I'm "that guy"with the worst luck with gunsmiths!!!

[Nostradumbass]

I just picked my rifle up from the gunsmith.....a gunsmith that came highly recommended. I gave him a brand new barreled action and a Brand new McMillan stock. All I wanted him to do is bed the thing. I pick it up today, and all I can see is a huge Chip in the stock gelcoat with little chips around it. He marine texted the chip back in, admitted to chipping it, and proceded to tell me the other smaller chips were there when he got it.
I'm not an idiot....I looked over the stock when I got it from McMillan, and personally delivered it to him. And it was pristine.
Does the gelcoat get chipped fairly commonly when bedding these stocks? Have any of you guys had this happen? Or am I the one that gets repeatedly shit on?
I called McMillan, and they're sending me a gelcoat repair kit with no charge, so I am happy bout that....I'm just bummed out about the bid ass chip on my brand new rifle, and the gunsmith's uncaring attitude.
Here's a pic....what y'all think?
And maybe I'm overreacting....

 

[6brshooter]

I would have asked for some discount on that work. Actually after seeing that the bedding would be suspect IMHO. Do a stress test on the bedding and see if it is stress free. Also what smith so people can steer clear.

 

[JGorski]

Thats why I got a Manners. Should be an easy fix, though. Dont they make something called fiberglass filler?

 

[JG_PA_308]

doesn't look like a biggie, but yet i'd be pissed with it being brand new...least McMillan is willing to help you out

 

[TXBRASS]

I'd be FLIPPIN' OUT.....

 

[lw8]

Gelcoat is fragile.

If you go around the stock with a small hard object like a tiny ball peen hammer and tap on it, you will find that pieces crack and fall off just like in the pic.

Its not a durable finish for the stock.

 

[Haust]

Remove the barreled action and hand him the stock, with an order form for a new McMillan. No way would I put up with that.

 

[Nostradumbass]

Yeah, if I gave him the stock, and told him to order me a new one, I'm sure it would go to civil court and cost me time and money....my dad always said "when you buy a new truck, go take a hammer and hit a quarter panel...that way the first dent is out of the way."
Maybe I just need to take his advice here too.

 

[bm11]

I say plaster his name all over the internet, that way other people know what they are getting into.

Not a popular idea around here as everyone seems to feel like all gunsmiths need to be given a free pass to suck at what they do, but if you just suck it up, you have just absorbed the loss while allowing him to continue butchering stocks.

That reminds me, I had a bad experience and I need to take the time to share.

 

[Nostradumbass]

I'm not going to say who did it......but if Someone wants to know, let me know via pm.
Fwiw, I popped the action out, and the bedding looks pretty good.

 

[MitchK]

I wouldn't like it, but its just cosmetic. If the bedding is good and the rifle shoots good dont worry about it.

 

[sbaird4000]

I'd be pissed, that job is unacceptable! Too bad that gunsmith doesn't have the same warranty as Larue Tactical. In all seriousness though let us all know who he is that way we don't make the mistake of sending him something.

 

[JCH]

That stock is bad. You should ask for him to cover the cost of shipping the stock back to McMillan for repair. I have tried the gelcoat repair kits and they take some practice to get right.

You aren't the only one with a bad smith. I had a doozy my first time to build a custom. Screwed me over pretty good. I had to get another local smith to fix it. Now that gunsmith is in business with people here on the hide, but he isn't a well known or recommended gunsmith. My buddy got screwed over worse than me and ended up getting his parts all thrown in a box and sent back to him with machine work done by the gunsmith that ruined two of his stocks.

To top that off the same buddy just did a build with a well known gunsmith that is known on this board. My buddy requested specific details prior to sending parts. What he got back was an embarrassment. Then he gave the smith several opportunities to fix his shoddy work and the smith basically told him to F off.

Moral of the story, there are bad smith's out there. When people act to hide the facts and cover up poor feedback about bad work it only hurts the community in general.

 

[Easy_E]

That just sucks you should let everyone know who this is if he won't make it right.

