Jobs you hate

[rich pierce]

Back around 1982 I flirted with the idea of going "pro". I was selling a couple guns a year on spec and losing 1/3 of the money to the shop that was selling them.

Then I got a customer who cured me of the idea of going pro, making custom rifles to a customer's specifications. He wanted to see it in progress, be my shooting buddy, use my time up for free.

When it was done we went to the range to sight it in and he could barely keep it on the paper. Thankfully my wife was with us, asked to give it a try, and put a couple balls in the 10 ring.

I think that elite builders have less trouble with customers.

 

[Vaino]

I definitely agree that "the elite builders" have little or no complications w/ customers....they're accepted as the most knowledgeable, their workmanship is beyond reproach and their waiting list is quite long, running into yrs. Customers feel priviledged to have a MLer built by one of them.

The 2nd tier of builders get the impatient prospective buyers that won't wait yrs and some that don't want to pay the "elite's" price.

Won't go any further....Fred

 

[Scota4570]

Maybe this is "building" or not....I really dislike fixing others' messes. Especially poorly finished improperly heat treated cast mainsprings. I have a broken one on my bench right now. IT is weirdly shaped and designed. There is no replacment available, so I have to make one from scratch. Somemtimes I have to really work up some motivation, I know it will proably take a couple of tries before I get it right.

 

[Keb]

I like all of the tasks involved with building a gun. That's why I do it. I hate cleaning my shop and taking out the garbage.

 

[Eric Krewson]

I hate the goof-ups, particularly the ones that happen when your mind wanders off the task for a second or two.

My most painful was when I was cutting the side profile of a really nice cherry stock blank. Looking from the top, I had a centerline drawn and two side lines to follow. I was on my bandsaw, a senior moment happened, I looked down and I had cut almost to the entry pipe location down the center line.

I glued everything back together, the glue line was for the most part invisible but I wouldn't use the stock for a rifle. I gave it to a friend who makes pretty nice rifles out of scrounged parts.

 

[cynthialee]

I don't build guns, I only refurbish them and make them look good.
I hate clean up time. My shop only gets cleaned to prevent hazards.

 

[Tennessee.45]

Cutting dovetails, drilling the pins, nose cap and buttplate are what I hate doing the most