Gunsmiths, what are your most interesting stories/projects?

Kimio · October 25, 2013, 07:41 AM

Just curious here, we hear all sorts of horror stories about garage gun smiths and what have you, but what about the gems that come in now and again.

Working on rare or uncommon firearms, or just something that you truly enjoyed working on (such as refurbishment of an antique rifle for example)

I'd love to hear what some of ya'll have done while in the field, I'm sure there are some really good stories out there on this topic.

Wyosmith · October 25, 2013, 10:52 AM

All my horror stories are not about guns, but their owners.
If I have a bad gun brought in by a good customer I can openly tell him all of the things that are wrong, including in some cases, that the gun itself is a poor design and making it like new will still mean it's a bad gun.

On the other hand I can have good guns brought in by idiots and they insist that I "fix it" because it won't hit anything.

I assume all other businesses are the same.
Doctors are asked to cure death or make someone well who drinks and smoke a lot and watches 40 hours of TV a week.

Lawyers are asked to make crime look ok

Electricians are asked to make things work and be safe and do so with what's already there.

Plumbers are asked to make water (if they are lucky) run uphill

You get the picture.

semi_problomatic · October 25, 2013, 06:45 PM

Trying to do a trigger job on H&R handi rifle right now. Taking me longer to make slave pins and a guide block than it will to do the trigger job.

Otherwise, it's a toss-up between trying to diagnose a problem from their description: I dunno, it just wont fire" turns into "I think my kids spilled juice or something all over it, that's why there's so much rust inside it." or explain that "no, it's not broken... The reason the hammer falls when you cock it on safe is that model has a safety/decocker..." because right after that they inevitably argue that just can't be right.

I have very limited experience though, I'm sure more will come.

Scorch · October 25, 2013, 07:46 PM

I really despise the "I loaned to a friend/my brother/my son/my uncle, and it came back that way" stories. Closely related are the "my friend was helping me" stories. I know some of the stories may be true, but all you have to say is "it's broken, can you fix it?"

Slopemeno · October 25, 2013, 11:41 PM

I got very good at putting Ruger Mk-II's back together. "Oh, my kid took it apart"

Old Stony · October 26, 2013, 05:46 AM

I'll second that one on the Ruger Mk1 and 2 models. It's always someone else that took it apart. I have put them together on numberous times.
I've had guns carried in numerous times in parts..in a bag. Usually it was someone else that took it apart. I always called it the "wife's not home syndrome". The guy is sitting home bored and starts taking apart one of his guns.
I think one of my strangest is a dentist customer that liked to work on his own in the back office of his practice. He brought me a S&W 17 to get my opinion on his sight work. He had ground down the front sight, drilled a tiny hole with a dentist's drill and inserted a pin with a large head ( like you would find holding the collar closed on your new shirt). The head of the pin was his new sight.
I sold this same dentist a Browning BLR once and mounted a scope of his choice on it at the same time. I saw him at a range the following day ranting and raving about it. He said it could not be sighted in and the scope was no good. I looked at it and asked if he had removed the scope after I mounted it, to which he said yes. The bell of the scope was now sitting on his front sight which made the gun shoot somewhere below the whole target frame.
Some people probably shouldn't have guns....but the stories could go on forever in this regard.

Ricklin · October 26, 2013, 09:51 AM

Stony, your story made me LOL.

I have spent my entire career working in the dental profession. The years I spent as a service tech were especially entertaining.

Everyone knows the old If you worked on it first and then called me.......?

It's pretty amazing what a creative and artistic person can do with self curing denture acrylic. Unfortunately it only comes in pink, so the esthetics of the repair were always "interesting"

Dentists are an interesting bunch.

g.willikers · October 26, 2013, 10:26 AM

A friend had a crack developing in the frame of his favorite pistol.
He decided to drill a hole to stop the crack from growing.
Not being a tool guy, he called his dentist and said that he had an emergency.
The dentist was only slightly amused when he arrived with his emergency.
But he drilled a very nice hole, anyway.
Unfortunately, it didn't stop the crack for very long.

Jerry45 · October 27, 2013, 12:28 PM

General and fits any occupation. Why does such and such do this or that? You explain and the person asking the question want's to argue why you're wrong. Since I'm such an arss I ask... Since you know so much more about it then I why did you ask me? I usually get the deer in the headlights look.

oldgunsmith · October 27, 2013, 09:41 PM

I got a French 1803 vintage 3-band flintlock that was brought back by a soldier from WW I. It hung on the wall for several generations until someone decided to donate it to the State Tourism Dept. when re-enacting became a big thing. First time fired they discovered that the soldier had slid the rear band forward and sawed the gun in half so it would fit in his duffel bag. It was tack welded back and the band put back in place to hide the weld. They said the front half of the gun, barrel, forend, and all went downrange. He had all the pieces & I was able to put it back together. It came out looking good enough to insist on plugging the barrel so whoever tries to shoot it next won't succeed.

October 25, 2013, 07:41 AM	#1
Kimio Senior Member Join Date: January 2, 2011 Location: Arizona Posts: 1,171	Gunsmiths, what are your most interesting stories/projects? Just curious here, we hear all sorts of horror stories about garage gun smiths and what have you, but what about the gems that come in now and again. Working on rare or uncommon firearms, or just something that you truly enjoyed working on (such as refurbishment of an antique rifle for example) I'd love to hear what some of ya'll have done while in the field, I'm sure there are some really good stories out there on this topic.