Gunsmiths are no different than auto mechanic carpenters or doctors. Sometimes you get screwed trying to find a good one. Once you find a god one take care of them. Send a Christmas card , birthday card donuts and/or coffee. Hell my gunsmith commented he couldn't find 6.5x55 brass so I bought him some on gunbroker.
Its just as important to reward the ones that do a good job criticizing the ones that do bad.

 

[lonely_wolf]

I would demand a discount. The damage is superficial, but at the same time, I don't pay a smith to damage what I give them. They should have been upfront about what happened and offered a discount to you immediately. That is professionalism.

Accidents happen to the best of us. How a person handles the situation is what counts.

 

[Rigamortous]

Of course that won't effect the function but I would be Pissed, I like things to look professional and the smith didn't do a professional job.

 

[digitalshooter]

Everyone makes mistakes. Even gunsmiths, it's how they take care of the mistakes that makes a difference. If he has had the chance to fix the problem and hasn't then you should say who it is and give a complete description of what happened so others can steer clear of him.

 

[KYS]

Sounds like we need a list of who to trust with our money and parts... this seems to be getting to normal of a trend. Guys claiming to be smiths and jacking up the parts you pay your hard earned money for. I cant stand for that shit to happen!
If I am going to spend the money, I want to be treated right and the rifle built correctly.

 

[K_4c]

Sounds like we need a list of who to trust with our money and parts... this seems to be getting to normal of a trend. Guys claiming to be smiths and jacking up the parts you pay your hard earned money for. I cant stand for that shit to happen!
If I am going to spend the money, I want to be treated right and the rifle built correctly.

+1

some people consider firearms an investment....

 

[SuburbanHick]

id make him buy a new stock....

 

[jhart2424]

I know it cost more money in the end but I have always ordered my stocks in a flat color, do all the work that needs to be done and then paint it after the fact. I did just order a Manners T4 with the Badger bedding block so hopefully I can move away from bedding.........

 

[HD1911]

Sounds like we need a list of who to trust with our money and parts... this seems to be getting to normal of a trend. Guys claiming to be smiths and jacking up the parts you pay your hard earned money for. I cant stand for that shit to happen!
If I am going to spend the money, I want to be treated right and the rifle built correctly.

True that.

 

[demolitionman]

Awful man. I'm sorry to see that. I would be sick! Anyway, first things first, go to the range, put it on bags, and see how she groups. I (personally) would forget about the cosmetic damage real quick if the work he did has it shooting like a top. Good luck, let us all know what you end up doing. I would ask he give you some sort of % off the work as a result of that. What a bummer

 

[den42]

sorry about the smith doing such a shitty job, not your luck it is the smith not giving a shit about a customer (period) if he gave a dame about doing a good job he would have told you about his mistake so you guys could have come up with something for compensation for f*cking up your new stock at the very least!! i agree with the guys above about putting the word out so somebody does not have to go through this, and checking his work!!! if he half assed taking care of you stuff doing work on it what makes you think he gave a dame about doing the work right!

 

[jimmykm21]

" He marine texted the chip back in, admitted to chipping it, and proceded to tell me the other smaller chips were there when he got it.
I'm not an idiot....I looked over the stock when I got it from McMillan, and personally delivered it to him. And it was pristine"





You lose me once you call me a liar. I can forgive a mistake like he made but not what he said.

I would make him buy a new stock and I would take him to small claims .

If it cost me a day of work , wouldn't care

 

[Nostradumbass]

Ok, I thought about it some more,
I wouldn't have been so upset if he at least tried to make right the marginal work. I understand mistakes happen, but he tried to just blow it off, and said most of the damage was pre-existing. He was recommended by members here on the hide....and maybe he does jam up work....but I haven't seen it.

Good luck guys...precision rifles are damn expensive, and then you wait months, if not years to get your rifles back from the gun plumbers of your choosing. Personally, with all the variables involved...I don't think its out of line to demand perfection.

 

[KYS]

How does he figure that there are small chips around the crack BEFORE he got it? That's not even physically possible! He chipped it and boogered it up further by trying to fix it.

Tell us who this person is....

