What's with the long turn around time for gunsmiths?

[Will Goes Boing]

So I just recently acquired a 1911 and wanted to have a mainspring housing/magwell put on. I was uncomfortable messing with it myself and there was a gunsmith right down the street from the gun store.

The guy there said it will take about 4 months because of all the other guns lined up... even if it was a small thing. I called another gunsmith shop and the guy said it would take 2 months.

So I decided to give it a shot. Looked up "how to change mainspring housing" on youtube, and with some simple hand tools and about 20 minutes I did it myself.

What the heck? The gunsmiths with the proper tools and know-how could have probably done that in less than 5 minutes. And they would've earned an easy $40. I don't get it.

[VictorFranko]

First come, first served. You weren't first.
The smith is supposed to stop working on a regular customers job to do a $40 job for a new customer he might not ever see again?
Answer: No

[MicronuT]

take it in when fitting is required. not needed for drop in. what city are you in

[Fjold]

Gunsmith's clocks have pages not hands.

[JRJCP]

Who makes the mainspring housing/magwell and is it carbon or stainless? For a small job like this it will take me about two days. I am in Los Angeles County.

Thanks

[darkest2000]

That's why I learn to do everything myself. Something as simple as the MSH doesn't take much as you have realized.

[SNEAKS]

A good gunsmith always has many projects going on and each project usually has several things that need to be done. The wait time is just something that comes with the territory. If the gunsmith is well known or a very good smith the wait time will be even longer no matter how long your project would take. Its like when you go to the barber shop to get a hair cut. The best barber there usually has a consistent line of people that want him to cut their hair and are willing to wait even though another barbers chair is open.

[Merc1138]

So I just recently acquired a 1911 and wanted to have a mainspring housing/magwell put on. I was uncomfortable messing with it myself and there was a gunsmith right down the street from the gun store.

The guy there said it will take about 4 months because of all the other guns lined up... even if it was a small thing. I called another gunsmith shop and the guy said it would take 2 months.

So I decided to give it a shot. Looked up "how to change mainspring housing" on youtube, and with some simple hand tools and about 20 minutes I did it myself.

What the heck? The gunsmiths with the proper tools and know-how could have probably done that in less than 5 minutes. And they would've earned an easy $40. I don't get it.

Oh, they could get it done sooner than a few months. Heck, they could have done it for you within a couple of days, but you didn't need an emergency rush job the week before a match($$$-$$$$) so you can get in the back of the line. The gun industry had a hell of a boom, can't crank out gunsmiths as quick as you can guns. The guys who have regular business also have years of experience, and even some of their regular customers are willing to wait, you're simply not special enough to bother with. Frankly, they did YOU the favor and forced you to learn something(that apparently wasn't that hard to do) on your own, while they can go back to custom fitting stocks, doing restorations, tuning triggers, barrel work etc. The kind of things you'd need some serious tools for and/or experience to go with it. Hell, if you think a wait list of a couple of months is bad, some custom work(leather holsters, knives, and other stuff) from a few known folks can have wait times of a year or two.

[1911su16b870]

My current thinking is that you can not make a living being a gunsmith unless you are working for one of the big OEMs or a custom shop like Baer, Nighthawk, Cylinder & Slide.

Please someone chime in if the above is not accurate.

Now, if you are not a full time gunsmith, that means you have other life stuff to take care of and hence the wait to get your stuff.

[Ahhnother8]

There is an old axiom regarding gunsmiths. If you wish to have work done, you may only choose TWO of the following:

high quality
short wait time
reasonable price

[The King]

I own basic disassembly books for all firearms I own. Old Sam the gunsmith retired and has not been replaced. The shop would like to replace him but cannot. Most gunners will not pay $50 for a gunsmith's time. Gunsmiths have overhead and insurance to pay. Do your own work, it's part of the hobby!

[Will Goes Boing]

I just recently got into firearms, I had no clue this was the norm. I just couldn't fathom why such a trivial job required a 4 month wait. As one of you said they did do me a favor, I saved myself $40 and time away from my new gun

[SNEAKS]

Its just a matter of waiting in line to have the work done.The only difference is the smith would of blended the magwell to the frame most likely if it was stainless parts on stainless frame for $40. I personally have been waiting 11 months on a custom 1911 build and still have a few more to go til I get it back. Its just the way it is.

[Cyc Wid It]

My current thinking is that you can not make a living being a gunsmith unless you are working for one of the big OEMs or a custom shop like Baer, Nighthawk, Cylinder & Slide.

Please someone chime in if the above is not accurate.

Now, if you are not a full time gunsmith, that means you have other life stuff to take care of and hence the wait to get your stuff.

This is inaccurate. The top smiths have their own shops.

[Ford8N]

That's why I learn to do everything myself. Something as simple as the MSH doesn't take much as you have realized.

Me too, I do my own work. The only thing that limits me is machinery. If I had a good lathe and mill I would never see a gunsmith again.