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Grodas rifle stocks


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Just fitted one of these this week for a customer on his .204 remington.

 

They are absolutely top notch quality. The inletting is very good, and the cheekpiece adjuster and length of pull adjuster are lovely, well machined items.

 

IMG_1144_crop.jpg

 

This one had a full pillar and devcon bed, and our floorplate inletted and bedded in.

 

Highly recommended, and available through your local trade dealer via jackson rifles.

 

Retail at just over £500 .

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I saw these at Newark 3 years back and they looked and felt extremely comfortable. Not to everyones taste but who buys kit to impress somebody else? Keep thinking about one for my Finnlight.

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Its one of my favourite stocks, I also love the KKC stock. Im promising myself that when I can afford it Ill have my own custom rifle with either the Grodas stock or the KKC.

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Nothing wrong with our craftsmen at all Londonhunter. That stock is perfectly capable of being made here.

 

The big problem we have always had in this country, is that everyone wants everything for nothing. To import quality laminates is expensive [ ask Dorg ] and to make a decent wage from making these things is not cheap either. The customer always expects to pay for these two items, but spews when the craftsman wants a living wage out of it. Then you get all the arseholes who skim off the top by working from a back bedroom, pay no tax, VAT, or rates, insurance etc, and kill the guy on price who is actually skilled at making these things, and has put the money, time and effort in.

 

You did ask . :P

 

I had plans this year for a fair range of hard to get products, being made here. Because of the part time peddlers, i,m simply not going to do it now. Its financial suicide.

Until the gun buying public starts to support the genuine craftsmen and dealers out there, this vacuum will continue to exist.

 

Grodas and KKC have the whip hand....they probarbly make the laminate, if not, its most certainly made down the road from them.

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dave in total agreement with you,its nigh on impossible to compete with the man in a shed syndrome doing it for beer tokens,you would hope that quality would take president over price within reason but sadly it does not,but i think as things get harder to export and get hold of there will start to be more of a market for the quality brit made and designed stuff,but you will always get the guy looking to make a fast buck

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I work in a Shed as you put it making a range of products, all designed and built in there entirety by myself. I sit in front of a computer in the evenings designing the parts in 3D and transfer my ideas to reality by day and I spend long hours doing this. I buy in the raw materials, aluminium, stainless or whatever is called for and I machine, polish and anodise and then assemble, no CNC, just the old fashioned way, about the only parts I buy in are stainless steel fixings and digital or analogue DTI's plus recently motors and gearboxes and they are German products, not cheap knock off's from China.

 

This month I have shipped as far as Japan and Eire and hope to ship to Australia, New Zealand and Canada very shortly.

 

I make everything from scratch, not assembling parts from other people not importing and marking up before pushing out again. UK designed and UK built not USA badged stuff and I make it in a Shed.

 

So I am a man in a Shed here in the UK.

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Nothing wrong with our craftsmen at all Londonhunter. That stock is perfectly capable of being made here.

 

The big problem we have always had in this country, is that everyone wants everything for nothing. To import quality laminates is expensive [ ask Dorg ] and to make a decent wage from making these things is not cheap either. The customer always expects to pay for these two items, but spews when the craftsman wants a living wage out of it. Then you get all the arseholes who skim off the top by working from a back bedroom, pay no tax, VAT, or rates, insurance etc, and kill the guy on price who is actually skilled at making these things, and has put the money, time and effort in.

 

You did ask . :P

 

I had plans this year for a fair range of hard to get products, being made here. Because of the part time peddlers, i,m simply not going to do it now. Its financial suicide.

Until the gun buying public starts to support the genuine craftsmen and dealers out there, this vacuum will continue to exist.

 

Grodas and KKC have the whip hand....they probarbly make the laminate, if not, its most certainly made down the road from them.