 

[Sidk]

Everyone makes mistakes. Even gunsmiths, it's how they take care of the mistakes that makes a difference. If he has had the chance to fix the problem and hasn't then you should say who it is and give a complete description of what happened so others can steer clear of him.

As a mechanic for 30 years I can tell you, sometimes shit happens. Give him the chance to make it right. I hope my McMillan is tougher then that.

 

[jsthntn247]

I wouldn't have paid for the bedding job for damn sure or he would have sent my stock back, either or.

 

[Sauce787]

Freeing from the action from the stock after the glass cures is far from a gentle process. I can see where it wouldnt be hard to chip a stock, especially if it was gelcoated and the smith used too much glass. Me personally, a gun is a tool. I don't particularly care what it looks like as long as it functions and shoots well. That being said, when I do work for others I do my best to sent the gun back looking better than I received it. I'd talk to your smith and see what if anything can be done.

 

[strike33]

Sounds like we need a list of who to trust with our money and parts... this seems to be getting to normal of a trend. Guys claiming to be smiths and jacking up the parts you pay your hard earned money for. I cant stand for that shit to happen!
If I am going to spend the money, I want to be treated right and the rifle built correctly.

Agreed....if we have "good guy" lists, why not "bad experience" list

 

[Lukas Koukal]

I don´t mind any "scars" on my equipment from my own and actual use and abuse; however if damaged carelessly and out of line of service, I´d bu flipping out as well. And it´s always sorry to see any disappointment before you can even check that stick out on a range.

 

[Duffy1298]

just had my mcmillan stock bedded as well. No complaints.

 

[Lynn Jr]

I just picked my rifle up from the gunsmith.....a gunsmith that came highly recommended. I gave him a brand new barreled action and a Brand new McMillan stock. All I wanted him to do is bed the thing. I pick it up today, and all I can see is a huge Chip in the stock gelcoat with little chips around it. He marine texted the chip back in, admitted to chipping it, and proceded to tell me the other smaller chips were there when he got it.
I'm not an idiot....I looked over the stock when I got it from McMillan, and personally delivered it to him. And it was pristine.
Does the gelcoat get chipped fairly commonly when bedding these stocks? Have any of you guys had this happen? Or am I the one that gets repeatedly shit on?
I called McMillan, and they're sending me a gelcoat repair kit with no charge, so I am happy bout that....I'm just bummed out about the bid ass chip on my brand new rifle, and the gunsmith's uncaring attitude.
Here's a pic....what y'all think?
And maybe I'm overreacting....

It looks like it chipped out from milling it for clearance.
Call him up and ask him for a letter on his companies stationery stating the stock was full of chips and that you are sending it all back to McMillan for replacement.Tell him that is what your attorney recommended and you want to get this taken care asap.
If your building a precision rifle in the future Alex Sitman at MasterClass Stocks is one of the best in the world and charges a fair price.His wait times can be long but he beds some of the most accurate rifles on the planet.
Getting a good gunsmith is the hardest part of competitive shooting.Most gunsmiths lack the machining skills and equipment to do the work they claim to be able to do.
Recommendations only count if you personally know the poster and his equipments capabilities.

 

[turbo54]

Lets set aside the issue of the chip for a moment...

What's with that bedding job? Let's see some more closeups of the job, all around the action. To me, it looks like garbage, and I am only a hobbyist smith that's only been doing this kind of thing for a couple years.

- It looks like no care was used to get the action sitting in the stock nicely. Look to the right of the tang...see how the stock sits really high in relation to the tang? Crappy.

- Look at the seam just behind the side bolt release, and follow it down alongside the tang. Note the spot where the bedding material is not of an even thickness... Looks crappy. It takes only a moment with a file or rotary tool (dremel or similar) to get that nice and straight for a good presentation.

- Look at the bedding material behind the tang. It is recessed, and it is lumpy and bumpy. Looks like shit.

My guess is the ejection port undercut of the stock isn't going to match neatly with the ejection port of the action, and I'm guessing the bedding material thickness varies all around the action.

