There have been threads regarding some shops that do “economy stocks” for doibles. Some guys here swear by them and some swear at them.
A buddy has his grandfathers Ithaca 12 ga. Double grade 2, and the stock is broken. He wAnts to use it again. Not going to spend 3-4K on a stock job.

Seems i remeber several contributors talking about a couple of shops that do basic stocking for 700-1000. The gist was you wait forever and not reliable. (Sounds like. A recipe for success!!)
But some of the work posted didnt look bad.

I remember Macon Gunstocks was one of the sources. any feedback

Any suggestions?

Chris Dawe in Seal Cove, Newfoundland, does excellent work at a reasonable price. I sent him Macon wood and was most pleased with what came back in good time.

$700 to $1,000? Good luck.

Like I said, he doesn't want to spend what a custom stocker gets to do a boxlock. he wants Fajen level stocking.

Good evening Brian; speaking as the last Custom Shop Supervisor of Fajen, Inc.,those days have past. The model established by Rheinhart Fajen has passed into history and those who picked up the torch no long carry it. Wenig's Custom Shop and Show Me Gunstocks were the last. Boyd's Gunstocks used to do it....no longer I am told. The labor cost and material cost have jumped in the past 20 years and make your quest difficult. I will not say impossible because I have learned....never say never. Most young stockmakers are now using CNC machines and need to pay the light bill to run them. The older members of the fraternity are letting go of their chisels....for many reasons.

Shoot me a few pictures of the broken stock and I will see if it may be mended. Information is still free. My email address is: thestockdr@hotmail.com

You're a good man Dennis.

Sound advise

Boats

Brian,
There are people that can repair your friends stock, so you can't see the break. This would be cheaper, and it would still be the original stock.
Mike

Dennis "The Stock Doctor" above being the one I'd pick in a New York minute!

Agreed; repair, if at all possible, in much better than a new stock.

Cheers,
Jani

Dennis,
Are you any relation to Elbert and Darryl?
Best Regards,
JBP

Mr. Patton,the Smith Family of MO. are no relations of mine. We discussed that often and neither one of those boys would claim me! Said it had to do with my Yankee blood lines ( my family roots are in MO/AR/OK).

There were 15 members in that immediate family. Three were/are involved in the gunmaking industry that I knew of. The youngest sister is still checkering last I heard for Wenig's Custom Gunstocks. Joyce married Jimmy Cardwell who took over for Elbert as the Shop Manager when he retired. I have not talked to them in a while however. I do not know if Jimmy has retired yet.

Thanks for the info. this isn't my first rodeo. I know it can be fixed cheaper.
BUT THIS IS NOT MY GUN.
I tried to convince him to fix it but he insists on having it restocked. so, no point belaboring the mending aspects.
I have explained all of the issues and his expectations. you all have been down that road; you have something and damn the expense.

If the original stock can be repaired enough to use as a pattern, send it, the blank, and some $$$ to Gene Simillion for duplication. His price is higher than others, but absolutely phenomenal. Make all efforts to make the pattern stock shape and inletting perfect.

Depending on what the break looks like, a butt transplant may also work. DES can do that, too.

Can't Donnie at show me gunstocks duplicate the original stock and then finish and checker? That assumes he is still there of course.

I spoke with Donnie several weeks ago about dupication. Send it on down, can do in about a week or so. No fitting or finishing, but a duplicate from my blank and original.

Redesertrifles.com I have used them to restock a couple of pump guns and they were in the price range you requested. About $500 for labor and finishing, (less checkering and wood). they have wood in different grades, or you can bring your own blank. Checkering from someone like Kathy Forster should run around $500 for a simple point pattern. I got an exhibition black walnut blank for $500 from Calico hardwoods. I'm pretty confident you could get the job done for about $1000 if you went easy on the wood and checkering. Hope this helps.

It was recently revealed here that some gunsmiths farm-out or sub-contract parts of their work. Or they utilize the services of lower wage employees. If you are on a tight budget, or restoring a lower grade gun that may not be worth the high price of a full blown restoration, it might be wise to eliminate the middle-man and try to hire some of those same outworkers yourself.

I do find it disturbing to learn that some of those guys who post nice photos of restored or refinished guns may be taking credit for parts of the work that they themselves didn't perform. I almost never see attribution for those sub-contractors or employees who do some of the less glamorous or less profitable gunsmithing tasks. If they gave proper credit or attribution, fine. Otherwise, it seems like something similar to plagiarism. And it comes at the expense of an unwary customer who thinks his high dollar gunsmith is doing all the work on his gun.

