Baltimore Area Gunsmith Recommendation

So, let me just ask Rumnhammer, Clandestine, etc a question because the answer will help me with future needs. Is every bad experience with Duffy's or any other smith that I hear about just bullsh@t from an unreasonable person and every giver of a warning just an "asshat"? I mean, if every gunsmith is awesome and every customer who has a bad experience is just a dipshit, then I'll just Google for the closest gunsmith around. That's basically what message I'm reading here. That anyone who had a bad experience is just plain crazy and should be ignored.

By the way, I did get several positive recommendations for Duffys and a few other places, like Bollingers in Taneytown and Scott's in The Burnie. I'm not saying I'll never use them. I just decided to use somebody else this time.

Rumnhammer said:

Why would you steer clear of Duffy's? John Walker is one of the best gunsmiths I've ever seen. In fact more than just a gunsmith, a master machinist as well. I've seen him make barrel extensions on the lathe in under 10 minutes out of scrap metal that are better then something you would buy from Brownells. He's also fixed quite a few guns that other IPs have not been able too properly do the job they have been tasked with. So I'd reconsider this statement without first hand knowledge.

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You can't go wrong with either John Walker or John Carduner. John W's turnaround runs about 5-6 weeks, but I don't mind waiting for good work.

Some jobs require specialized knowledge and experience.

Some gunsmiths have specialized knowledge and experience doing specific work on specific unique guns.


All that said 95% of reasonably competent 'smiths can handle 95% of the jobs that customers bring in. Most 'smiths mid 40's or older probably cut their teeth on basic maintance of S&W revolvers.

I'm trying to visualize a "Cylnder lock spring" that could potentially jump out of an assembled revolver. If I had a handle on that, I'd probably post the 90% certanty method of taking care of your initial problem w/o disasembling beyond removing grips.

Abulg1972 said:

So, let me just ask Rumnhammer, Clandestine, etc a question because the answer will help me with future needs. Is every bad experience with Duffy's or any other smith that I hear about just bullsh@t from an unreasonable person and every giver of a warning just an "asshat"? I mean, if every gunsmith is awesome and every customer who has a bad experience is just a dipshit, then I'll just Google for the closest gunsmith around. That's basically what message I'm reading here. That anyone who had a bad experience is just plain crazy and should be ignored.

By the way, I did get several positive recommendations for Duffys and a few other places, like Bollingers in Taneytown and Scott's in The Burnie. I'm not saying I'll never use them. I just decided to use somebody else this time.

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I'm giving you a perspective from a professionals point of view. Technically BOTH are competitors, so if I were less than honorable, I would steer people away from them. I have sense of pride and honor so that won't happen. If you think I wont, then ask Select Fire, Continental, and that jackass in Columbia who sued MDS.

You are an attorney right? If some non lawyer started talking crap about how unethical and unprofessional another lawyer colleague was, would you let that stand or come to their defense? How about if someone used the forum to slam your profession without stating any first hand info? You would just let it slide right? I don't think so....

Duffys and Mr Carduner have great reputations from MY SIDE of the counter, and as a Professional Smith. If they didn't I would speak up and say so and I would back it up with examples because I saw tons of jacked up work from other gunsmiths in my time. Never any from Duffys or Mr Carduner. Most are hacks who subcontract for other shops and all have stopped from my knowledge, with exception to G.C., they love to slam on me without cause so let's say the feeling is mutual. I'll clarify and say I haven't see any bad work from them but they do love to talk poorly about my job as a Smith.

As an honorable man, I also ask customers to take guns BACK to a smith if they messed up before I work on them, because it's who I am.

Now, I can see your being a smart ass, which is your way. I really don't care if my posts here help you one bit because if you were my customer I would fire you just as I have many others. The customer isn't always right. I'm posting to inform the several hundred other people who have or are reading this thread and are soaking up some 3rd party story Bullcrap about 2 honorable shops. If your sources have bad experiences to share then they need to post about them and see how it shakes out. All of this he said, she said stuff is a bunch of crap and if people have bad experiences then THEY hold some responsibility for staying quiet and allowing a bad smith or shop mess up other people's guns.

I'm not some anonymous person posting who can make up whatever I want with immunity. Unlike some person on google.

Biggfoot44 said:

I'm trying to visualize a "Cylnder lock spring" that could potentially jump out of an assembled revolver. If I had a handle on that, I'd probably post the 90% certanty method of taking care of your initial problem w/o disasembling beyond removing grips.

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This is my first revolver. I have no idea how the cylinder lock spring jumped out but I assure you that it did. I just don't want to screw it up anymore and would rather have someone knowledgeable work on it.

Rumnhammer said:

I'm new over at Duffy's so I found out there are actually people that have been banned from even coming into the shop much less doing things for them.

