[reynolds357]

Originally Posted by Scorch

Aye, there's the rub! I get customers who say "nice" and mean "cheap". Others who say "nice" and mean "I just have to figure out how to hide the bill from my wife".

Not even close. I charge $175 for blueprinting, takes about 2 hours to go through an action and true it up. And your friend who keeps a lathe set up for it is doing you a huge favor by charging you so little. Or, of course, he's just in it as a hobby, in which case it doesn't matter what he charges anyway.

Again, we are getting into definitions of "nice". B&C does not make a nice stock, IMO. "Nice" to me involves a wood stock with a century of growth in a windy environment and lots of figure. To others it means polyester resin and an aluminum bedding block. Either way, B&C makes stocks from junk to jewels, so choose wisely.

Hooligan1's list of how to build a custom rifle is pretty good. First decide what you want, then put it together in your mind, then find the best smith to put it together in real life.

But back on topic, if you want a nice rifle, the Remington Custom Shop can make it happen, but it won't be any nicer than another skilled craftsman would turn out. But, it does come with the Custom Shop name on it, so if you were to decide to sell it you can get an extra few $. I used to have a Remington 700 from the Custom Shop, and it was very nice.

What are you doing to a Remington action that takes 2 hours? Align the threads to the centerline, square the face oo the action to the centerline, lap lugs, square bolt face. Takes me about hour and a half and he is way faster than I am because he stays set up and he has done hundreds as opposed to my 7 or 8.