Ever build a gun you're just not "proud" of????

[flehto]

My first "successful" build from a blank {the first attempt landed in the fireplace} was all my own doing and it still hangs on the rack as an example of the many design  boo boos, not to be repeated. "Old Ugly" surely has a mean streak and has to her credit many 100s of squirrels and although I sell all my builds, "Old Ugly" will probably never be offered because I don't want to foist her on some unknowing buyer and besides, then the "secret" will be out as to how somebody {me} could build such a LR. So...I guess somebody in the family will inherit "Old Ugly" and hopefully will store her in a far corner of the attic.....Fred

[Roger B]

Speaking strictly as an apprentice wood butcher, fourth class, I respect anything you guys build.  As a potential customer, I love beautiful carved & inlaid longrifles, but at this point I'm not willing to plunk down for one due to other things going on in life.  Besides that, if I had one, I'd ding it up shooting it & have to take more medication to deal with the depression.  I understand how a fellow might want his idea of a rifle made by a good builder so that he gets good workmanship & quality in his rifle, but I also understand how some of you don't want to build just anything.  Perhaps a good compromise would be developing "your" style of a hunting rifle that you can be happy with as a builder, & simply staing that this is what you make for the money, period.  Another alternative might be to tell one of these potential customers that you will build what they want within reason, but that you won't sign it if it doesn't meet your stylistic requirements.  I would also respect a builder who told me that he would not build a certain rifle because he thought that it would be a disservice to both of us to produce it.  I would respectfully suggest that any builder should be flattered to have someone approach them to build a rifle & that the potential customer may have worked & saved long & hard to come up with the money to pay for it.  I personally have contacted a couple of builders on this board about making rifles for me in order to get an idea of cost, & when I am in a position to buy what they build, I will be happy to give them their price for a fine product.  Not everyone in the world is educated enough to do that, or even able to come up with the money over time.
Roger B.

[FL-Flintlock]

I would also respect a builder who told me that he would not build a certain rifle because he thought that it would be a disservice to both of us to produce it.  I would respectfully suggest that any builder should be flattered to have someone approach them to build a rifle & that the potential customer may have worked & saved long & hard to come up with the money to pay for it.
Roger B.

Roger,

You would be amazed at how many potential clients will walk away if you try to keep them from wasting thier money on something they're not going to be happy with or isn't going to work right.  And if you just build the item the way they want it, they get PO'ed at the builder for not telling them any different.  I went through that my whole business life and it's the same if you're doing carpentry, masonry, metal fab or building guns, just fill in the blank.  Despite the loss of work, I firmly believe it is the moral and ethical responsibility of the professional to be a professional and act like a professional.  If something isn't going to work or otherwise not be right, tell them.  If the client walks away, it's for the best.  It's one thing if the client understands and wants what he/she wants, then it's all good but in the end, it's up to the professional to be a professional.

[Roger B]

It actually doesn't surprise me all that greatly, given my daily experience in the healthcare world.  I think that every once in a while, though, a builder might get a little curmudgeonly about refusing a particular job & that turns everyone off.  That has never happened to me, personally, but we used to have an old Austrian trained gunsmith in Ogden, UT who could be a real pita over pretty much anything you brought in.  Once you figured out how to deal with him he would be a lot of fun.  I used to put another $10.00 on his bill for pretty much anything he did for me & we got along famously.  He still gave me $#*!, but he smiled when he did it & I always got my stuff done first.
Roger B.