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This is the kind of stuff that really disappoints me to hear. Unless someone has committed some sort of crime, the thought of "banning them" from a public business strikes me as being a real dick move. Every business has to put up with customers that they don't like, but it seems that only gun shops take pride in saying that they have "banned" customers from even coming in the door. How immature can you be? That's just asking for a bad reputation. If you don't think that a customer is going to be happy with your work, or you think they are too big a PIA to deal with, just tell them that you don't think you will be able to do that particular job to their satisfaction and suggest that they send it to the factory. But "banning" them? That sounds more like chest-thumping than running a professional business.

The internet has been a great benefit to people, but it comes with a price. Before, if someone gave you personal advice or a recommendation, it was usually in private, and you could act on that recommendation (either way) without anyone calling you out for doing so. Now it's all public.

I think that we need to all remember that people have opinions, and they are entitled to them. We also need to remember that people are entitled to listen to, or disregard, recommendations that others make without turning it into a public brawl. One of the best mechanics that I've ever known was a complete a**hole--and I told him that once. We've been friends ever since. But there have been other mechanics who had local reputations for being a**holes to customers whom I've avoided for just that reason. They also may have been good mechanics, but I just didn't want to deal with someone who acts like that. It was my prerogative to listen to what other customers had to say.

Being talented doesn't give a person the right to treat the public badly--not if they don't want those people to bad-mouth them. If someone in a public business can't deal with people without throwing a tantrum and "banning" them, maybe they should hire someone to run the counter who can, and stay back in the shop where they only have to deal with the machines?

Kind of interesting dissertation(s) here.
Without going into a lot of details not germane to the issue at hand, and keeping aforementioned shops to a minimum, there appears to be 3 of interest: To wit: Duffy's, J.Carduner (out of Freestate), and Scotts.

Duffy's: I have no personal experience with them, however my son thinks very highly of them having done business there more than once. I believe one of their employees commented in this thread. Draw your own conclusions.

John Carduner: I have had work done "there". The work was extensive on a NIB 1911.
Work was completed in 3 weeks. Mr. Carduner is a gentle man, laid back in his approach, and highly capable.

Scotts: I have had work done there. The work was rather simple, on a Ruger GP100, and was completed in 3 months. I do not know who did the work there, but it was rather straight forward. One of their "Smiths" has commented in this thread, draw your own conclusions.

I have a number of S&W revolvers. If it were I, I would contact John Carduner, or at my son's recommendation, go to Duffy's. Given that all 3 shops have the expertise, I would go for "Time" and "cost" in that order, which leaves Scotts, a distant 3rd.

Mind you, Scotts is in my neighborhood, while the other 2 are miles away.


R

w2kbr said:

Kind of interesting dissertation(s) here.
Without going into a lot of details not germane to the issue at hand, and keeping aforementioned shops to a minimum, there appears to be 3 of interest: To wit: Duffy's, J.Carduner (out of Freestate), and Scotts.

Duffy's: I have no personal experience with them, however my son thinks very highly of them having done business there more than once. I believe one of their employees commented in this thread. Draw your own conclusions.

John Carduner: I have had work done "there". The work was extensive on a NIB 1911.
Work was completed in 3 weeks. Mr. Carduner is a gentle man, laid back in his approach, and highly capable.

Scotts: I have had work done there. The work was rather simple, on a Ruger GP100, and was completed in 3 months. I do not know who did the work there, but it was rather straight forward. One of their "Smiths" has commented in this thread, draw your own conclusions.

I have a number of S&W revolvers. If it were I, I would contact John Carduner, or at my son's recommendation, go to Duffy's. Given that all 3 shops have the expertise, I would go for "Time" and "cost" in that order, which leaves Scotts, a distant 3rd.

Mind you, Scotts is in my neighborhood, while the other 2 are miles away.


R

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Machodoc said:

This is the kind of stuff that really disappoints me to hear. Unless someone has committed some sort of crime, the thought of "banning them" from a public business strikes me as being a real dick move. Every business has to put up with customers that they don't like, but it seems that only gun shops take pride in saying that they have "banned" customers from even coming in the door. How immature can you be? That's just asking for a bad reputation.

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In my practice, we fire patients occasionally. Mostly for doc shopping for narcotics or too many no-show appointments. Some are fired because they are verbally abusive toward the staff and/or disruptive to other people. Nobody needs to put up with that kind of crap. You seriously can't think of multiple scenarios where someone may be such an ass they are asked not to come back? Really?

I'm sure it's more than not liking people. I went to Duffy's yesterday. They don't like me, but they were nice to me.

Machodoc said:

This is the kind of stuff that really disappoints me to hear. Unless someone has committed some sort of crime, the thought of "banning them" from a public business strikes me as being a real dick move. Every business has to put up with customers that they don't like, but it seems that only gun shops take pride in saying that they have "banned" customers from even coming in the door. How immature can you be? That's just asking for a bad reputation. If you don't think that a customer is going to be happy with your work, or you think they are too big a PIA to deal with, just tell them that you don't think you will be able to do that particular job to their satisfaction and suggest that they send it to the factory. But "banning" them? That sounds more like chest-thumping than running a professional business.

