A customer brought in a rusted 1911 and told me to 'just make it work'

This was last Tuesday at my bench. The guy hands me this old frame, pitted bad near the slide stop, and says 'just make it work, I don't wanna spend a lot.' I quoted him for a proper weld and refinish, about $250. He scoffed and said his buddy could do it with a file and cold blue in an hour... I had to explain that filing down pitting weakens the metal, and cold blue won't stop more rust. He just took it back, muttering about 'real' smiths. Ever have someone argue with you over a basic safety fix?

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3 Comments

felix_thomas735mo ago

Told a guy his pitted frame was a wall hanger now.

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thead446mo ago

His buddy with a file might be onto something though. For a range toy that won't see serious use, maybe a quick fix is fine. Not every old gun needs museum-grade work.

7

dianab686mo ago

But a file on a gun's internals... that's asking for trouble. Even a range toy needs to work right and not break. A sloppy fix could make it unsafe or just ruin it for good.

0