October 25, 2013, 06:45 PM	#3
semi_problomatic Senior Member Join Date: July 27, 2009 Location: Ft. Polk Posts: 883	Trying to do a trigger job on H&R handi rifle right now. Taking me longer to make slave pins and a guide block than it will to do the trigger job. Otherwise, it's a toss-up between trying to diagnose a problem from their description: I dunno, it just wont fire" turns into "I think my kids spilled juice or something all over it, that's why there's so much rust inside it." or explain that "no, it's not broken... The reason the hammer falls when you cock it on safe is that model has a safety/decocker..." because right after that they inevitably argue that just can't be right. I have very limited experience though, I'm sure more will come. __________________ Freedom's just a word. If I'm gonna die for a word, my word is jello... Last edited by semi_problomatic; October 25, 2013 at 10:00 PM.

October 25, 2013, 07:46 PM	#4
Scorch Senior Member Join Date: February 13, 2006 Location: Washington state Posts: 15,248	I really despise the "I loaned to a friend/my brother/my son/my uncle, and it came back that way" stories. Closely related are the "my friend was helping me" stories. I know some of the stories may be true, but all you have to say is "it's broken, can you fix it?" __________________ Never try to educate someone who resists knowledge at all costs. But what do I know? Summit Arms Services

October 26, 2013, 09:51 AM	#7
Ricklin Senior Member Join Date: February 22, 2008 Location: SW Washington state Posts: 2,013	Dentists Stony, your story made me LOL. I have spent my entire career working in the dental profession. The years I spent as a service tech were especially entertaining. Everyone knows the old If you worked on it first and then called me.......? It's pretty amazing what a creative and artistic person can do with self curing denture acrylic. Unfortunately it only comes in pink, so the esthetics of the repair were always "interesting" Dentists are an interesting bunch. __________________ ricklin Freedom is not free

October 26, 2013, 10:26 AM	#8
g.willikers Senior Member Join Date: September 28, 2008 Posts: 10,442	A friend had a crack developing in the frame of his favorite pistol. He decided to drill a hole to stop the crack from growing. Not being a tool guy, he called his dentist and said that he had an emergency. The dentist was only slightly amused when he arrived with his emergency. But he drilled a very nice hole, anyway. Unfortunately, it didn't stop the crack for very long. __________________ Walt Kelly, alias Pogo, sez: “Don't take life so serious, son, it ain't nohow permanent.”

October 25, 2013, 10:52 AM	#2
Wyosmith Senior Member Join Date: December 29, 2010 Location: Shoshoni Wyoming Posts: 2,713	All my horror stories are not about guns, but their owners. If I have a bad gun brought in by a good customer I can openly tell him all of the things that are wrong, including in some cases, that the gun itself is a poor design and making it like new will still mean it's a bad gun. On the other hand I can have good guns brought in by idiots and they insist that I "fix it" because it won't hit anything. I assume all other businesses are the same. Doctors are asked to cure death or make someone well who drinks and smoke a lot and watches 40 hours of TV a week. Lawyers are asked to make crime look ok Electricians are asked to make things work and be safe and do so with what's already there. Plumbers are asked to make water (if they are lucky) run uphill You get the picture.

October 25, 2013, 11:41 PM	#5
Slopemeno Senior Member Join Date: January 19, 2007 Posts: 2,663	I got very good at putting Ruger Mk-II's back together. "Oh, my kid took it apart"

October 26, 2013, 05:46 AM	#6
Old Stony Senior Member Join Date: May 31, 2013 Location: East Texas Posts: 1,705	I'll second that one on the Ruger Mk1 and 2 models. It's always someone else that took it apart. I have put them together on numberous times. I've had guns carried in numerous times in parts..in a bag. Usually it was someone else that took it apart. I always called it the "wife's not home syndrome". The guy is sitting home bored and starts taking apart one of his guns. I think one of my strangest is a dentist customer that liked to work on his own in the back office of his practice. He brought me a S&W 17 to get my opinion on his sight work. He had ground down the front sight, drilled a tiny hole with a dentist's drill and inserted a pin with a large head ( like you would find holding the collar closed on your new shirt). The head of the pin was his new sight. I sold this same dentist a Browning BLR once and mounted a scope of his choice on it at the same time. I saw him at a range the following day ranting and raving about it. He said it could not be sighted in and the scope was no good. I looked at it and asked if he had removed the scope after I mounted it, to which he said yes. The bell of the scope was now sitting on his front sight which made the gun shoot somewhere below the whole target frame. Some people probably shouldn't have guns....but the stories could go on forever in this regard.

October 27, 2013, 12:28 PM	#9
Jerry45 Senior Member Join Date: April 18, 2000 Location: Metairie, Louisiana Posts: 890	General and fits any occupation. Why does such and such do this or that? You explain and the person asking the question want's to argue why you're wrong. Since I'm such an arss I ask... Since you know so much more about it then I why did you ask me? I usually get the deer in the headlights look. __________________ Guns are not dangerous! People are! RKBA!

October 27, 2013, 09:41 PM	#10
oldgunsmith Senior Member Join Date: January 9, 2013 Posts: 278	I got a French 1803 vintage 3-band flintlock that was brought back by a soldier from WW I. It hung on the wall for several generations until someone decided to donate it to the State Tourism Dept. when re-enacting became a big thing. First time fired they discovered that the soldier had slid the rear band forward and sawed the gun in half so it would fit in his duffel bag. It was tack welded back and the band put back in place to hide the weld. They said the front half of the gun, barrel, forend, and all went downrange. He had all the pieces & I was able to put it back together. It came out looking good enough to insist on plugging the barrel so whoever tries to shoot it next won't succeed.