doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Dealing with Blackley in the UK

Has everyone who has dealt with the famed maker of replacement vintage hammers and other parts been frustrated and dealt a good dose of runaround? And then finally, the parts show up? thanks, Gil

I have ordered hammers and a few small parts a couple of times from them. Both times I received my parts I believe within a 2 week period with no hassle.

No. I have been quite happy with them. Hope that is not going to change. I need a set of hammers for a Barber-Lefever 10 ga., thumb opener. Some hack replaced one with a tire iron and the other has been brazed. I bet the left one was removed when the gun was hung on a wall as decoration and got lost. What was used to replace it is worse than a wart, on the end of a nose, on a girls face. Worse than the hammer was the torch coloring he did. Nasty.

Both experiences (with one of those still in process) have been, frustrating. First one was a flint pistol kit, which if I remember correctly took about 18 months to arrive, and only after I threatened to take action with my credit card company.

The one I am currently waiting on is a lock set, and am about 15 months in. Several times over the past 9 months or so, after requesting updates on my parts, they are always coming right up, we just moved to new premises, I just have to sort the parts and get them out...etc.

Both times, when the order was placed the parts were promised in 4-8 weeks.

No one to blame but myself after knowing how the first order went, we'll see how this one works out.

The pistol kit I did receive was very nice. Unfortunately the only company that produces similar parts in the US, The Rifle Shoppe, is just as notorious for very long wait times on parts.

If you do order, just be aware there might be a very long wait time, but the parts will be very nice when you do get them.

They did have some equipment problems a year or so back and I had parts waiting for months on end . but was assured that all was now OK when I finally got them .May be wrong but I get the impression that gun parts are only a part of their business so "iron" casting is only done when there is sufficient work for cast run in that particular metal .

Have dealt with them twice, both times for making steel castings from plexiglass prototypes. Both times I received my parts in less than two weeks, at a reasonable cost and good quality of work.

While I have not dealt with Blackley's in the UK, I do know the folks at The Rifle Shoppe. I have used investment castings for around 30 years, and build my own wax molds, from which I shoot my own waxes. This enables me to control quality better. A lot of the parts in the accessories I make were originally processed from castings, and I try to stay as close to the original methods as possible. Reproductions always turn out looking "right" if you try to do it like this.

The trouble with running an operation like Jess does, or Blackley's, is one of the problems is foundry lead time. Small run stuff often gets shunted to the side if there is a large industrial run going. It's simple economics, it's more profitable for the foundry, and one can't blame them for that. Although, I must say my guys are really good at supplying castings in a timely manner.

The other problem is mishaps - waxes get broken, a tree blows out or does not fill correctly, resulting in lost parts. I work on at least a 15% wax loss to acceptable casting rate. If you loose just one part out of a lock set, for instance, it may be two to three months before more waxes can be delivered and cast to make it up. It's all very well to ask why several waxes aren't sent for each part. But if a shop with a huge range of parts that can be made available does that, the cost would add up in a hurry. And I mean, in a hurry. If all the castings turn out well, they have to be paid for. For some things where the sales are very small, you soon end up with a lot of money tied up in very slow moving inventory.

I'm not trying to make any excuses for anyone, these folks are doing this for a living, and selling products is how they pay the bills. They do not want delays any more than the customer does. However, a delay in the casting business is just the nature of the beast. Sometimes an order runs through fine, but a lot of the time it can be a real bear.

I hope I've explained this well enough. Sometimes it's good to hear from someone on the other side of the counter.