Other Services
Hand Saw Sharpening
Why sharpen hand saws you may ask?
Saw blade sharpening ensures the durability and effectiveness of your saws.
A good hand saw, when properly treated, is a tool that can be passed down through the generations. Hand saws and other tools now have become popular again with bespoke craftsmen as well as hobbyists and collectors.
Sharpening your saw blades will save you money in the long run because you’ll get better cuts, be more efficient and spend less on replacement saws over time. It also gives quality to your workmanship.
I can provide automatic saw grinding, hand filling and setting as well as a complete re-toothing service if required.
Film Camera Service & Repair
Service and cleaning of vintage film cameras and lenses.
I can also make parts to help you get your old camera back working!
Specializing in leaf shutter service where many times old lubricants have hardened stopping your camera from operating at the correct shutter speeds or even at all!
I have also developed and manufactured a slitter for cutting 35mm film to 9.2mm Minox and 16mm format.
Please email me for information if you are interested.
Key Cutting & Lock Repairs
You may get the odd lock or mechanism that you can’t get parts or springs for. As you can see, I have full machining and heat-treating services available which could be of benefit for your business for those customers that want to retain or restore that old lock for their old house, church etc.
In the past I have made keys, key blanks, lock wafers, pins, parts, and different springs. I also have some older hard to get key blanks in stock. Springs are all handmade and heat-treated spring steel.
Most shapes and types can be made, or modifications made to suit a different style spring if needs be. I often manufacture leaf type springs for older firearms for example.
Let me know if I can be of any service to you or you just need a key cut!
Repairs & Alterations
Our workshop is equipped to carry out just about any repair that can be thought of and ninety percent of repairs are carried out within two weeks. Your work is not farmed out to someone miles away so this means that you can leave your gun in the confidence that any work is carried out exactly as you expect it. We believe that we have to get it right first time. It is far easier to deal with customers that are satisfied! Gun smithing and gun building is not limited to gun repair in our shop, we also have full CNC machining facilities available. We have full services for design, machining and heat treatment processes through to polishing and lapping.
Engraving
We out source our engraving services as engraving is an art in itself and one that we believe should be undertaken by specialist craftsman. Any fine quality hand made knife or firearm can stand on its own merit without its surface adorned by decorative embellishment. However from all of the choices made available by means of artistic decoration, few elevate the status of a prestigious collectible and offer such wide choice in defining ones personality or particular taste as engraving may do. The utmost care and attention to detail is taken with all work as we realise the items you want engraved are your pride and joy. All kind of hand engraving is undertaken from game scenes to gold inlay, scroll, european classic gun engraving, high definition bulino scenes etc. Engraving can be created on any metal surface as long as it is non-hardened. If you are interested in having some engraving done please contact us and we can provide you with an opportunity to create a truly one-of-a-kind heirloom to enhance your collection, to dedicate an event or, for your own enjoyment of an art form that dates back hundreds of years.
Rebarreling & Barrel Porting
We can re barrel and re chamber with a variety of imported barrels such as Lothar Walther, Truflite, Shillen, Douglas, or Australian manufactured barrels from Total Solutions Engineering or RDT Products. This service is priced on request. Good accuracy greatly depends on having a quality barrel properly installed that is why we fit and finish all of our barrels in house. Great pains are taken to insure that you get the best possible accuracy from your selected barrel. To start with, all barrel work is done in four jaw independent chucks and steadies, indicated in to within .01mm.
Our reamers are only the finest we can source. The crown of each barrel is cut with a razor sharp tool then polished and lapped with one micron diamond paste for the perfect bullet release. In addition we can provide you with barrel porting, in firearms, porting relates to holes that we machine with either EDM (electric discharge machine) or carbide tooling into the forward part of the barrel (and slide on pistols). These holes are designed to divert a portion of the gases expelled during firing in the direction that reduces the tendency of the firearm to flip upwards. The concept applies Newton's third law where the exhaust directed upward causes a reciprocal force downward. Porting is most commonly used on shotguns and competition handguns, where recoil is most significant and makes rapid firing difficult. Porting has obvious advantages for faster follow-up shots and lowering recoil.
Blueing,Blacking & Browning
We undertake caustic bluing with various levels of finish plus we also undertake rust bluing for lead soldered shotgun barrels. Our rust bluing can also be used for custom hunting rifles where a more durable finish is sought after. Our nitre bluing of pins and screws gives restorations an authentic finish. The cost of quality finishing work is not in application of the finish, but in the preparation.
All surfaces must remain true, round or flat. All lines must remain clean and sharp. Special care is taken during the polishing process to ensure that original lettering does not get washed out. All serial #'s, roll stampings, proof marks and engraving must also remain clean and sharp. Our work is not the least expensive but remember: "You get what you pay for".
Trigger & Action Work
We specialise in accurate trigger work from adjustment and smoothing, through to the re cutting and re hardening of worn out sears.
We can also supply and fit custom triggers of your choice.
Old obsolete triggers and mechanisms can be rebuilt to original or better specifications. We also undertake shotgun re-jointing and the manufacture of broken or missing parts and or springs.
Stock Work
Again as with engraving we believe that the making of complete stocks should be left to a professional craftsman. We do however undertake stock repair, alterations and refinishing. Fitting of recoil pads and leather covered pads. Quality gunstock refinishing requires attention to detail. We guarantee perfect fitting, clean and tight fit of butt plates, recoil pads and grip caps. We can provide a finish in oil, with minimum fill, to satin oil with full fill. High gloss two pack or, urethane. Checkering (re point or new, simple or complex, 16 to 24 LPI) is also a service we provide. We have enjoyed great success in gun stock repair. You would be surprised at what can be properly and economically restored.
Trygun and Stock Fitting
To improve your shooting, getting the right Gun Fit is one of the most important things you can do, but this is the one thing that people, when buying a gun, will choose to ignore. Getting the right shotgun fit is the first most important element of any aspect of shooting. Most stocks can be bent for cast and drop, adjustable combs and butt plates can also be fitted to provide a range of adjustment. We use various methods to determine fit from try gun and laser to just simply taping on packers of differing thickness.
Accuracy improvement
The best accuracy possible is everybody's goal. Our goal is to strive to give you that accuracy. With the use of various inspection equipment the condition of the bore’s surface is checked along with the condition of the barrel's crown. Also important is the consistency of the bore diameter and consistency of the twist. Bore and chamber casting, if requested, will open windows to any flaws or irregularities in the bore, chamber and throat. As the gun is disassembled we look for anything that might impair accuracy, such as poorly torqued scope mount or guard screws or stress torqued into an assembly. Vibrations are the result of a lack of rigidity or from stress resulting from the poor fit of the action to stock, or barrel to stock, or a combination of all these. Through the use of dial indicators and experience these problems are identified and solutions can be recommended. Many times these problems are reduced or eliminated during reassembling. Some problems are not as easy. Poor chamber work can be devastating to good accuracy. The best match grade barrel and pillar bedded stock will never give good accuracy if your chamber is crooked or off axis.
Bedding and Floating
Accuracy depends on Shot-to-shot consistency. A great deal of a gun's ability to achieve this consistency is dictated by the relationship between the barrelled action and the stock. During firing, a great deal of recoil is created which tends to shift the barrel and action back in to the stock. This change of movement dramatically affects the gun's ability to achieve shot-to-shot repeatability.