am I getting B.S.'d?

dae.edorian · Post by **dae.edorian** » Wed Apr 23, 2008 3:43 pm

Ok, so I sent a .22 pistol out to this place to get threaded, and they said it would take "two weeks at the most." On Friday, they'll have had it for a month, and when I call (which I have done 3 times,) the guy keeps saying "we're waiting for specs on the Outback II from Gemtech."

This sounds dubious to me. Is there any real reason why this place should need "specs" from Gemtech? He said something about needing to know the depth of the threaded portion... even so, it doesn't seem like it should take weeks to get this sort of info.

The place has been good other than this, so I don't wanna go tarnishing their name, but...

am I getting B.S.'d?

mk23 · Post by **mk23** » Wed Apr 23, 2008 3:56 pm

Take a micrometer and measure the depth of the threaded portion on your can.

AAA · Post by **AAA** » Wed Apr 23, 2008 4:34 pm

Quite possible you're getting BS'd.

They have provided me with the info when I asked. The only delay I remember in them getting back to me was when it was a question that only Phil could help me with and he was overseas. Even then it was only a week or so.

Tell your guy to cut the threads .400 in length. Gemtech calls for a max pitch diameter of .4757 max. for 1/2x28 threads.

If he can't do it with this info find someone else, but if you want to persist, send him this:

http://www.tornado-technologies.com/pic ... _Specs.pdf

dae.edorian · Post by **dae.edorian** » Wed Apr 23, 2008 4:41 pm

Cool. I'll call again tomorrow and if he says the same thing, I'll be able to say "well, I have the PDF, so give me an email address and I'LL send it."

Hopefully, he'll say "job's already done." We shall see.

chingon · Post by **chingon** » Wed Apr 23, 2008 7:20 pm

Tell us who it is.

wolf · Post by **wolf** » Wed Apr 23, 2008 7:35 pm

chingon wrote:Tell us who it is.

Give the dealer a chance ,,it could be true that Gemtech didnt call back
Afterall they have been busy with other things lately

sorry had to

dae.edorian · Post by **dae.edorian** » Thu Apr 24, 2008 3:54 pm

I don't think they do a ton of mail-in business like Adco or Tornado, so you've probably never heard of them anyway.

I called again today and the guy said he had received the drawings from Gemtech, (which I'm sure was the exact PDF file supplied by AAA,) and that the work would be done next week.

I asked him if he was slammed, and he was apologetic and said that they'd gotten buried with work recently. I wish he'd just said that from the getgo, I would have been more forgiving.

Anyway, I'm not pissed as long as the work gets done and done well, and I'm sure it will be.

It doesn't really make all that much difference anyway, since my Form 4 is still being processed. (check cashed 3/17...) The issue was just that I'm no gunsmith, and I couldn't figure out why it would take so long to get info from Gemtech. Seems like one phone call and a fax... if they're totally slammed with jobs, that's another story.

In any case, all's well that ends well...

pdemos · Post by **pdemos** » Thu Apr 24, 2008 9:33 pm

AAA wrote:Quite possible you're getting BS'd.

They have provided me with the info when I asked. The only delay I remember in them getting back to me was when it was a question that only Phil could help me with and he was overseas. Even then it was only a week or so.

Tell your guy to cut the threads .400 in length. Gemtech calls for a max pitch diameter of .4757 max. for 1/2x28 threads.

If he can't do it with this info find someone else, but if you want to persist, send him this:

http://www.tornado-technologies.com/pic ... _Specs.pdf

Well you told me about two weeks and now its three and you won't answer my emails, whats up with that. I think the proper think to do would be to let your customers know whats going on, wouldn't you !!!

AAA · Post by **AAA** » Thu Apr 24, 2008 9:54 pm

pdemos,

we try and avoid not answering emails whenever possible as it's bad for business. Ha ha.
If you're not getting a reply to your emails it might be possible that we're not getting them. Or they could be in our spam folder - which I'll be honest I haven't check for a while. Please call us.

My apologies if we're running late on what we quoted you. Chances are your stuff is done and just waiting to be shipped or reassembled.

I've been behind the last 2 weeks due to one of the guys who helps me with machining loosing two close friends withing a week of each other. He hasn't been able to work as he's been evolved with sorting out the financial concerns of his friends widows, taking care of funerals and all that happy stuff.

I PM'd you my personal cell, give me a call and we'll sort you out.

Cheers

Mike

Sigproshooter · Post by **Sigproshooter** » Fri Apr 25, 2008 2:33 pm

AAA wrote:pdemos,

we try and avoid not answering emails whenever possible as it's bad for business. Ha ha.
If you're not getting a reply to your emails it might be possible that we're not getting them. Or they could be in our spam folder - which I'll be honest I haven't check for a while. Please call us.