This is news to you Keith?? What kind of babe in the woods are you? LOL I could care less who specifically does the work as long as it's to the standard that the person I contracted with agreed to. What gets repeated here so often.....buy the gun, not the name. Good advice.

You know Keith, in your zeal to try to nail some of the people you think shouldn't be on this forum, you occasionally say dopey things. Like this stuff. So, without swearing to be as vigilant as you are, I may on occasion draw the dopey stuff to your attention. I'm all for calling bullshit when it's due, but not at the cost of saying dopey things or getting bent out of shape about dopey stuff. Trying to call Steve out because he has employed someone...well, that's actually anti American if you think about it.

I hate to burst your bubble, but this has been going on since man invented the gun.

I was thinking I might could do me some gun farming....

Play all day and nite on the internet making a few bucks while just handling the paper work and complaints.

Sounds like the life of Riley.

I got to get me a web site in my signature line...

Way more profitable selling high end guns on consignment trust me.

I wish you well in your new endeavor Farmer Frank Cox.

I always get a chuckle when I remind myself of the time that the sub of a very well known restoration gunsmith forgot to reinstall the mainsprings of my shotgun before the name smith shipped it to me.
I’m not against subbing things out. I think it’s a normal thing.

If you are going to sub out work, at least function test things before final shipping though. LOL

Why does it bother you Joe? The Brits have been doing this for a few hundred years. About time we caught up. And for your information it’s not just gunsmiths who do the here. The first batch of Ithaca Mag 10’s were not all made in house. Winchester ribs on their early guns can be debated as being in house or farmed out. Ruger tried out sourcing finishing on their guns at one time. Colt lost the ability to case harden and had to farm it out while they got back into doing it themselves.

So a gunsmith farms out welding or sone other task. Who cares? Some of these special welding setup are amazing. But who can master everything. I’d rather have someone in overall charge getting things done to a high level than just doing everything in house to a lower standard. Same thing with engraving. Send it out if need be. No one thinks twice about that.

I was reading Dewey Vicknair's blog yesterday and on one Elsie restoration, he did all the work, barrel blackening, case hardening, engraving, etc. However in another project, he did all the metal and woodwork, and noted it was off to Geoffroy. Geoffroy Gournet is in Easton; Dewey in Lititz, PA. For business reasons, no gunsmith in his right mind would do business out of Intercourse, PA. Gil

It doesn't actually bother jOe. But lately, jOe feels like Keith has his back, so he's been emboldened to let his inner a$$hole out more often. This is just an example of jOe trying to pile on SKB because he thinks it will curry favour with Keith.

I also have zero issues when a Gunsmith farms out specialized work. Not every Gunsmith has a milling machine, a hoenig pantograph, cnc or wire edm, laser welding capabilities, etc. It’s a completely normal way of doing business throughout the manufacturing world, gunmaking & smithing is no exception.

My problem is when people say things like, “we did this” or “we did that”, “I had to do this...”. A very popular and well liked author and seller of restored guns likes to use these terms as if “He” has done any of the work himself. That’s an issue, for me anyways. Fake gunmakers are a plenty. Many of these fakes like to tell potential clients that they possess the requisite skills to pull off a job...and they don’t or simply can’t.....much to the disappointment to the client. A lot of these fakes are usually very well liked and have charming personalities which helps them in their deception.
There are a few good “real” gunmakers out there that provide full in house services with the exception of engraving which 90% of the time is outsourced. And the good ones will be totally up front with their client about outsourced work and the reason for it. My favorite gunmakers last big job for me was making a Lancaster/Beesley mainspring from scratch using nothing more then a jewelers saw and a drill press. No milling machine...he admitted to me that he should’ve sent the job to Stephan Hutton who, with his milling machine would’ve cranked that spring out in literally an hour or less..completely finished. I guess my guy figured the shop pace was slow that month and he wanted to just say he possessed the skills to pull that job off using hand tools. Whatever...the spring works like it should :-).

Ah James, when I first saw your post yesterday evening, only the first paragraph above was there. I thought you were giving me an early Christmas gift by tossing me such an easily refuted softball. I didn't get to immediately reply because I was leaving to go out for dinner, and didn't get in until very late.

I am well aware of the long history of gunmakers using the services of outworkers and employees, and using sub-contractors. I'm pretty sure Uncle Dan Lefever never scratched any of those lovely engraved scrolls or game scenes into my guns. And I'm just as sure he never took credit for it or acted as if he alone was building what came out of his factory.