Functionally, none of these things matter much but anyone even slightly "handy" can do a functional (and decent looking) bedding job. The reason you pay a professional gunsmith $200-300 for this job is because he does a sweet job of it.

I have seen (up close and personal) 3 or 4 GAP jobs, 3 or 4 SAC jobs and dozens of Long Rifles jobs (though only here on the hide) and there is no way they'd ship that bedding job to customer. No way Jose.

That all said, we all make mistakes. I advise you to politely ask this fellow to go back over the work and make it professional-grade.

 

[creids98292]

It looks to me like the endmill caught the stock edge and blew it out, but that being said, go back and talk to the guy. Give him the chance to fix it right or stick his foot in his mouth and don't recommend him for work if he doesn't stand behind it. I wouldn't recomend releasing his name cause then it just becomes a pissing match. Legal recourse is different than a "he screwed my shit up" claim over a forum.
Chris
Benchmark Barrels

 

[Nostradumbass]

It looks to me like the endmill caught the stock edge and blew it out, but that being said, go back and talk to the guy. Give him the chance to fix it right or stick his foot in his mouth and don't recommend him for work if he doesn't stand behind it. I wouldn't recomend releasing his name cause then it just becomes a pissing match. Legal recourse is different than a "he screwed my shit up" claim over a forum.
Chris
Benchmark Barrels

Yeah Chris, that's why I didn't want to release his name openly. I don't need or have time to deal with legal matters. McMillan is sending me a repair kit, and if I can't fix it with the kit, they told me to send it to them and they'd fix it at no charge. So, kudos to McMillan anyways.

 

[SEREK82]

That chip is a little too big yeah I would be upset if it was me that gunsmith would either get me a new stock or make that one look like brand new or cut ties and have a better smith fix that.

 

[sidewaysil80]

I mean, my thought process is you gave him a chance to correct it when you brought it up. He made it right by still charging you and LYING to your face. I wouldn't protect the guy or try to let him rectify it now that he knows their may be adverse consequences. He had the chance when you asked him respectably at time of pick up...

 

[elephantrider]

He marine texted the chip back in, admitted to chipping it, and proceded to tell me the other smaller chips were there when he got it.
I'm not an idiot....I looked over the stock when I got it from McMillan, and personally delivered it to him. And it was pristine.

So either this guys standards are that low, he is a liar, or both? If it was chipped when he got it, a good gunsmith would have notified you immediately so you could at least have the option of having McMillan address the problem before he bedded it. If he chipped it, why didn't he call you and own up to it immeditely instead of waiting until you picked it up? If he is this careless with what you can see, how did he do with the stuff you can't immediately see?

I would closely examine and evaluate every aspect of the work he did to see if he cut any other corners or made other mistakes. I assume you paid full price for the work to be done professionally, so there is no reason tis guys feet shouldn't be held to the fire.

This is coming form a guy who's first bolt gunsmith (who was supposed to be reputable/recomended by a Hide member) cut a serious corner that couldn't bee seen immediately.

 

[jeep505090]

If this stock had to be milled/ opened up to fit your action, then yes thats what did the chipping but if it did not I have had that same issue with the chipping on mcmillians. That comes from the bedding adhearing to the stock in that area. It was not taped off and if it was, it wasnt taped over the edge of the gelcoat into the fiber glass of the stock. Its very important to tape of that section well because once the steel bed adheres to it, it will pull off the coating right there/chipping it out once it hardens. While its semi soft its still workable and wont chip like that. Use some crazy glue with sand paper it works very well for a qucik fix. That is Not quality work, you are justified in your feelings.

 

[Joe Myles]

The showline of the bedding looks really bad, not just the chipped gel coat. I'm wondering if he let it cure to long and the damage occurred trying to get the action out? Maybe the bedding compound was mixed with to much hardener?

 

[jbell]

Lets set aside the issue of the chip for a moment...

What's with that bedding job? Let's see some more closeups of the job, all around the action. To me, it looks like garbage, and I am only a hobbyist smith that's only been doing this kind of thing for a couple years.