 

 

I am trying to fullfill this market Dave hope im not standing on your toes too much, an d plus 1 on Daveys comments his stuff is awesome quality and if he didnt make it , it just wouldnt be available in th eUkat all

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i think dave is the total opposite of what iam talking about iam on about the guys that can copy other peoples work that they have busted a nut designing then getting it to r and d then production runs only for someone to copy it and punt it out at stupid prices because they dont have the overheads,vat reg,rates or staff etc and dont get me started about stuff thats being made in china being passed off as british it aint just the gun trade,guess its just the throw away world that we live in

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The problem comes when you release a new product, if it is any good it will be copied fairly quickly and not necessarily via China or India either. I have to work on a current item, a replacement or upgraded item and then the replacement for that one so in effect I am working on three generations of product and constantly thinking about what I can add or change that is a differentiator, I have a part next to me I have just made that is so obvious I cannot understand why it has not been done before, a nice feature that will add under a tenner to the product. Do I add it now or hold back and hope nobody else thinks of it...

 

Shooting is a well established and very simple discipline so the majority of things have already been thought of, these days we are for the most just fine tuning or updating. Seldom do I see something and think wow, what a stunningly good idea, and if I do think of something unusual or new I wonder how long it will stay like that.

 

Living with a woman that shoots and can think helps a lot as I can bounce ideas off her, and she in turn will often walk into the Shed and make good solid suggestions.

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I would like to add a few things to this.

Its no good crying about competition I have been in business over 20 years now making kitchens, a week never goes by without someone starting up just down the road. We all started somewhere once. if you are good , and sensibly priced you will get work, build a good reputation look after your clients and they will come back. Why would buyers want too go elsewhere if you give them all they want.If the bloke down the road can make a better job, cheaper than you and enough of them to satisfy demand.You are doing the wrong thing.Most business are set up doing something similiar to everybody else only either better , faster or cheaper.

Baldie for one of the best riflesmiths in the country and with more work than you can handle I struggle to see what you are moaning about.Could you handle any more work if you had it.

Laminate is abit of a bugger, I have discussed this with veneer suppliers and it is still cheaper to import it, which we are doing

As for making this style of stock or any other style, if this is what you want to buy I will make this style or something very similar.There is no point reinventing the wheel.

Can I do this style/ princlble of stock for £500 no problem. How about £325 and you finish sanding it yourselves.

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....As for making this style of stock or any other style, if this is what you want to buy I will make this style or something very similar.There is no point reinventing the wheel.

Can I do this stock for £500 no problem. How about £325 and you finish sanding it yourselves.

I first came across the GRS stocks maybe 2-3 years ago and have had my hands on a few since then, they are well thought out and finished, if you can produce and supply a stock of the same quality and with similar fittings for GBP325 you are doing well. If you are just going to copy it, brush over the awkward bits and supply it without the fittings as a side line to make a quick buck then you do yourself, the UK industry and GRS no favours what so ever.

 

Better to look at a product and think I can do better than/improve on that than look at a product and think I will rip off that design.

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We have started a stockmaking business with the main aim of improving available stock designs and delivery times. I can assure everyone there is no fast buck in stockmaking. the time in developing the nessacery machinery and our own stock designs has run into many thousands, and if I really wanted an easy life I would never have bothered with this. We have taken many stock designs, principals and discussed them with many wise people, to find out where they could be improved. We have no desire to platantly copy anything. But if there is a demand for a stock with this grip principal in this country why should there not be a british version.

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OK guys, lets see who has the broccoli to answer these questions then eh ?

 

How many of you fellas are paying tax and VAT on your part time dealings ?

 

How many have valid insurance to allow you to sell products and weapons , to the public, knowing that if anything went tragically wrong with them, your customers would be covered with millions in compensation ?

 

You will of course have declared to the local council, that you are runnng businesses from your homes, and are paying the appropriate taxes then ?

 

You will also have the correct insurances to allow testing, and evaluation of firearms on public ranges, that are not on personal tickets, but held on rfd,s , because the range insurance ,either nra or nsra most certainly DOES NOT cover you.

