Baldwin Bolt Jeweling?? Problem Help

[Tokoloshe Safaris]

I do not have a dog in this hunt, but I would like to say. When you are dealing with a small one man shop. Health issues can arise, such as a stroke. I am not saying that is what has happened.

We all go through health problems.

Lon

 

[Ontario Hunter]

I do not have a dog in this hunt, but I would like to say. When you are dealing with a small one man shop. Health issues can arise, such as a stroke. I am not saying that is what has happened.

We all go through health problems.

Lon

Hoping you folks are keeping things afloat while you deal with your issues. Been thinking of you.

 

[dodge8mm]

I'm in a similar place. I sent him a 1893 bolt to have a new handle welded on for scope use in November. He said it was received and would get to it ASAP. Forgot about it a bit with the holidays and some work travel, tried calling couple times with no answer or return call, emails were answered sporadically. Last time he answered the phone, 3 weeks ago, he said it was down at the welders and he's jewel it free for the delay and get it out the next week, well no bolt. I called and left a message today again. See what happens.

 

[rookhawk]

After seeing some good feedback on AH, I decided to send my CZ 550 bolt handle into Skip at Baldwin Bolt Jeweling. I called ahead of time, then sent the bolt in. It arrived somewhere around Jan 4th. By the end of January I had not heard anything, so I shot Baldwin an email to confirm he had received it. He confirmed and stated he should have it out in 2 weeks. Three weeks went by and I contacted him again, this time by phone. He stated it should ship by the end of the next week. Again, a few weeks went by, no bolt, no correspondence. I emailed him and was told it should ship “this week”. Didn’t happen. I emailed and called again, no response, two more weeks go by. After that I emailed him again to let him know that I will be going to Africa in the coming months, and the gun will still have to be sent to another gunsmith out of state as soon as I get the bolt back. I kindly requested he send the bolt back immediately, regardless of the progress made, and that I would pay him for whatever work he had done. NO RESPONSE. It has been weeks since. I have tried calling and emailing with no response.

If anyone knows him that could lend a hand, it would be very appreciated. I do hope that he is not enduring some kind of medical hardship.

What should I do next?

Very hard to do anything when an out of state business will not answer the phone or email…

If I was dealing with this myself, I'd have filed a police report, followed immediately with an insurance claim for the full value of the gun. You'd get paid out on the gun that is now 100% worthless, and you'd have the full force of the insurance company hounding him for the bolt thereafter which is no longer your problem.

 

[rookhawk]

Conclusion to the Skip Baldwin saga:
Skip emailed me Wednesday night stating he had finished the bolt and sent it out for shipping. He said the work performed would normally total $130, but he would accept $50 for the delay, and he apologized for the delay. I checked the provided tracking number, and it did ship as he stated.
I received the bolt today (Friday), and unpackaged it. First thing I noticed was that he had also jeweled the extractor, which I specifically asked him not to (in writing), but all the work appeared to be done well. I slid the bolt in my gun, dry cycled it twice, and the bolt handle fell off (see picture below). Needless to say he has wasted my time and I will never, ever, do business with him again.View attachment 597515View attachment 597514

Looking at the pictures, he broke the bolt handle and then had the audacity to JB weld it back together to send it to you. Unfortunately, I don't think you have grounds for an insurance claim at this point because they don't cover shoddy workmanship, but they do cover theft by conversion. (e.g. he took it and wouldn't return your calls)

The good news is that a bolt handle can be forged back onto the gun by competent gunsmiths for $150-$200. The bad news is that your jeweling is going to be toasted by the process.

I'd make DARNED sure that the bolt is indeed your bolt and I'd check headspace before I ever fired a round out of the gun. We've already seen what this guy is capable of doing, so all bets are off.

 

[Rob404]

The only thing I can figure out is he must be going thru some Physical Trauma, I've used him quite a few times in the past and have never had a problem with the quality of his work
Didn't some members of this site have a problem with a Quality Taxidermist a while back?

 

[Rafiki]

The gun is headed to Bruce Farman and Ed LaPour to be finished. I’m confident they’ll get it done.

Bruce did the bolt work on my RSM; checkering, jeweling and rust blue, absolutely wonderful workmanship.

 

[Doug Hamilton]

Bruce did the bolt work on my RSM; checkering, jeweling and rust blue, absolutely wonderful workmanship.

I do not know Bruce, but I can tell you that it Ed Lapour gets it, you will.be well pleased when you get it back.

 

[RR 314]

I feel your pain. I sent a broken bolt to PT&G and was told a couple months. They actually were going to fabricate a new bolt as use mine as the template so they could add it to their offered products. Even spoke with Dave numerous times. I can’t recall exactly how long it took, but well over a year.

And I would be miffed about the “free” jeweling you specifically noted not to do.

 

[Jetjockey]

While I haven’t got my bolt back yet, Skip got my 700 bolt on Wed, jeweled it yesterday, and it’s on its way home now. From the picture, it looks great. The guy who GunKoted it GunKoted the entire bolt.