Baldwin Bolt Jeweling?? Problem Help

[ACM]

It's no big deal to remove the jeweling from extractor. The bolt issue ... well, that's a more complicated problem. May be a blessing anyway. Those should be fitted to the rifle.

Yes I had planned on polishing the extractor with some Flitz. The bolt handle had been fitted and marked where it needed to be welded. The placement was perfect, the weld was just shoddy. Never even got to fire it.

 

[SETH RINGER]

WHAT A PISSER. NEVER WOUDA THOUGHT. GUESS ALL GOOD THINGS COME TO AN END.

 

[Altitude sickness]

When you said he gave you the excuse the Internet was down. I knew this was not gonna end well. That’s a pretty lame excuse.

 

[Inline6]

Conclusion to the Skip Baldwin saga:
Skip emailed me Wednesday night stating he had finished the bolt and sent it out for shipping. He said the work performed would normally total $130, but he would accept $50 for the delay, and he apologized for the delay. I checked the provided tracking number, and it did ship as he stated.
I received the bolt today (Friday), and unpackaged it. First thing I noticed was that he had also jeweled the extractor, which I specifically asked him not to (in writing), but all the work appeared to be done well. I slid the bolt in my gun, dry cycled it twice, and the bolt handle fell off (see picture below). Needless to say he has wasted my time and I will never, ever, do business with him again.View attachment 597515View attachment 597514

Did he weld it?

 

[pilar]

Well that truly blows the donkey!
it would make me extremely uncomfortable to send any gun parts to someone not within driving distance of my home, By someone I don’t have a personal relationship with!
all of my compition shotgun , pistol and rifle metal work , has been done by briley in Houston
and wood or bedding jobs by Alex in San Antonio

sorry this happened to you!

 

[ACM]

Did he weld it?

He did.

 

[Inline6]

He did.

That sucks, I would think a competent gunsmith with a tig machine could clean this up for you.

 

[ACM]

That sucks, I would think a competent gunsmith with a tig machine could clean this up for you.

The gun is headed to Bruce Farman and Ed LaPour to be finished. I’m confident they’ll get it done.

 

[Hogpatrol]

1/4" dowel in a drill press with some lapping compound and a vise to hold it, you can jewel it yourself. If you don't mind random jeweling, use a hand drill.

 

[Rob404]

Would not have expected that from Baldwin

 

[ACM]

Would not have expected that from Baldwin

Me neither, I had heard a lot of good things and his prices are fair. The only reason I started this thread was to possibly receive some help getting my bolt back, not to bash anyone. I feel like Skip is probably a good guy, he just handled my business VERY poorly.
I sent him an email with pictures expressing my disappointment. He said that he probably should have ground away more material, and tig, instead of mig welded it. He offered to do this on an expedited timeline. Unfortunately at this point I can’t trust that it will be done correctly, in a timely manner, with a reliable line of communication.

 

[Altitude sickness]

I’ve seen better welds in a dirt floor Pakistan motorcycle shop using wood coals

 

[Altitude sickness]

I like the slogan written under LRI

 

[Ontario Hunter]

The gun is headed to Bruce Farman and Ed LaPour to be finished. I’m confident they’ll get it done.

Hope they get it done in time. Welding bolt handles requires care. The clown who welded the new bolt handle on the Brno vz.24 Mauser action I bought for 404 build let it get too hot and warped the end of the bolt. Truing it up required a couple days careful tweeking and a lot of thinking outside the box.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

Me neither, I had heard a lot of good things and his prices are fair. The only reason I started this thread was to possibly receive some help getting my bolt back, not to bash anyone. I feel like Skip is probably a good guy, he just handled my business VERY poorly.
I sent him an email with pictures expressing my disappointment. He said that he probably should have ground away more material, and tig, instead of mig welded it. He offered to do this on an expedited timeline. Unfortunately at this point I can’t trust that it will be done correctly, in a timely manner, with a reliable line of communication.

At least he cut you a deal on the price. I guess the jeweling alone is worth fifty bucks. Seems you got your money's worth.

 

[Hogpatrol]

MIG welded a bolt handle? SMHx10. He probably told the truth, his TIG welding machine is out of commission. I wouldn't get him to run a screw in a receiver. YMMV.

 

[Mark Biggerstaff]

I like the slogan written under LRI


View attachment 597606

I have used LRI for several specialized projects. Nothing but good things to say about there work and customer service.

 

[gbflyer]

MIG welded a bolt handle? SMHx10. He probably told the truth, his TIG welding machine is out of commission. I wouldn't get him to run a screw in a receiver. YMMV.

^This for sure.

MIG is great in production fabrication. Fine work? Kinda clumsy. Silver solder works great too, lots of gunsmiths who can’t weld are successful using it. The guy clearly has something going on behind the curtain.

 

[Inline6]

I like the slogan written under LRI


View attachment 597606

They do really good work. Have used them several times and never once had a problem.

 

[Hogpatrol]

^This for sure.

MIG is great in production fabrication. Fine work? Kinda clumsy. Silver solder works great too, lots of gunsmiths who can’t weld are successful using it. The guy clearly has something going on behind the curtain.

I've had my expert weld bud silver solder a Remington 700 bolt handle. Many customs use a one piece bolt.