On the other hand, I simply don't believe that you or most other gunsmithing customers would be happy to seek the services of an established craftsman of high repute, and then come to learn that the work you paid a premium for had been handed off to some unnamed employee or subcontractor. I could just imagine how thrilled you'd be to pay Barry Hands or Winston Churchill to engrave one of your guns, expecting that name and cachet to enhance the value, and then learn that they never touched it, or that a lowly unnamed outworker did all the rose and scroll in order to cut costs, increase his profits, and to permit the great artist the leisure time to spend all day on Doublegunshop bashing Republicans. Or would you?

That would be something like paying a fortune for a Fender Stratocaster that was said to be played by Clapton or Hendrix, and then finding out it was only used by some back-up guitarist. Or finding out that your Rolex that looked great and kept perfect time was a fake.

You say it doesn't matter who does the work, so long as the work meets the contracted standard. Tell that to all of the people, Art Galleries, and Museums that have been duped by fake Picasso's, Gaugin's, and Monet's over the years... work that was good enough to fool all of the experts until pigment or canvas analysis proved the recent forgeries. It may not be a perfect analogy, but I'll stand by everything I said about giving credit and proper attribution to the unsung outworkers these guys use. Don't call yourself a custom gunsmith and use the ACGG seal when you are in fact running a little factory.

I'm not being un-American by criticizing them for hiring employees, and you know it James. I'm criticizing them for acting as if they are something they're not... much like a certain Award Winning Winemaker... who grew a few grapes and sold them to a vintner who actually made, barreled, aged, bottled, and sold the stuff.

And that blather about the "Good advice" of buying the gun, and not the name. What horseshit. Do I really need to remind you of the guns you went to great lengths to buy... specifically because of the name?

But then, earlier this morning, I saw that you had edited your post and added the entire second paragraph. Suddenly, your initial post all made sense to me. Either you are pimping for Stevie, or you have subcontracted your writing to nca225 and rocky mtn bill.

Ahh, Keith, you managed to catch the post in that 4 min window while I was composing the second half. No biggie.

Not pimping for anyone. Just think, with plenty of evidence, you are barking up the wrong tree. Your analogy to Picasso et al holds no water as a comparison. Think more along the whole gunmakers apprentice model.

The difference between you and I is that while our politics are extremely similar, I don't resort to dragging completely unrelated issues into the fray, and in the process attempt to make those unrelated issues relevant. They aren't. You would stay more relevant to your mission if you would do the same.

Edit to add: Additionally Keith, unless you have hacked numerous email accounts, I doubt you are privy to the exact conversations between Steve and his clients. You are simply speculating about what got said and what didn't get said.

Heck, I send guns to CJO for restoration. I don't ask exactly what he does and what he contracts out, although I know he does. What I do know is that when CJO calls me and tells me the gun is ready, every bit of it will have been done to CJO's extremely high standard. And I'm completely good with that.

Stick to uncovering deceptive liberals, not criticizing normal business procedures.

I have exactly one gun I went to "great lengths" to buy because of the name. It happens to be my name and the gun was in France. It was the third one by that maker I had come across, the second that was for sale and the first that didn't have a crack in the metal of the action. Not sure how you define "great lengths" but taking a gamble on an on-line purchase doesn't seem all that difficult. And that's how I normally buy them. Would getting in my car and driving 90 min to the nearest semi-annual gun show be "great lengths"? I don't do that.

Not relevant??? Hardly. This thread's OP was concerned with getting a restocking job done on a strict budget. Right away, people replied about the current high costs of restocking, which in many cases, will exceed the value of the gun in question. I noted that there are alternative ways of reducing those costs. I was the General Contractor when I built my house, and did much of the work myself. But when someone sees my fireplace, I don't act like I did the stone work.

I also don't get where you think jOe has become somehow emboldened because "he thinks I have his back." You seem to be letting your feud with jOe get the best of you. I don't see where anything has changed with jOe at all. He is no more or no less bold because of me. jOe is jOe, and Ted is Ted. I agree with both of them on most things, especially their respect for our gun rights, and their disdain for those who undermine those rights. Neither one needs me to have their back or prop them up. They do just fine without me. I would be disappointed if either one of them left us.

You criticized me by saying I don't want SKB to post here, but you know that I have never said such a thing. I actually like it when closet Liberals and FUDD's reveal how they stab us in the back. I was quite disappointed when an entire thread was deleted a couple days ago, but was fortunate to save some juicy QUOTES before it all went away. You know who the people are here who are always working to get Dave to censor those they hate, and it sure isn't me. You should spend a little time directing some of that criticism toward them. I could just as easily say that you apparently don't want jOe to post here, but I won't because you probably just need to think about what you're saying before you post it.