My apologies if we're running late on what we quoted you. Chances are your stuff is done and just waiting to be shipped or reassembled.

I've been behind the last 2 weeks due to one of the guys who helps me with machining loosing two close friends withing a week of each other. He hasn't been able to work as he's been evolved with sorting out the financial concerns of his friends widows, taking care of funerals and all that happy stuff.

I PM'd you my personal cell, give me a call and we'll sort you out.

Cheers

Mike

Now that is CS.

pdemos · Post by **pdemos** » Fri Apr 25, 2008 2:34 pm

AAA wrote:pdemos,

we try and avoid not answering emails whenever possible as it's bad for business. Ha ha.
If you're not getting a reply to your emails it might be possible that we're not getting them. Or they could be in our spam folder - which I'll be honest I haven't check for a while. Please call us.

My apologies if we're running late on what we quoted you. Chances are your stuff is done and just waiting to be shipped or reassembled.

I've been behind the last 2 weeks due to one of the guys who helps me with machining loosing two close friends withing a week of each other. He hasn't been able to work as he's been evolved with sorting out the financial concerns of his friends widows, taking care of funerals and all that happy stuff.

I PM'd you my personal cell, give me a call and we'll sort you out.

Cheers

Mike

Mike has cleared up all my projects and as always has done a really great job, I give my best for his workers loss and give Mike at Tornado Technologies my best recommendation's.

Thanks,

Paul

dae.edorian · Post by **dae.edorian** » Wed Jun 18, 2008 8:28 pm

So, it's rapidly approaching THREE MONTHS since I sent this pistol in for threading, and I'm still getting static.

The smith is saying he needs Gemtech to send him a thread protector so he can match the threads on the pistol to it.

I offered to send him a spare Walther P22 adapter I have, and he said that would help... (but what a pain in the butt...)

Can someone who knows something about gunsmithing tell me why this job is so hard? Why does he need a thread protector? Shouldn't he simply need to know the thread pitch 1/2x28tpi and that it should be 0.4" deep? What other factors are involved??

I even emailed him the diagram that AAA linked to in a post above, and that wasn't enough.

He's still telling me that it's Gemtech's fault for not getting him the info he needs to do the job... I feel like he's making this much more complicated than it is, but I'm not a gunsmith, so I don't know.

Today I finally managed to talk to him and I told him it should just look like the end of a regular AR-15 barrel, except the threads are 0.4" deep. He seemed to consider this information irrelevant. I'm frustrated because I don't understand the confusion.

Any words of wisdom from smiths out there?

3101 · Post by **3101** » Wed Jun 18, 2008 8:40 pm

I am not a smith, I don't play one on TV, but i would get my pistol back and send it somewhere else.....
I have my stuff done locally by (as far as I know) the only one in a 7 county area who does barrel threading, his stuff gets back to me and everyone else in less than two weeks, and he always test fits cans and services his stuff after the sale.....
Three months is not an acceptable turn around time to thread a barrel IMO.....

Anyone disagree post away.....

dae.edorian · Post by **dae.edorian** » Wed Jun 18, 2008 8:56 pm

Thanks. I've never had work like this done on a gun before, so I wasn't sure what's normal.

I feel bad, because they seem like really decent guys at this place, but I'm definitely running out of patience at this point. Every time I call, which I do fairly often, I get some type of excuse about how they're very busy, and Gemtech hasn't done enough etc, etc.

I'm also a bit unhappy because it's always been ME calling THEM. You'd think when a job that originally had a two week completion estimate takes SIX TIMES that amount, I'd at least get a call of explanation.

The current excuse is that there's some vital information that's the smith is lacking. At one point, they complained about the difficulty in doing the job without having the suppressor present. I really don't understand what's so damn complicated about cutting down a barrel and threading the last 0.4" at 1/2x28tpi.

3101 · Post by **3101** » Wed Jun 18, 2008 8:59 pm

Get your gun back dude.........tomorrow.......send it to Mike, or find someone else locally.....
and when you have your gun back, PLEASE post the name of the shop....so no one else goes thru this...

evo45 · Post by **evo45** » Wed Jun 18, 2008 9:01 pm

+1 That sucks, dont let it happen to anyone else. Hope you get it back in 1 piece.

prdubi · Post by **prdubi** » Wed Jun 18, 2008 9:08 pm

I used someone else for a particular service in the northwest and I got BS'd for 6 months with no calls or emails.

At least with Mike at Tornado tech, he lets me know what's up.

I could care less if it took 1 years time as long as they call and let ya know what's going on.

