As many of you know, I tend to defend gunsmiths, since I used to be one. But let me tell you a tale.
A couple of years ago, I bought a .25 Steyr pistol to add to a modest collection of European pocket and vest pocket pistols. It is of the "pop up" barrel type (Pieper patent) and the barrel spring was missing as well as the barrel pivot screw.
Having a ton of real work (note to Teresa Heinz Kerry - this means work you do for money because you have to, something you don't know much about) and no furnace, I took the barrel and an identical screw to a gunsmith and asked him to make the spring and screw. He did tell me that he had no metric dies, but I said that 8x32 would be very close and to go ahead and thread the screw to that size. I figured the job would take a couple of hours and was willing to pay accordingly. That was about 18 months ago.
The gunsmith is well known for doing high dollar shotgun work for the duck hunting fraternity, but assured me my work would be no problem and that he would call me in a "few weeks".
After about 6 months, I had heard nothing, so I called him. He thanked me for "reminding" him and told me to call again in a "few weeks". A month later, I called, and he again told me he had laid my work aside but that he would get to it "next week".
To make a long story short, I called last week, and asked him to send me back the parts and a bill for any work he had done. He sent me back the parts and a 2" piece of spring steel he had scratched a line on. No bill.
Having more time now, I took his piece of spring steel, and used a file and Dremel tool to make the spring. I tempered it with a propane torch, quenched it in oil and drew it to a nice blue. Works great.
I made the screw from an old Dixie Gun Works screw for an 1842 pistol rammer that I happened to have and that was the right size to work after some thread cutting and shaping.
All in all, the job took me about two hours, including a stop for a sandwich and Pepsi.
I will probably still advise most folks to take gun work to a gunsmith if they can't do the work themselves. But the current state of gunsmithing work is pretty sad.
Jim
A couple of years ago, I bought a .25 Steyr pistol to add to a modest collection of European pocket and vest pocket pistols. It is of the "pop up" barrel type (Pieper patent) and the barrel spring was missing as well as the barrel pivot screw.
Having a ton of real work (note to Teresa Heinz Kerry - this means work you do for money because you have to, something you don't know much about) and no furnace, I took the barrel and an identical screw to a gunsmith and asked him to make the spring and screw. He did tell me that he had no metric dies, but I said that 8x32 would be very close and to go ahead and thread the screw to that size. I figured the job would take a couple of hours and was willing to pay accordingly. That was about 18 months ago.
The gunsmith is well known for doing high dollar shotgun work for the duck hunting fraternity, but assured me my work would be no problem and that he would call me in a "few weeks".
After about 6 months, I had heard nothing, so I called him. He thanked me for "reminding" him and told me to call again in a "few weeks". A month later, I called, and he again told me he had laid my work aside but that he would get to it "next week".
To make a long story short, I called last week, and asked him to send me back the parts and a bill for any work he had done. He sent me back the parts and a 2" piece of spring steel he had scratched a line on. No bill.
Having more time now, I took his piece of spring steel, and used a file and Dremel tool to make the spring. I tempered it with a propane torch, quenched it in oil and drew it to a nice blue. Works great.
I made the screw from an old Dixie Gun Works screw for an 1842 pistol rammer that I happened to have and that was the right size to work after some thread cutting and shaping.
All in all, the job took me about two hours, including a stop for a sandwich and Pepsi.
I will probably still advise most folks to take gun work to a gunsmith if they can't do the work themselves. But the current state of gunsmithing work is pretty sad.
Jim
Two hours. At normal gunsmith rates that would cost $395.00 for labor, not to mention materials. 
" (Better than: "Don't worry. It's not loa...BANG!) Ever heard a .270 let go in a small gun store? Ever seen the Saturday pre-hunting season crowd all hit the deck in unison in a small gun store? That's GOTTA be the most deafening silence ever for about 10 seconds afterward. Right up there with "I can't get the shell outta the chamber."
