Author Topic: waiting period for barrels and other supplies  (Read 10953 times)

Offline Angus

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 211
Re: waiting period for barrels and other supplies
« Reply #25 on: March 26, 2017, 08:04:05 PM »
I do not intend for this to be miss taken or a knock at any vendor, but I plan way ahead and keep several projects in various stages for a variety of work to match the mood I am in or available time to process a task.
Most vendors are trying to run their business through honest values, cost effective inventories and customer satisfaction based on the best information in hand at that point in time. Thank you to those who have created their brand to support my hobby!

Dave Patterson

  • Guest
Re: jim chambers waiting period
« Reply #26 on: March 26, 2017, 08:12:49 PM »
That's a plus one from me Little Joe.  Jim and Barbie are great to deal with.

Dave
I really didnt think my post was nasty or rude so I'm really not sure why the "dirty laundry comment"...

One aspect universal to pretty much all 'net forums, which I learned as a moderator on a different forum:  they all lack the facial expression, tone of voice, and body language common in face-to-face discussion; a contributor's intent within a comment is often misconstrued.

Personally, I didn't find your initial question nasty, but I did appreciate your followup comment/explanation of intent.

The Chambers shop has done an awful lot to further our sport (habit?  addiction?), and have consistently proven to be helpful; folks (including me) tend to be a little, errr... sensitive.

As to the subject of waiting periods for parts, I'm still waiting for a cast triggerguard (from a supplier other than Chambers); it was ordered sometime last Spring: almost a year now. 


ron w

  • Guest
Re: waiting period for barrels and other supplies
« Reply #27 on: March 26, 2017, 08:29:44 PM »
I agree with smallpatch's post. I knw machine process fairly well and these barrels are made by caliber batches and then profile. there is a lot of tooling involved in changing calibers, so running decent size batches of same caliber barrels is the only way a small shop can be profitable.

Offline P.W.Berkuta

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2215
Re: jim chambers waiting period
« Reply #28 on: March 26, 2017, 08:45:37 PM »
Friends, I'm going to make a unilateral moderator move here and re-name this topic which was "Jim Chambers waiting period" to "waiting period for barrels and other supplies" as I feel the topic has become more a general discussion of supplies for our cottage industry in general.  I tried to reach the original poster via PM but no luck.  He is new to the forum and I hope we did not chase him off with our "learning him".

No worries; this is a good and productive discussion.  If you think this re-naming is too heavy-handed on my part please let me know.
Rich - you are spot-on with changing the name of the post as most parts are in backorder from time to time not just barrels ;D ;).
"The person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person who is doing it." - Chinese proverb

Offline little joe

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 685
Re: waiting period for barrels and other supplies
« Reply #29 on: March 26, 2017, 09:57:26 PM »
In his first post I felt like he was pointing a finger at Mr. and Barb Chambers and there integrity. There are no finer folks to deal with. Sharps evidently does not understand the supply situation  in our hobby, small bussiness or what ever you call it.  TOW has a lot of items that will be on back order and they are a major supplier to us. If he thinks bbl,s are hard to get he should have been around when Douglass quit making muzzle loading  bbl,s or when powder got in short supply in the 1970,s. Things will normalize I hope. Rich, You are on the right track.

Offline oldtravler61

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 4417
  • We all make mistakes.
Re: waiting period for barrels and other supplies
« Reply #30 on: March 26, 2017, 10:06:24 PM »
 Rich you did well by changing the post. Quite sure the op wasn't being nasty about any business. Just flat lacks experience when dealing with a supplier.  Oldtravler

Offline Joe S.

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1991
  • the other Joe S.
Re: waiting period for barrels and other supplies
« Reply #31 on: March 26, 2017, 10:31:52 PM »
I pretty much said all I had to on the other thread dealing with this subject but........I did however forget that when I was doing all the research for my build I found out plenty.One of them was going to all the different vendors sites and finding it in either black and white or thru email,phone calls that sometimes different parts may not be available.This varied by the vendor,vendor A had it vendor B may not.So going in I knew about how it was going be.So that being said when I finally picked a vendor to supply me parts and was told a few things where on backorder so no big deal nor supprise and besides there's always something to work on unless the whole darn thing was on backorder.Things also changes as I started working on it and changed things up as I found parts better suited for the rifle I was building being more historically accurate than the ones supplied by the original vendor.I think when one gets into this gig and does their proper homework they should be able to see this and have realistic expectations unless told otherwise.Guess I had a little bit more to say ::)

Offline rich pierce

  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *
  • Posts: 19550
Re: waiting period for barrels and other supplies
« Reply #32 on: March 26, 2017, 11:17:52 PM »
I confess I've probably contributed to the barrel shortage and maybe locks too.  Last I checked I had 8 new barrels and several originals.  9 locks and 5 sets of castings. 8 stock blanks.  An a pole of furniture. Some of those buttplates and guards still have prices on them and you don't want to know what I paid for them back then!

