Thread: South Island Gunsmith

Anyone know of a good South Island Gunsmith?
Someone capable of truing the action, obtaining, machining and fitting a barrel blank, possibly even custom reaming a chamber etc?
Thanks

robbie tiffens work generally has a fairly good following on here."gunworks"

+1 for gunworks...great chaps to deal with and the "Sheila's" aren't too hard on the eye either and a hoot to deal with, nothing is a problem.

Originally Posted by Micky Duck

+1 for gunworks...great chaps to deal with and the "Sheila's" aren't too hard on the eye either and a hoot to deal with, nothing is a problem.

Funny how you say that. I was surprised when I rang them once to discuss something with them, I think it was nothing more than like a simple 'bedding of an action' job, and they virtually told me that, that was beyond them and they led me to believe they were more of a glorified overbarrel 'silencer' specialist, rather than a competent gunsmith proper!

High country sport in Fairlie, does proper blueprinting and barrel fitting.

Originally Posted by Remington 5R .300 Win Mag

Funny how you say that. I was surprised when I rang them once to discuss something with them, I think it was nothing more than like a simple 'bedding of an action' job, and they virtually told me that, that was beyond them and they led me to believe they were more of a glorified overbarrel 'silencer' specialist, rather than a competent gunsmith proper!

i've had 2 situations where i have asked for nothing fancy but been turned down . . to busy etc . .. but they can build and fit a suppressor . . very strange from a Master Gunsmith . . but nice guys and gals to deal with and the work they do is good.

Status Guns in Invers get all my work now, nothing is a problem, prices are a bargain compared to others and workmanship is superb . . but ya have to wait a while cos he is busy . .. which is better than a smith with time on his hands, that tells you plenty.

Originally Posted by Remington 5R .300 Win Mag

Funny how you say that. I was surprised when I rang them once to discuss something with them, I think it was nothing more than like a simple 'bedding of an action' job, and they virtually told me that, that was beyond them and they led me to believe they were more of a glorified overbarrel 'silencer' specialist, rather than a competent gunsmith proper!

What happened there was you got diverted/set aside.

There was not enough coin to be made from the work you offered them.

Fact

Originally Posted by 7mmsaum

What happened there was you got diverted/set aside.

There was not enough coin to be made from the work you offered them.

Fact

So, you're suggesting that THEY'RE 'subtly' suggesting, that I go ahead and get extra work done on a rifle that I don't need to get done, or, pay excessively for a bedding job so that they can eek enough cash out of me for to make it worth 'their' while, yeah?
If that's the way they want to treat their clientele then they automatically miss out on the bigger jobs I may have for them later... it's that simple!

No he's suggesting that they are busy enough doing the other work that is more profitable, than farting around doing a small one off job that will not be...

Originally Posted by Remington 5R .300 Win Mag

or, pay the (appropriate amount) for a bedding job so that they can eek enough cash out of me for to make it worth 'their' while, yeah?

They are not subtlety suggesting anything, you surmised due to offence

The adjusted quote above is now is closer to correct

We cant expect them to do work for us, when its not economically worth their while, if they did that for you, and everyone else, then they wont be there to do the work you want done next year

It is simply a matter of time spent versus income, day after day after day

Nobody wants to do a 4 hr job and be paid for a 2 hr one, then do that a couple of times a day, every day, Every week, Every year, When they have a full time income stream elsewhere

The type of people that do little jobs for little return are retired folk, who have time to spare and the coin is handy.

A more constructive approach from them would have been to advise you of the actual cost of the job, and if that was not satisfactory for you then show a cost reduction if you can advance your rifle modification timeframe and get more work done at the same time.

Im sure we can apply the same logic to most areas of labour added products and trade and the way we, as consumers of their labour added products and trade, employ the services of said providers.

We cant expect a top notch (time consuming) service/product whilst only paying what we "think" is correct.

Originally Posted by Remington 5R .300 Win Mag

So, you're suggesting that THEY'RE 'subtly' suggesting, that I go ahead and get extra work done on a rifle that I don't need to get done, or, pay excessively for a bedding job so that they can eek enough cash out of me for to make it worth 'their' while, yeah?
If that's the way they want to treat their clientele then they automatically miss out on the bigger jobs I may have for them later... it's that simple!

Looks like a couple people type what I said faster than I did.....Edited. As an adendum, I have had work done by the crew at Gunworks when we could not due to our circumstances here post quake, and we are very happy with the standard and quality of workmanship they provide. I will happily take rifles to them again and an hapy recommending them to our own customers.

We often have people want jobs done on rifles that when you look into it are not really in the best interests of the customer. I dont know all the details in your case, but bedding a rifle can be a time consuming job to do properly and a quick cheap job will ruin a business reputation quickly and effectively. We often had people wanting to get work done that would have exceeded the value of the rifle with minimal benefit for the customer. A lot are happy to spend this money and if they really want to then we will usually find a way to help them without simply taking the job. Often they will get better results by starting again with a new rifle and for much less. We approach it in a different way as generally we have more time and admittedly this means it takes us quite a bit longer to get some jobs done. I will normally go through what is being asked and what is needed to accomplish this and find out why this is being done. Then I try to go through the pro's and cons of said choices and offer options for they buyer to decide. Is it worth spending big bucks on bedding a 22LR (this is something we have been asked to do) Not normally, but in some situations it can be. Mostly with 22lr there is little benefit to glass or pillar bedding actions depending on what it is used for etc but in other cases it can have a pay off. But it often costs more than the new rifle if done properly for a fair price.

Sometimes we will walk the customer through how to do the task themselves. I started here as a customer when the Gunsmith did exactly that. The job I wanted done would have cost me more than a new rifle, but he showed me how to do this myself for much less. This does not work in every case. I admit, often it would be much easier to politely decline and say we are too busy. (Often we are anyway but will try to help anyway, hence the delays)

Originally Posted by 7mmsaum

What happened there was you got diverted/set aside.

There was not enough coin to be made from the work you offered them.

Fact

i think you hit the nail smack dab on the head 7 . . . there isn't money in the little or fiddly jobs and i don't blame GWorks for turning it down or putting it aside for the better paying jobs, its a high volume business making good coin from limited services with no doubt high over heads.
And thats the learning curve . .. do you want that . . or a small operator who takes on all the jobs big & small, who makes a living but just, doing something he enjoys . . both have there place in the market.

Tony Titheridge

Originally Posted by 6mm ackley

Tony Titheridge

Thanks for that, this guy might be worth a look.

Not might, definitely. Has done 4 complete builds and a barrel for my Sako Quad for me. All supremely accurate and extremely well finished.

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