like one of the pencil barrels that is 0.650" at the muzzle ... shouldna been threaded.
 
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"The University of Youtube is good for some things, but not all things," Borthwick said.
Click to expand...

If he really did that & is telling you to pound sand, I'd add that picture to his Google Maps page.

I have no idea what MS rates are for gunsmiths... but the shop rates of the people I'm using are more than 2x this guy. Sometimes, you get what you pay for.

Screenshot 2023-08-24 at 9.04.35 PM.png
 
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Mississippi-tacA1 said:
For a can, I had the same thought. He’s a sorry pos that wouldn’t back his own work. And it takes a lot for me to say that about someone
Click to expand...
Your probably better off, there is a difference between a mistake and incompetence, and that’s definitely the latter, take it to someone else before he does damage the rifle can’t walk away from.
 
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hafejd30 said:
$55 an hour to look like you stuck the muzzle in a pencil sharpener
Click to expand...

Yeah the counter argument is this is such an easy thing to do, even someone charging $55/hr should be able to get this right

edit
well, looks like $55/hr isn't atypical. Guess I'm overpaying :ROFLMAO:
 
Last edited:
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msgriff said:
It certainly doesn't.

OP, you should look into some of your options before you take it in somewhere else. Maybe post your intended suppressor mount (or suppressor, if direct thread) and the OD of the barrel at the shoulder.
Click to expand...
Thanks good idea. It’s a QD mount for a yhm resonator
 
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DeathBeforeDismount said:
Borthwick, who is a self-taught, tells people to find him on "The Facebook."

Lesson learned op. Would you let a crackhead work on your car? Why let a moron work on your gun?
Click to expand...
If I had seen “the Facebook” comment I wouldn’t have. First work I’ve ever had anyone do, I asked multiple times if he could thread concentric to inner bore.. he was adamant he could, but little did I know until it was too late.
 
hafejd30 said:
$55 an hour to look like you stuck the muzzle in a pencil sharpener
Click to expand...
R_A_W said:
If he really did that & is telling you to pound sand, I'd add that picture to his Google Maps page.

I have no idea what MS rates are for gunsmiths... but the shop rates of the people I'm using are more than 2x this guy. Sometimes, you get what you pay for.

View attachment 8212243
Click to expand...
This was the first work I’ve had done.. ever. Live and learn. All I wanted was a barrel threaded 😩can’t win for losing
 
If you're looking for a local smith, I understand that. But if you're looking at cost...

A reputable gunsmith with >10 years of experience that charges you $120 for 1 hour of work most likely did a full 1 hour of work. He has the experience & tools to not waste time and that 1 hour is what it took to get the job done properly.

An unknown gunsmith that started up 2 years ago without any prior work experience has neither the experience nor the quality or quantity of tools to do the same job in the same amount of time. Assuming this new gunsmith does NOT mess up, you can often end up paying about about the same amount as you would have paid the experienced gunsmith.

just my $0.02
 
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doubloon said:
What thread pattern is that?

I'm not familiar with the B14 but gaggling the barrel profile there are good ones for threading and bad ... exactly what model do you have?

Looks like one of the pencil barrels that is 0.650" at the muzzle ... shouldna been threaded.
Click to expand...
doubloon said:
What thread pattern is that?

I'm not familiar with the B14 but gaggling the barrel profile there are good ones for threading and bad ... exactly what model do you have?

Looks like one of the pencil barrels that is 0.650" at the muzzle ... shouldna been threaded.
Click to expand...
It is .650”.. I didn’t know any better not to have it threaded.
 
R_A_W said:
If you're looking for a local smith, I understand that. But if you're looking at cost...

A reputable gunsmith with >10 years of experience that charges you $120 for 1 hour of work most likely did a full 1 hour of work. He has the experience & tools to not waste time and that 1 hour is what it took to get the job done properly.

An unknown gunsmith that started up 2 years ago without any prior work experience has neither the experience nor the quality or quantity of tools to do the same job in the same amount of time. Assuming this new gunsmith does NOT mess up, you can often end up paying about about the same amount as you would have paid the experienced gunsmith.

just my $0.02
Click to expand...
That’s good input, at the time I couldn’t find anybody and unfortunately ended up crossing paths with him.
 
Mississippi-tacA1 said:
It is .650”.. I didn’t know any better not to have it threaded.
Click to expand...

It's not really a "know better" situation it's more of a how to make it work situation. People thread undersized barrels and make them work, just not my personal preference. I have a rifle I want to eventually cut down and thread and as soon as it's cut the muzzle OD will be .650" as well ... so I'll be facing the same issue eventually.

The main problem with not having a "proper" shoulder is there isn't much to square the suppressor on.

Class 3 machining in Dallas is a place I trust. If you give him a .650 barrel to thread 5/8x24 he will thread it if you really want him to but "no warranty".

I'm pretty sure you don't need to worry about warranty. :)

My biggest worry at this point would be cocentricity or whether or not the threads are accurately aligned with the path of the bore.

Getting that barrel recrowned would be the least of my worries but one of my biggest annoyances.

This is one solution for threading a thin barrel. When I'm ready to thread that thin barrel of mine I'll be trying to find someone who can do this.

D5DB4080-AEA6-4826-ADBB-9AA9229F32E9_4_5005_c.jpeg


 
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