I too try to buy what's in stock at gun shows as some have mentioned. Nothing better than playing with 3-4 locks and pretending I can pick out the best one of the same model.  Or actually seeing and hefting a stock blank before buying.
Andover, Vermont

Offline Joe S.

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1991
  • the other Joe S.
Re: waiting period for barrels and other supplies
« Reply #33 on: March 26, 2017, 11:27:27 PM »
and I can see your not feeling to bad about either other wise you would donate them to the backordered impaired ;D

Offline rich pierce

  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *
  • Posts: 19550
Re: waiting period for barrels and other supplies
« Reply #34 on: March 26, 2017, 11:56:09 PM »
and I can see your not feeling to bad about either other wise you would donate them to the backordered impaired ;D

Donate?  Did you say donate?  Lol. Everything can be had at a price. One of the challenges of pe-carve stocks or kits is the barrel must be the precise profile to work.  So it's not easy to help a fella out who needs something that soecifc.  But I do wish we could all walk down the street or road to a big ALR parts swap and sale.
Andover, Vermont

Offline Joe S.

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1991
  • the other Joe S.
Re: waiting period for barrels and other supplies
« Reply #35 on: March 27, 2017, 12:19:14 AM »
I do like the idea of a swap 'n sale,shame some of those walks or rides may take days,weeks with all the miles between most of us.I will say this,the folks on here are some of the most knowledgeable and generous folks out there.I posted about not having a proper nose piece for my build and outa the blue one of our fellow members had an extra one that was the right one.

Offline Darkhorse

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1666
Re: waiting period for barrels and other supplies
« Reply #36 on: March 27, 2017, 12:46:38 AM »
The last time I built a rifle I did not order a parts set or kit from anybody. I had sit down sometime before ordering the first part and wrote a parts list of what I wanted to buy and what I was going to fabricate by hand. So when I started ordering parts I just started at the top and called my preferred supplier. If they didn't have the part I called someone else. And somebody else always had one ready to send off to me.
I ordered my barrel directly from Rice barrels. And I ordered my lock directly from Jim Chambers. The Rice barrel was the only part I had to wait on. But I could have got one from another vendor immediately if I had so desired.
So if you have ordered a kit and you have a long wait time on the barrel, get on the net, then the phone, and look for a smaller vendor that has your barrel in stock. Cancel the order for the barrel with the original vendor and then order your barrel from the new one.
A lot of people don't want to do that. Understood. But I as a customer have rights and expectations of my own. If I order a barrel that costs $265. and that vendor cannot provide the part, and I find another vendor with the barrel in stock for $230. and free shipping, then I consider it as my right as the customer to purchase the cheaper barrel that's in stock.
A barrel in hand is better than none....
American horses of Arabian descent.

Offline Mike Brooks

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 13415
    • Mike Brooks Gunmaker
Re: waiting period for barrels and other supplies
« Reply #37 on: March 27, 2017, 01:21:44 AM »
You guys ought to wait on parts for a living like some of us do. ;) Actually, for the most part I don't have much trouble waiting for parts. By the time I'm ready to build it's usually at least a 1 1/2 to two year wait before I start the gun  from the time the order being placed. Today's society seems to demand instant gratification for a hand built gun and the parts to do it.....sort of unrealistic. You could always make the parts yourself, no wait then.... ;)
NEW WEBSITE! www.mikebrooksflintlocks.com
Say, any of you boys smithies? Or, if not smithies per se, were you otherwise trained in the metallurgic arts before straitened circumstances forced you into a life of aimless wanderin'?

Offline bob in the woods

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 4555
Re: waiting period for barrels and other supplies
« Reply #38 on: March 27, 2017, 03:38:43 AM »
Chamber's Officer's fusil  has a round tapered barrel that is 1 1/4 in at the breach. I think it took a year for the complete kit to get to me. Sometimes you are in luck and the parts are all stock, but if a barrel like that is "Backordered",  you just have to wait it out.
I placed an order for a brass barrel to recreate the "brass barrelled gun"  That was 18 years ago. I'm still waiting  ;D

