PacNor Burns To The Ground

[Cascade Hemi]

I don't know if this has been posted yet or not but it looks like PacNor is gone.

Update - Photos / Structure Fire: Flames destroy local rifle barrel plant

Update posted at 9 a.m. Oct. 25

www.currypilot.com

 

[BurnOut]

That's absolutely terrible...

 

[rimfire22lr]

Very sad. I have a rifle with a barrel they made for me. I will cherish it more now.

 

[rockn30809]

Damn shame.

 

[SD Carpenter]

Hes 66 years old and was fully insured... Time to enjoy your retirement my man. Damn shame.

 

[supratt96]

Hope they had good insurance. If they did, they might be back and better than ever.

 

[padom]

At 66 I'd be out with that settlement check

 

[Kamerad]

It’s fortunate nobody was injured. Didn’t John Noveske get his start at PacNor?

 

[Boss334OP]

At 66 I'd be out with that settlement check

Sad but more than likely.

Pacnor was on the shortlist to tryout, but I guess not.

 

[samb300]

At 66 I'd be out with that settlement check

Unfortunately there's a small shop of people now without jobs, who may or may not receive a portion of that settlement check.

 

[Sierra770]

Good folks. Sad Situation!

 

[Supersubes]

Man, they were an institution. What a shame.

 

[AIAW]

Whoa. I’ll bet it was cutting oil. Stuff is quite flammable with the right persuasion.

From the article:

“We had a part wore out on a lathe and were waiting for a replacement part,” he said. “As one of the guys moved the electrical conduit attached to the lathe that comes out of a box in the wall, some sparks flew.”

Dichter said other employees pulled the main breaker to cut the power off and shortly after that, fire burst from the wall. “I’d never seen anything go like that,” Dichter said. “It blew up with smoke and fire. It sounded like a tree fell on the plant.”

Whether he will rebuild is still unclear.
“I am 66 years-old and I don’t know if I have the time left,” he said. “It took my lifetime to find all the machinery in this plant.”

 

[spife7980]

Glad I had them barrel my first deer rifle, Ill cherish it even more now.

 

[AIAW]

Yessir - I did read the article as well. When you use a lathe a lot and use cutting oil on it it does over the years start to coat anything near the lathe.

If you had a drywall wall behind it, the words“soaked up like a sponge” might be used to describe the outcome, but even a metal sheet wall coated in it can go up.

Some shops have even used spray cooking oil for some jobs, and it can have an effect.

Also, a fire like that is so hard to put out with handheld extinguishers it’s crazy.

Very true. I've seen a drum of fine chips (similar to steel wool) catch on fire. Impressive amount of heat.

Hopefully that "electrical issue" doesn't come back to bite them. I.E.: Non-licensed electrician doing work, etc.

 

[AManWearingAHat]

Very sad to see. I suppose that will be the end for them.

 

[Yote Klr]

My best button rifled barrels are Pac Nor.
I had an order 10 weeks in...it was probably in a lathe yesterday.
I hate to even call right now to ask "what happened to my barrel" when those poor people's livelihoods are burned to the ground.

 

[AIAW]

My best button rifled barrels are Pac Nor.
I had an order 10 weeks in...it was probably in a lathe yesterday.
I hate to even call right now to ask "what happened to my barrel" when those poor people's livelihoods are burned to the ground.

If you don't have a tracking number then it probably got an unfortunate and destructive heat-treat. I'm sure they will take care of pending order refunds once they get everything sorted out with insurance and such.

 

[Dave62677]

i have their bbl in 308, it shots really good

 

[Badfinger]

It's already posted Pacnor

 

[b6graham]

It's already posted Pacnor

this thread is older than the one you linked fyi

 

[1moaoff]

Sad, I have used their barrels before and they were great.

That will make wait times with others longer until the void gets filled.

 

[Steel head]

That’s a big bummer!

 

[FrankinND]

That’s so sad to loose a business like that. A lifetime collecting the equipment for his trade which I’m sure
He was very particular about and not easy to come by. Feel really bad for all
Involved. Hope they get it sorted out if rebuilding or a happy retirement. Maybe he can pass the torch to some of the senior employees and over see.
Or maybe retire but be available as an advisor? I wish them all the best of luck!

 

[Yote Klr]

They're barrels are excellent! I hope the younger 'apprentices' can carry the torch if he decides to retire. I know Casey and Jay are very knowledgeable and capable.

 

[Kbh]

I sure hate to hear that. My first "custom" hunting rifle was a push feed m70 that Pac-nor rebarreled to 6.5x55 after I read about them in a magazine article by Ross Seyfried. It was a good shooter.

 

[MarinePMI]

Sad to hear. ?

My first 6.5 CM barrel was a PacNor (back when everyone was “You’re shooting a what?”), and it shot like nobody’s business. Gonna miss them...

 

[Yote Klr]

Just spoke to Kathy Dichter, she said they plan to re build.

 

[b6graham]

Just spoke to Kathy Dichter, she said they plan to re build.

might now be a bad thing. more efficient space with more efficient new age machines, even if its less total machines and space. opportunity to improve workflow

 

[willyp]

One of my favorite barrel manufactures. A damn shame!

 

[jbailey]

It’s fortunate nobody was injured. Didn’t John Noveske get his start at PacNor?

Affirmative. John Noveske started in the business at PacNor. They supplied him with barrels for a long time, maybe they still do.

 

[Forgetful Coyote]

Affirmative. John Noveske started in the business at PacNor. They supplied him with barrels for a long time, maybe they still do.

Noveske SS barrels are Pac Nor blanks. At least until this fire occurred.

 

[Scwalker83]

Unfortunately there's a small shop of people now without jobs, who may or may not receive a portion of that settlement check.

Not sure how long it takes for insurance to cut a check for something like that but I can almost guarantee that the time getting geared back up to start making money again is going to hit everyone in there in their pocketbooks. I would bet that half a year or more is lost getting re-settled and re-tooled. If they do open it back up that shows a true passion. I'd clock out on that note if I was 66.

 

[benchmstr]

so, the barrels inside are already broken in and heat tempered?

bench

 

[Andielouroo]

Not sure how long it takes for insurance to cut a check for something like that but I can almost guarantee that the time getting geared back up to start making money again is going to hit everyone in there in their pocketbooks. I would bet that half a year or more is lost getting re-settled and re-tooled. If they do open it back up that shows a true passion. I'd clock out on that note if I was 66.

If he was truly well insured, he will have business interruption coverage that will provide for lost revenue.

No matter what the insurance provides, a loss like this is devastating. I litigate insurance claims when insurers don’t pay benefits and help a lot of businesses in circumstances like this. Some businesses survive, some don’t.

 

[ChadL]

That’s really terrible. I really liked the people I have worked with there. They’ve made two different barrels for me over the last couple of years. Great barrels.

 

[striped1]

Not sure how long it takes for insurance to cut a check for something like that but I can almost guarantee that the time getting geared back up to start making money again is going to hit everyone in there in their pocketbooks. I would bet that half a year or more is lost getting re-settled and re-tooled. If they do open it back up that shows a true passion. I'd clock out on that note if I was 66.

Depends on the carrier. Most have insurance. They policies are all relatively similar. What you are paying for is claims service.
IF they are interested in re-opening, it could be as quick as 45-90 days in a relatively permanent facility. The lead time on the equipment is the biggest issue.

FYI, there website states that they are rebuilding and anticipate being back to production in 6 months.

 

[Yote Klr]

So, Kathy just called me and said my barrel was out getting fluted when the shop burned!
It's being shipped out this week!