I FUCKEN hate it when nothing is said or its just silence for a long time and then out of the FUCKEN blue it shows up on your doorsteps with no apologies or anything.

I did get a promised 6 weeks and it turned into 6 months nearly.

Forgive and forget and move on...but never again.

dae.edorian · Post by **dae.edorian** » Wed Jun 18, 2008 9:10 pm

The rest of the story is this:

The gun being threaded is a Firestorm .22 pistol. I bought the regular 3.5" model, and then I bought the barrel from their 6" model as a replacement part.

I connected with this gunsmith when I posted on the bersatalk.com forums asking about getting the pistol to work with a suppressor. This gunsmith is considered an authority over at that little forum, and he volunteered to do the job. The smith also apparently does the most bersa/firestorm warranty work in the country.

I was concerned because the firestorm pistol has a barrel that is pressed and pinned into the frame, and so I wanted to make sure that the smith doing the work was capable of removing the 3.5" barrel and installing the shortened and threaded replacement barrel made from the 6" one.

In any case, I sent the pistol and the 6" barrel to this smith in March, and I'm very anxious to get it back, since I've never seen anyone else with a suppressed firestorm .22.

...But as of yet, no dice. I know the guy is legit, people swear by him over at bersatalk, but I'm really not happy.

cdmillig · Post by **cdmillig** » Wed Jun 18, 2008 10:24 pm

facial

dae.edorian · Post by **dae.edorian** » Wed Jun 18, 2008 10:32 pm

cdmillig wrote:facial

...eh?

trey_phish83 · Post by **trey_phish83** » Thu Jun 19, 2008 2:24 am

thats gay,

i bought a 22/45 last wens, told the owner of my shop to chop it 2" and thread the end, adjust the sights further back, take the 'read manual' bull s--t off the side and reblue it. along with a look alike front cap that hides the threads very well.

he called me this morning said it was done and to pick it up whenever. it was a hundo for all the work.

i'd say get it back asap. then scheduel a appointment for mr. brick to have some face time with the owner of the shop.

just my own personal opinion.

BWT · Post by **BWT** » Thu Jun 19, 2008 10:36 pm

3101 wrote:I am not a smith, I don't play one on TV, but i would get my pistol back and send it somewhere else.....
I have my stuff done locally by (as far as I know) the only one in a 7 county area who does barrel threading, his stuff gets back to me and everyone else in less than two weeks, and he always test fits cans and services his stuff after the sale.....
Three months is not an acceptable turn around time to thread a barrel IMO.....

Anyone disagree post away.....

I'm not a smith either, but I'm sure I could figure out how to thread a barrel (If I had the proper tools) correctly in probably somewhere between 12-16 hours, screw it up, order another one screw that one up and order another one and have it done a month and a half earlier than 3 months.

Don't ream the guy out, just be straight forward, (I do this part), don't stutter, don't explain yourself, say you just want the gun back, he's probably going to try to keep your business, at which point I'd tell him if he didn't have it done in the next 3 to 5 days or if he couldn't have it done in that time frame, to ship it back, he had had ample time to complete the project.

When I say "Or if he couldn't have it done in that time frame" the "Oh I'm waiting on this part" would be a qualifier.

I dunno, I realize a lot goes into this business that I'm probably not aware of, but something just doesn't click.

bakerjw · Post by **bakerjw** » Fri Jun 20, 2008 5:42 am

I was going to get tires put on my car once. They told me it would be an hour wait. My wife and I walked to lunch and came back a bit over an hour later to find my car in the lot with no new tires. I can understand when places are busy, etc... But when I went in and found their workers screwing off, I did the most polite thing that I could, I went in and demanded my keys. The shop manager apologized, etc... but I went somewhere else and did not return for any further service.

Nicely demand your parts back. Most good smiths could have had it done sooner without this run around.

McLarenross · Post by **McLarenross** » Fri Jun 20, 2008 1:09 pm

Threading a barrel is not rocket science. If he has the specs that is all he needs. Its really simple. Chuck it up between centers, part off the excess, turn down to major diameter, turn thread relief, cut 28tpi threads. clean and re-crown. Takes 2 hours if your slow and eat lunch in the middle.

Get your gun back man.

dae.edorian · Post by **dae.edorian** » Fri Jun 20, 2008 11:34 pm

I'm going to call him tomorrow and try to get a firm ETA, or just ask for my gun back. I think I've been overly amicable with this guy so far. I'm not a confrontational sort of person by nature, but I'm getting pretty pissed off.

I appreciate the sympathetic words and advice.

I'm amazed that this place was so unanimously recommended on that bersa forum. Maybe he's just clueless when it comes to threading. He really seems to think it's more complicated than it is.

am I getting B.S.'d?

am I getting B.S.'d?

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