Offline StevenV

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 264
Re: waiting period for barrels and other supplies
« Reply #39 on: March 27, 2017, 02:34:04 PM »
This waiting period thread has me thinking. I truly appreciate the suppliers that make parts and understand the "wait" issue. This is why I keep "inventory". I have plenty of locks , stocks and barrels and when I use one I try and replace before inventory goes down. With this said my main Trigger Guard and Butt plate supplier Reeves Goehring for the past 3-4yrs. has not restocked his inventory, foundry etc. issues. For those who have dealt with Reeves and understand the amazing top quality product he has offered over the years, where is there another supplier who supplies TG and Butt Plates of this quality? These two components to gun building don't lend themselves to the "make your own" supply route. Butt plates maybe but TG not so much. Thanks  Steve

Offline Bob Roller

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 9694
Re: waiting period for barrels and other supplies
« Reply #40 on: March 27, 2017, 11:27:30 PM »
This waiting period thread has me thinking. I truly appreciate the suppliers that make parts and understand the "wait" issue. This is why I keep "inventory". I have plenty of locks , stocks and barrels and when I use one I try and replace before inventory goes down. With this said my main Trigger Guard and Butt plate supplier Reeves Goehring for the past 3-4yrs. has not restocked his inventory, foundry etc. issues. For those who have dealt with Reeves and understand the amazing top quality product he has offered over the years, where is there another supplier who supplies TG and Butt Plates of this quality? These two components to gun building don't lend themselves to the "make your own" supply route. Butt plates maybe but TG not so much. Thanks  Steve

To me,the fact that ANY of these components are available now is a curiosity.
In my case,I have always been fascinated by small mechanisms and then got
to wondering about what it took to make them.I got a post today from the
barrel maker,Jim McLemore wishing me a happy birthday and saying it's been a
long learning curve. That's for SURE and I'm still in that curve.

Bob Roller

Offline Joe S.

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1991
  • the other Joe S.
Re: waiting period for barrels and other supplies
« Reply #41 on: March 28, 2017, 02:32:26 AM »
Bob I'm fascinated by lots of things and how they work but let's be honest some things are just not able to be replicated by the average person for a host of reasons. I was able to make a toe plate,fabricating other parts while not rocket science and I'm sure with a little study I could handle it however the tools,lathe,forge ect.are just not available to me.

n stephenson

  • Guest
Re: waiting period for barrels and other supplies
« Reply #42 on: March 28, 2017, 04:24:06 PM »
Like Mike and others here that do this for pay, I keep at least three or four  parts sets all the time. After 30 years of building I learned about waiting a long time ago. It seems pretty much everyone on here that has been around realizes this. What I took issue with ,is when a newcomer on this site posts something on this site, { and you can tell by the number of posts}   having someone jump square in the middle of his back over it. The one that was giving this guy down the road was `nt the one that had been waiting six monthes for a barrel.  We all need to understand that the newcomer is more important to the survival of this sport than any one that wants to ride their high horse about question asking. If we sit around and let the few people  that do show interest be treated like $#*& then , go figure why it fails.  I realize that we are BLESSED to have the suppliers that we have but, maybe on their part if they CLEARLY  told people up front about any parts not available , backorders , etc. The buyer may go a different route. I understand that they may loose a sale but it would prevent a lot of frustration. I recently ordered some stuff from a supplier  and got about half my order . I WAS NOT  told at the time of the order that the parts were out of stock. This is called deception . So I sent the whole order back .  This is a two way street  both parties need to be proactive.   
« Last Edit: March 28, 2017, 04:25:34 PM by n stephenson »

Offline rich pierce

  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *
  • Posts: 19550
Re: waiting period for barrels and other supplies
« Reply #43 on: March 28, 2017, 05:33:37 PM »
Hear hear!  Give a newb more than a break- give them help!
Andover, Vermont

Offline tiswell

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 152
Re: waiting period for barrels and other supplies
« Reply #44 on: March 28, 2017, 05:41:53 PM »
Because he doesn't have a website he gets overlooked a bit, but Tip Curtis has a lot of parts, stocks, and especially barrels. He may not have the Mark Silver profile, but I think he could help move along projects from some of the other posters. He is in Tennessee and his number is (615) 654-4445.

                                                                                            Blessings, Bill

Offline Joe S.

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1991
  • the other Joe S.
Re: waiting period for barrels and other supplies
« Reply #45 on: March 28, 2017, 11:22:30 PM »
Hear hear!  Give a newb more than a break- give them help!
I think I'm getting it,instead of a go fund me page a give me parts page,brilliant!just funnin ;)

Offline SHARPS4953

  • Starting Member
  • *
  • Posts: 38
Re: waiting period for barrels and other supplies
« Reply #46 on: March 29, 2017, 04:10:05 PM »
Mr, Pierce, thanks for changing the subject line...I didnt give up on the forum I just work shift work and havnt had time to log in. I guess I created some kettle of fish..lol. Anyway, once again the folks at Chambers have been great and I look forward to building another rifle from them after this one is completed.

Sincerely the impatient builder