I've only had a couple oh krap moments. I was cutting a 220 swiftAI chamber and misread my depth mic by .025" to deep. another time I was welding a extension onto a mauser floorplate to hinge it. it was straight in the jig but crooked when I welded it.
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Oh Krap moments in gunsmithing...
- Thread starter toolman
- Start date
- Joined
- Feb 5, 2014
- Messages
- 43
While working for Uncle Sam designing firearms, I also did Smithing for a Gun Store . One day an A.T.F. Agent overhears me telling someone how I set the shoulders forward in all of my chambers so that thieves will not be able to fire my guns if they are stolen. The A.T.F. man searched all of my gunsmithing logs to see if I had so altered a Customers gun the way I had said. But an hour after he left, he came back and said, "I am a shooter too. If my guns get stolen I do not want them to be able to fire them. Please show me how to alter my own chambers." He and I were great friends for many years thereafter. I know that they are only doing their jobs sometimes, but they are just as human as we are. I no longer feel apprehensive when one comes around. But Oh Krap says it well when we get caught in mid sentence talking about questionable alterations. I now look before I speak. This was my experience of talking too much at the wrong time. Sometimes we freely share gun related information which should not be made known to the general public, especially in Reputable Forums like this one. I will be much more carefull what I say here in the future. swampy.
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- Joined
- Feb 5, 2014
- Messages
- 43
A old friend who has since passed on, was rechambering 7.7mm Japanese battle rifles to 30/06 whenever he somehow rechambered a 6.5mm Jap to 30/06. That was the hardest kicking 30/06 until he set the gun down and noticed the muzzle. He handed another one to the customer and said" This one won't kick you." A Tallahassee Police Officer insisted that a 357 Magnum would fire in a 38 Long Colt. The barrel blew off and three loaded chambers left with the barrel along with the top strap. He was not hurt. I replaced the entire gas system on a semi auto 30/06 only to discover that the gun had only needed to be cleaned. Can you top that?
- Joined
- Jul 26, 2011
- Messages
- 4,139
A friend had a gun shop for reinactors,mostly. She sold only black powder guns. She sold a UBERTI Navy revolver to a guy who had never fired a gun. On his first shot,the barrel and cylinder took off about 50 feet down the road,leaving him holding the handle and frame of the gun.
She brought me the gun to look at. The cylinder pin had sheared off flush with the recoil shield. The fracture in the steel cylinder pin was very strange. It's structure looked like coarse grains of sugar,about 1/32" across. Obviously some kind of defect in the metal. Very shiny grains,too,not dull gray like a fracture usually is. The shooter was not hurt,at least.
I don't know how some of these Italian guns get away with having proof marks on them,when they obviously have never been test fired. My friend and i ordered a pair of Schofield revolvers from Cimmaron(a brand I will NEVER buy again!!). Jon took his gun and loaded it. He snapped it 6 times,but it never went off. The cylinder was so off that the firing pin was missing the anvil in the primer by up to 1/16". I looked at mine down the barrel(empty!). It was about the same. 1 chamber lined up. The rest were way off.
We got the Cimarron guy on the phone,and the liar claimed he had stuck a range rod down both guns. That was not possible. After some argument,we did get a refund. But,I do not like blatant liars.
Some time afterwards,I found a Uberti and a Pedersoli at a gun show. Both had perfectly lined up cylinders. I bought the Uberti,and it shoots better than my real Colt single actions. I will not buy any more Italian guns that I am not able to personally inspect first.
P.S.,both Cimmarons had proof marks,but they obviously had never been proofed.
She brought me the gun to look at. The cylinder pin had sheared off flush with the recoil shield. The fracture in the steel cylinder pin was very strange. It's structure looked like coarse grains of sugar,about 1/32" across. Obviously some kind of defect in the metal. Very shiny grains,too,not dull gray like a fracture usually is. The shooter was not hurt,at least.
I don't know how some of these Italian guns get away with having proof marks on them,when they obviously have never been test fired. My friend and i ordered a pair of Schofield revolvers from Cimmaron(a brand I will NEVER buy again!!). Jon took his gun and loaded it. He snapped it 6 times,but it never went off. The cylinder was so off that the firing pin was missing the anvil in the primer by up to 1/16". I looked at mine down the barrel(empty!). It was about the same. 1 chamber lined up. The rest were way off.
We got the Cimarron guy on the phone,and the liar claimed he had stuck a range rod down both guns. That was not possible. After some argument,we did get a refund. But,I do not like blatant liars.
Some time afterwards,I found a Uberti and a Pedersoli at a gun show. Both had perfectly lined up cylinders. I bought the Uberti,and it shoots better than my real Colt single actions. I will not buy any more Italian guns that I am not able to personally inspect first.
P.S.,both Cimmarons had proof marks,but they obviously had never been proofed.
- Joined
- Jun 19, 2012
- Messages
- 47
I had one where I was cutting a 1911 slide for bomars and had a brainfart when doing my math. the sad thing is I questioned the cut but said the math doesnt lie. well the math doesnt but my working of it does. so i cut the slide too deep.
I was at a guy s shop when he was blueing a side by side dbl bbl. and he didnt know the difference in the solders used. well he dipped the barrels and when he came back to pull the barrels all he got was parts where the solder melted. I had tried to tell him about this. but some people dont wanna hear that you might know something they do not.
I was at a guy s shop when he was blueing a side by side dbl bbl. and he didnt know the difference in the solders used. well he dipped the barrels and when he came back to pull the barrels all he got was parts where the solder melted. I had tried to tell him about this. but some people dont wanna hear that you might know something they do not.