EDIT: For some reason, I thought you had found and purchased a second of those guns that you bought strictly because of the name. I apologize for still being right about the point I made! I don't scour the European gun market or consider doing that, and going through all of the rigamarole associated with international gun buying the same as going to a local gun show.

The assumptions you make are laughable at best and show just how deep your ignorance runs. My customers are informed at every step of a restoration including when I subcontract out work. My former employee
Manito Lara traveled with me to gun shows, interacted with clients both on the phone and in person and met several members of this board. We gave many tours of the old shop to clients, each of us explaining our roles and what would get subcontracted. Your implication that I deceived any one about him or using other craftsman is just plain wrong.

I currently have no employees but these are just a few of the operations performed in house. I am the CAD/CAM designer, I write the tool paths for the CNC MILL, I am the CNC operator, I stock every gun and rifle myself building my own patterns or using existing factory patterns which are run through my shop built pantograph. Hardware for rifles is built from scratch with a few parts sourced from NECG occasionally. I barrel all the rifles myself to my contours, several types of metal finish are performed in house such as rust blue, charcoal blue, slow browning(I mix my own formulas), and Nitre blue. Springs, other replacement parts not commonly available are fabricated by me. Action work such as re-joining is done in house. I also am the website administrator, accountant, gun salesman, package clerk, janitor, etc. I'll try to do more just for you keith


You may want to look at the current requirements to become a Professional Member of American Custom Gunsmithing Guild. I am a member as a Metal Smith. If you are willing to get an FFL and can do the required work, we would love to have you join our ranks.

Poor Stevie, what makes you think I was specifically referring to you? But now you tell us that you do your Case Hardening all in-house, yett two days ago, you posted this:



So just what are we to believe when you can't keep your stories straight for two lousy days?

You called me a liar for saying that you had someone else who did rust bluing for you, but then you were stupid enough to demand an apology from me after posting this:



Do I really need to prove any points when you do it for me? Ditto for the apparent abundance of time you have to spend here on Doublegunshop bashing me, jOe, and those evil Republicans when you have all that important Custom Gun Work to do, and your customers are waiting to get their guns back.

Apparently, normal intelligence is not part of the requirements to become a member of the American Custom Gunmaking Guild. You are the poster child for dumb.

Can you read? No where did I say Perform CCH in house. I never have performed my own CCH or claimed to. Please show me in the above where I said I did. I did not. You lie constantly.

Or maybe you confused Charcoal Bluing with CCH, if so then you made a simple mistake. They are two different processes, but read my above post. I never claimed to do my own CCH.

You mean like when you called me a liar for saying you had employed someone to do your rust bluing, and then was stupid enough to give us his name? Or when you said I had no evidence that you support Democrats, but I then provided a whole bunch of QUOTES from you where you went repeatedly out of your way to prove that Republicans are the real threat to our gun rights, with no similar behavior directed toward the real and continual threat from Democrats? What conclusions can we draw from that Stevie? I apologize if I did indeed confuse CCH with charcoal bluing as part of the metal finishing you do in-house.

I didn't say that you deceived anyone about using employees or subcontractors. I specifically mentioned your use of a guy to do your rust bluing, and you had admitted that here. Gunmaker also admitted to using others to do some of his work. But if I quote an author here repeatedly over the years, and only give fleeting attribution once, then I am guilty of plagiarism, right? My intent here was to inform the OP that he might be able to save on stockmaking costs by finding his own outworkers instead of paying a high dollar gunsmith to farm out some of those jobs.

Business must be mighty slow since you have so much time to spend here bashing me, jOe, and evil Republicans.

You are a liar because you twisted what I said to meet your needs. I employed someone who I trained, they worked under my supervision, in my shop where I footed the over head providing the space, the materials and customers. Very different from contracting it out to another business.

Apology accepted for the confusion regarding the CCH and charcoal blue, mistakes happen.

Business? Better than ever thanks for asking.

Keith, I make no bones about it. I do wish jOe would take his particular brand of Gladys Kravitzing somewhere else. I have no feud with him. I just think he's a negative busy body who adds nothing, I repeat nothing, to this forum. He says stupid, negative things regularity and on occasion, I take him to task for it. Like the post he did in this thread.

However, I have no wish to see him banned nor do I complain in any way but directly on line in these public discussions.

Canvasback, Amen.

The perfect screen name....quack quack quack...

I was not even referring to you Steve'O...