The internet has been a great benefit to people, but it comes with a price. Before, if someone gave you personal advice or a recommendation, it was usually in private, and you could act on that recommendation (either way) without anyone calling you out for doing so. Now it's all public.

I think that we need to all remember that people have opinions, and they are entitled to them. We also need to remember that people are entitled to listen to, or disregard, recommendations that others make without turning it into a public brawl. One of the best mechanics that I've ever known was a complete a**hole--and I told him that once. We've been friends ever since. But there have been other mechanics who had local reputations for being a**holes to customers whom I've avoided for just that reason. They also may have been good mechanics, but I just didn't want to deal with someone who acts like that. It was my prerogative to listen to what other customers had to say.

Being talented doesn't give a person the right to treat the public badly--not if they don't want those people to bad-mouth them. If someone in a public business can't deal with people without throwing a tantrum and "banning" them, maybe they should hire someone to run the counter who can, and stay back in the shop where they only have to deal with the machines?

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I think you completely misunderstand. Are you familiar with the people of this world? Jackholes need to get what's coming to them. It's that simple.

Retail is about serving a costumer, but some won't be happy no matter what you do. They come in nice, then again a bit odd, next time odd with an attitude and finally just rude...and it's the owners fault? It's more like mental illness and it's not for the business to provide therapy. They are trying to run a business and they can't have the jackhole upset other costumers.

Where do I fit into all this? I know how people are. I live in the same world you do. I see them when I'm in stores and wish they would get dropped though the trap door, but alas, they never do.

ETA: Those that behave poorly get banned, rather than the owner calling the police for a disturbance. Then those same people bad mouth the shop/store/web site/and so on/and so on.

The salesman was out visiting customers one day and had to call on a particularly cheap, nasty SOB.
The customer knew he was an A-hole and prided himself on it.

In the middle of their meeting the salesman said " You know what?
I wish that I had 100 customers just like you"

The customer then started to smile and he felt pretty good about himself.

Then the salesman said:
"Because right now I have about 500 of you cheap bastards!"

teratos said:

In my practice, we fire patients occasionally. Mostly for doc shopping for narcotics or too many no-show appointments. Some are fired because they are verbally abusive toward the staff and/or disruptive to other people. Nobody needs to put up with that kind of crap. You seriously can't think of multiple scenarios where someone may be such an ass they are asked not to come back? Really?

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Sure. I can think of lots of scenarios where a person would merit a restraining order, but I believe that I prefaced my comment with "doing something illegal". Doc shopping for narcotics is illegal. So is being disorderly.

Maybe I'm just a little overly tightened down on this issue because I was in the military during a time when I was "banned" from a business because I was wearing my uniform when I tried to go into their doors. That made some twit bar owner feel like he was being important, and making a political statement against the war in Vietnam, but to me it was simply unjustified prejudice.

Machodoc said:

Sure. I can think of lots of scenarios where a person would merit a restraining order, but I believe that I prefaced my comment with "doing something illegal". Doc shopping for narcotics is illegal. So is being disorderly.

Maybe I'm just a little overly tightened down on this issue because I was in the military during a time when I was "banned" from a business because I was wearing my uniform when I tried to go into their doors. That made some twit bar owner feel like he was being important, and making a political statement against the war in Vietnam, but to me it was simply unjustified prejudice.

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In this case the Jackholes were running the business. Jerks.

I thought I'd bring this discussion back full circle now that the work is complete and my revolver is in working order again. John Carduner did a great job, and I wouldn't hesitate to call him again if I needed some work done on a firearm. The spring that fell out was indeed the cylinder stop spring, and its absence prevented the cylinder stop from engaging the cylinder. The reason it fell out was that whatever keeps the cylinder and frame aligned and tight (can't remember the part(s)) had worked itself loose so that there was a lot of play in the cylinder lockup. This slop gradually got worse as the revolver was fired, and it, coupled with swinging the misaligned cylinder out, actually bent the cylinder pin and ejector rod. Because those parts are hard to find and expensive, John straightened the pin and rod using a lathe. Total turnaround time was 4 days, which was fantastic.

Glad to hear you got your revolver fixed.

It's hard to find a good gunsmith. I've had bad work from some guys who are highly recommended here. And sometimes you can't take it back. There's not much fix for a barrel that's cut shorter than you asked for. Or a smith that says "six weeks" when he really means "it'll be ready whenever I feel like it". Or maybe he leaves jaw marks on your brand new barrel, and says "I told you it'd be that way". You just learn not to repeat that mistake. Don't feed a fool. Or you learn to do it yourself. Some stuff can be mailed off to ADCO. Never fear, they'll get it right.

FYI - Bollinger's does a nice job of barrel cutting and threading, if you ever need that work. And yes, I drove all the way from Bel Air, and it was worth the extra miles. My local guy was nothing but six months of promises and excuses. Bollinger's turned it around in a week, exactly the way I wanted.