- It looks like no care was used to get the action sitting in the stock nicely. Look to the right of the tang...see how the stock sits really high in relation to the tang? Crappy.

- Look at the seam just behind the side bolt release, and follow it down alongside the tang. Note the spot where the bedding material is not of an even thickness... Looks crappy. It takes only a moment with a file or rotary tool (dremel or similar) to get that nice and straight for a good presentation.

- Look at the bedding material behind the tang. It is recessed, and it is lumpy and bumpy. Looks like shit.

My guess is the ejection port undercut of the stock isn't going to match neatly with the ejection port of the action, and I'm guessing the bedding material thickness varies all around the action.

Functionally, none of these things matter much but anyone even slightly "handy" can do a functional (and decent looking) bedding job. The reason you pay a professional gunsmith $200-300 for this job is because he does a sweet job of it.

I have seen (up close and personal) 3 or 4 GAP jobs, 3 or 4 SAC jobs and dozens of Long Rifles jobs (though only here on the hide) and there is no way they'd ship that bedding job to customer. No way Jose.

That all said, we all make mistakes. I advise you to politely ask this fellow to go back over the work and make it professional-grade.

I agree 100%, it looks like no effort was put into the job. I would love to see some more pics of the action in the stock and then a pic or two of the bedding. I also say you should check it for stress, I bet its torqued up in the stock. Good luck to you and well played to Mcmillan for going above and beyond!

 

[37841anarchy]

Jesus.....looks like he cleand it up with a freaking hammer and chisel. Hell I did my own bedding job and it came ouy WAY better than that!

 

[TheGerman]

That's not a chip, that's a gouge that was repaired back into a chip.

As long as you probably waited for a McM stock for it to come back looking like that, I wouldn't just take it and go home.

And anybody worth a shit at least contacts you ahead of time if there were any issues with a stock (or whatever they were about to do work on) to make you aware of these ahead of time and not play the 'it was like that when I got it' bullshit.

 

[green338 2.0]

I wouldn't recomend releasing his name cause then it just becomes a pissing match. Legal recourse is different than a "he screwed my shit up" claim over a forum.
Chris
Benchmark Barrels

Yeah Chris, that's why I didn't want to release his name openly. I don't need or have time to deal with legal matters. .

How is releasing his name any different than any other review-website (ie Yelp, Resellerrating, Bizrate.com)? Customers do this all the time when you buy a product that you're happy or not happy about.

 

[terrygood]

I have a stock exactly like yours. The molded in pattern is the problem I think? The stock ships very easily because of swirl patter of the gel coat (molded color). Mcmillan is trying to keep the different colors from merging in the pattern for looks. I think that this process is causing the colors not to bond with each other? Chipping is normal when working with these stocks. Also if you look at the bevels in the action they too could have caused a slight lift witch would have caused the problem? A little sanding should clean this all up. I would not send the stock back because of the BS you will run into all over again.

 

[OFIS]

That bedding compound looks like it hardened too much before it was cleaned up, hence the chipping effect rear of the tang. I'm no gunsmith but after bedding 6-8 of my own rifles I got a hang of what not to do. The action sitting deeper on the right side would also have me worried...

 

[diderr]

+1 OFIS I've bedded two of my own rifle, and by no means consider myself a "professional" at it, but my very first attempt looked a heck of a lot better than that. I would ask for a refund and find a different smith.

 

[The Gump]

I have a stock exactly like yours. The molded in pattern is the problem I think? The stock ships very easily because of swirl patter of the gel coat (molded color). Mcmillan is trying to keep the different colors from merging in the pattern for looks. I think that this process is causing the colors not to bond with each other? Chipping is normal when working with these stocks. Also if you look at the bevels in the action they too could have caused a slight lift witch would have caused the problem? A little sanding should clean this all up. I would not send the stock back because of the BS you will run into all over again.

^^^^
This.

That being said, depending on how much you paid for that bed job, I would say it look like someone stuffed a diamond in a goats ass.

I'm not so concerned about the chips in the stock so much as I am the chips in the bedding and the fact that the action looks like its canted to the right.