 

How many people who flog powder, bullets and primers have the necessary, and legally require explosives license ?

 

Shall i carry on ?

 

There is nothing wrong with healthy competition. I have no problem with that at all. I have more work than i can cope with, i took orders for six custom rifles , last week alone. What i despise is the unlevel playing field, and the downright "couldn,t give a toss" attitude from some out there, with no thought for the customers safety, or responsibility to them if something DID go wrong.

 

It paints the whole trade in a bad light.

 

For your info bbrc, i have never been part time. I was employed at an early age in the gun trade, and upon returning a good few years ago, went self employed, full time.

 

As usual, people misread , or see what they want.

 

More power to the guys in the shed, inventing gear. More power to the guys setting up, bit by bit, a business making stocks, parts, etc.

 

That has always been the backbone of British inventiveness.

 

I,m talking about the fly by nights, hawking cheap parts, what have you, and paying none of the first few point mentioned in the first part of the post.

 

They are the people killing the gun trade. You will also find, they are the least likely to put anything back in the way of advice, services, sponsorship, or charity.

 

I,m also talking about the people doing threading jobs for £20 in the shed, putting work out there that is downright dangerous, because they dont have the knowledge or equipment to do it properly, OR legally.

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I am happy to answer. This is not a part time thing for me, and it is very convenient to walk out to the 'Shed' every morning, it reduces my carbon footprint, I get a better cup of coffee and work with nicer people. If I want to start early I can and if I want to work late I can and all without a miserable commute on icy roads with the psychotic Audi driving masses (I used to ride a motorbike to work)

 

I am not nor do I plan to be VAT registered for a while as I doubt I will be reaching the VAT threshold any time soon.

 

Insurance yes however I do not sell firearms nor do I plan to, I build amongst other things gauges for bullet run-out, neck thickness, bearing surface comparators, bullet tipping conversions, bag riders, F/TR bipods, annealing machines, rotary tumblers, OAL gauges and the likes. closest I get is tapping cases for my own OAL gauges and for the Hornady. I also build comparator inserts for odd balls and wildcats and bump gauges. Every thing I build is to my own design which means if someone asks for something new and I take the job on I design and prototype in my own time and add it to my portfolio, my choice. Equally I do not charge for work until it is completed to the customers satisfaction.

 

I am not a gunsmith, I do not work on proofed parts. What I do is design and build reloading and shooting accessories in low volumes for repeat customers.

 

Oddly enough I am licensed to acquire and keep explosives however that is only for personal consumption and I hold a lot less than the 15Kg limit.

 

I am going to have to apply for an RFD ticket and have already discussed it with my FEO however it will be to hold two additional firearms only and that is because I build bespoke bag riders, I do not have templates for all stocks and some people struggle to supply an accurate template and prefer not to drop the barrel and action out of their stocks so to satisfy a need and requests I will apply to be an RFD so I can legally hold a customer rifle and fit the rider. For the record I would avoid this if at all possible and much prefer to work on the stock only and make a template at the same time so I am ready should I be asked to build for the same rifle.

 

HTH

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Good on yer Davy.

 

Nice to see someone doing it right.

 

If you want any advice regarding the RFD aquisition, give me a buzz, or if you have a list of stuff you make, i,ll shove anyone who asks, your way. I,m always getting asked for bits and bobs like you make, but dont have the time myself.

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yes me too will ansa Dave

 

 

yes i pay all relevent charges including vat , i am self employed any way so have relative insurances etc but i dont deal in firearms so i cant ansa that part of your post

 

 

good to hear you are very busy in these difficult times , good craftmenship will always keep going as in your case

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I suppose I fall into the category of "Shed Builder"...

 

I have RFD and jumped through several hoops to get it, the long term plan being to gain enough skill to go full time when I retire in a few years.

