Barrels

[George "Scott" Davis]

Called Bachelders yesterday to get an update on a my L. C. Smith barrels and received disappointing news. They accepted shipment on 2 barrels from me on January 21, 2019: Lefever and Smith. The Lefever barrels were rust blued and returned to me in early October and they are stunning. The L. C. Smith barrels needed a large dent removed in one barrel then re-blued. Told yesterday they would not be completed until mid-January 2020.
When I shipped those barrels I was told they would be completed in May-June, called in June and was told it would be August and now January 2020.
I've used the Bachelders to redo several barrels over the last few years and my brother was so impressed with their results he sent 4 sets of barrels to them in the spring of 2019.
I appreciate top craftsmanship and I'm willing to pay for quality work but don't give me a delivery date you can't meet.

[WHO]

George, You are preaching to the choir. Many of us have similar stories.

[Dean Romig]

How unfortunate....






.

[J. A. EARLY]

Lucky you. I've had a set that I've been waiting three years on for a DH 12. I won't give a name but it is a gun I now just want to recoup some of my investment.

I check on them from time to time and they are always next.

[Marty K.]

This is their MO.....

Frustrating to say the least...

[Keavin Nelson]

Removing a dent and rust bluing a set of barrels doesn't take that much time. Not good.

[GH-16]

This isn't unique to Bachelders!

Almost every gunsmith I've ever used hasn't met their anticipated delivery date. Unfortunately it's just part of the game.

Please don't get me wrong. I get very frustrated by the missed dates myself, it's just something that I have come to grips with that this is just the way it is. We can debate all the possible reasons for this and fill several pages here doing so, but in the end it won't change a thing.

What it's done for me is to make me have 2nd, 3rd & 4th thoughts anytime I think about sending work off. When I do have work done now I realize that the moment I slip the package across the shipping table I may not see that gun or parts again for several years. I jokingly refer to it as the gunsmithing blackhole. It's made me re-think having any work done other than necessary mechanical repairs to make the gun go bang again.

The bottom line here is that this isn't flat rate work. The guy's that do this work are artisans that are working on very old items that have un-foreseen problems crop-up which need to be worked around to be made right. There is fewer and fewer smith's doing this type of work all the time and the ones left are getting all of the work. When you add it up it leads to the frustrations that we all feel when discussing this issue. Almost everyone who's messed around with these old guns has dealt with these frustrations at least once & in some cases many times.

I guess what I'm trying to say is; I feel your pain, I've been there-done that!! My suggestion is to take a deep breath it will all work-out in the end.

[Parker Bachelder (Brad's Profile)]

Time delays can result from extenuating circumstances related to the process, lack of available trained hands to prep/finish or simply from scheduling mistakes.
My staff are all trained in multiple areas, hence they are almost always busy.
Time frame delays are unfortunate, equally unfortunate for me are the few voices that project themselves loudly on these types of threads.
Please bear in mind that my local service is a large percentage of my work, more in depth process (anything related to SXS finishing) is going to take longer.
Every day I continue to improve my operation procedures.
As always, problems are best resolved with me if you are looking to solve your issue.
-Parker B

[Bruce Day]

As the vintage gun hobby has grown, more business has been placed upon the few gunsmiths with training and expertise.
I’m thankful for the Bachelder family and employees. They bring much to our enjoyment even if they sometimes struggle to meet our demands.

One of these guns has been re-case colored by Bachelder, the other is original.

[BRDHNTR]

we all miss Brad