My calculated guess is you thought "the shoe looks like it might fit me I'll just lay claim to it".

Damn Guys,
I asked a simple question about finding an inexpensive source for my friend to utilize for a stock job and it turns into a pissing match between some of you???

No point in eliminating Misfires; you guys do it right here regardless.

but thanks to the ones who gave me some good info

Keith good advice but truth is no one these days wants a common sense approach to doing anything.

Truth iz I didn't know I was feuding with ol'Canvas'sack...you know me stuff runs off my back like water off a ducks back.

kain't we all just get along ?

Best advice I saw. The right guy can piece anything back together.

Or look on ebay.

Whoa this is too much.
I do have hunting and gun friends who are still dem’s...someday they will change...
As far as SKB I have had one dealing with him and he is a gentlemen, fair and honest
No need for aPi$$ing match

As far as stocks...I am having Pheng at US Inletting and gunstock do a field grade LC long range for hunting and clays....not restoration. About $1000 for very nice wood, inleting, grip cap and install my pad. I am doing the final shaping sanding finishing and checkering. Butt stock and forend. When I get it i’ll Report on the project
Jerry

Ebay

Whats up with this Parker stock.

LOL. Maybe someone tried to remove an oval and it went downhill from there....

Looks like a hard fix.

This is one of the most ridiculous and delusional statements that has ever been posted here. But the same lunacy has been posted too many times to count. Most of it has been posted by supporters of Liberal Left anti-gun Democrats who try very hard to stay in the closet and hide their beliefs. A few admit to supporting and voting for the enemy, but most try to hide it. Their shame is justified.

Your Democrat friends who hunt and shoot are knowingly supporting the Party that is directly responsible for at least 95% of the attacks on the gun rights of law abiding citizens. We virtually never hear these guys complaining to their precious anti-gun Democrat politicians or threatening to withhold their support for them. That makes them directly responsible for what these politicians have done, and continue to do. If they voted for Obama, they are directly responsible for now having two more anti-2nd Amendment Justices on the Supreme Court, and they are responsible for long and costly fights to maintain our rights.

They won't change either. Why should they change when you embrace the very people who stab all gun owners and shooters in the backs? Bringing them into some ridiculous Big Tent of gun owners is about as smart as bringing termites into a wood frame house.

I don't consider myself a single issue voter, and there are a lot of reasons for me to simply reject a politician. But relentless attacks on the 2nd-Amendment Rights of law abiding citizens are a non-starter. Any politician who can't understand the clear language of the 2nd Amendment isn't smart enough to be trusted with the rest of the Constitution.

according to my understanding, the above post is a violation of forum rules...

OK Ed, I'll put it below instead of above to make you happy. I notice that you didn't think that Mr. Mele's support for gun guys who vote for anti-gun Democrats was any violation of the rules. And I'll also add a link to many of your anti-gun statements so everyone knows just where you're coming from.

ANTI-GUN POSTS by ED GOOD




Here you go Ed... now it is below instead of above. Actually it is both above and below so that you can't miss it. A million off-topic posts don't bother you a bit... unless you see one that has to do with defending the 2nd Amendment. Then you and your pals jump right in and show us just what you really are.



This is one of the most ridiculous and delusional statements that has ever been posted here. But the same lunacy has been posted too many times to count. Most of it has been posted by supporters of Liberal Left anti-gun Democrats who try very hard to stay in the closet and hide their beliefs. A few admit to supporting and voting for the enemy, but most try to hide it. Their shame is justified.

Your Democrat friends who hunt and shoot are knowingly supporting the Party that is directly responsible for at least 95% of the attacks on the gun rights of law abiding citizens. We virtually never hear these guys complaining to their precious anti-gun Democrat politicians or threatening to withhold their support for them. That makes them directly responsible for what these politicians have done, and continue to do. If they voted for Obama, they are directly responsible for now having two more anti-2nd Amendment Justices on the Supreme Court, and they are responsible for long and costly fights to maintain our rights.

They won't change either. Why should they change when you embrace the very people who stab all gun owners and shooters in the backs? Bringing them into some ridiculous Big Tent of gun owners is about as smart as bringing termites into a wood frame house.

I don't consider myself a single issue voter, and there are a lot of reasons for me to simply reject a politician. But relentless attacks on the 2nd-Amendment Rights of law abiding citizens are a non-starter. Any politician who can't understand the clear language of the 2nd Amendment isn't smart enough to be trusted with the rest of the Constitution.

Actually Ed, the good old US of A ranks down the list on a per capita ranking of mass shooting incidents/deaths over the last 25 years or so.