 

I do not advertise, nor will untill that time, neither do I actively seek work or "show" what I do - if people want to do write ups of items that ive done, great, if they dont, thats great too.... :)

 

I actively advise people to speak to other riflesmiths before making any choice and I 100% support the UK trade.

 

eg, if someone asks me to build an item, I tell them to pay (at source) wherever the component parts are coming from - be that barrel maker, action supplier, stock maker / supplier.

 

 

I do what I do to get experience and knowledge, in order to do a job that will stand alone against the best in the UK....

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Two years ago we moved from a single room workshop to our three room premises in town. Since a year we are RFD and have three part time workers. Our delivery times are creeping towards five weeks instead of the usual three and we are already thinking of moving to larger more factory like premises. Customers are trying to force us into gun building but although I am a precision mechanic and have a degree in material technologies I think we'll stay at the stocks and do a few bedding jobs at most.

As a European company it seems very difficult to set foot in an area that has been dominated by US companies for decades but slowly the advantages of new technologies are being recognised. I'm absolutely convinced we as Europeans, can build a 100% European F or F/TR rifle that will not only match but can outperform just about anything that is on the market at the moment. What I don't understand in the competition scene is that so many use hand me down technologies, to be ahead in competitions one must lead the way with innovations. Innovations are of course connected to risks. I don't shoot F class competitions but if, then I would rather invest a few years in working with a local barrel maker for exapmle and let him make something special than get some off the shelf "good enough for Europe" barrel from over seas. This example works for all areas.

edi

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There will always be someone who can undercut you by not playing fair - i.e no tax / VAT / rent / rates / specific insurance etc etc.

 

It is the same in many a service sector. I find it a lot in my arena of consultancy ( H & S ). Some git not qualified working from his car touting for consultancy work at shelf stacking rates !

 

Oh and i work in a shed !

 

 

P1000194.jpg

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Good on yer Davy.

 

Nice to see someone doing it right.

 

If you want any advice regarding the RFD aquisition, give me a buzz, or if you have a list of stuff you make, i,ll shove anyone who asks, your way. I,m always getting asked for bits and bobs like you make, but dont have the time myself.

 

Thank you for the offer, I know some RFD's but none well enough that I feel I can ask especially in this day and age so I may well take you up on that offer closer to the time. I do an ever increasing list of things I make but I would hate to stand on BD's toes as I am not a site sponsor. I am starting to do work for a couple of rifle builders and have had some good feedback from them, the telling part is getting the repeat business and it always makes me smile when people come back and ask for something else.

 

Davy

 

Can you post or pm me a list of stuff you manufacture ?

 

Whichever suits you best

 

I am sure there are a few of us here who like to support enterprising people like you

 

Again thank you for your kind offer, I am still building the business up and take all sorts of things on, Mondays is 'get the little jobs out of the way' day so I ended up making yet more bump gauges followed by some cleaning rod guides, some people just prefer to have something different and hand made as opposed to the mass produced stuff and I am happy to oblige. Tomorrow is anodising day, I try not to get involved and instead leave it to the Viking and I know I can safely leave it in her hands in fact she probably knows more about it than I do. She is also my apprentice polisher, you cannot beat having a wife that not only supports what you do but actively gets involved.

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I am lucky enough that my dealing are covered through my main business insurance. As you all know you only need to be VAT registered if you turn over £73,000. Do Ihave an RCA document yes even though these are not policed and just another bit of red tape. I started selling a bit of powder and tips so on because no one in Norfolk holds any.I am on very good terms with my local RFD but he has no interest in rifles or reloading.

How many people would love to shoot an all British rifle I know I would. I have an RPA with an Archer barrel on it with one of my stocks.

We will get there I think, anyone thinking about making triggers ?

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British triggers have been around for years, I have a Brindles trigger box box on a P14, two stage is as good as my Barnard and from memory they were built just outside Bisley.

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