Barrels, and threads, and muzzle breaks! Oh my!

[falcon123]

Stay away from Rustblue in Natick. This guy charged me $180 to convert an A.R. upper to mass compliant -- swap a flash hider for a compensator (that I provided) and shave off a bayonet lug. When I questioned why he was three times as much as other gunsmiths in the area he said the higher cost was due to the silver solder method (high temp) and the re-bluing process. Reluctantly, I agreed to proceed with the work.

Just an FYI...AR barrels are NOT blued (they are parkarized) and the process of re-bluing one looks about as good as applying a Sharpie to it. Needless to say...I'm pretty upset with the results. I'm not one of those guys that needs everything meticulous on my guns; however, the idea of paying $180 for a procedure that will most likely hurt any potential re-sale value burns me a bit.

My brother had a similar procedure done to one of his uppers (from a gunsmith in N. Attleboro), paid only $60, and his looks 100 times better than mine.

Why would you pay anyone for such a simple modification requiring a wrench and a dremel?

 

[jambroz]

This was my first experience with both a gunsmith and mass compliance bs...I was taken advantage of by both the gunsmith and the local gun shop owner (that I trusted) who arranged the "deal". Once bitten twice shy.

Business 101: treat your customers right and they might tell 2 people about their positive experience; treat them poorly and they'll tell everyone and anyone who will listen. Thanks for listening!