DaveInFloweryBranchGA
05-19-2014, 03:54 PM
I just ordered 5 punches with locking nuts for my Ballisti-Cast Mark VI and have previously ordered 5 Star dies from Chris. I thought I would report on the workmanship of both and the general purchasing experience:
1. His communication is excellent. He gets back to you and his responses clearly tell you he took the time to read and understand what you're looking for. If you're not sure, he helps you to understand what you need.
2. His prices are very reasonable, especially for the quality of product you receive, superior to what you can buy from Magma or Ballisti-Cast. See below for more details.
3. His delivery estimated times are clearly stated before you send payment. My experience in two orders is he meets said delivery time estimates with zero drama and no "where's my stuff" calls are ever needed.
Here's the PM I just wrote him expressing my thoughts on the parts I just received. I don't do this often, but when someone exceeds my expectations, I feel it should be made public so he can benefit:
"Hi Chris,
I received my order in the mail today and wanted to express my absolute delight in what I received.
I'm a very detail oriented individual and when I do pistolsmithing, I take the time to do the little things that make a pistol or a revolver not only a more reliable firearm with a better trigger, but also a pure pleasure to shoot. I subtly remove all the burrs/sharp edges/rough machining marks etc. inside the firearm so the gun can function as smoothly as it can.
When I received your package, I first noticed the high quality and care to package it in such a way as to get it here unharmed and without dings. Please let the packer, if it is not you, how pleased I was with their fine job of packing. I really liked it and added some of their techniques to my own for reducing packaging cost and at the same time enhancing product protection. Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery and the next time I ship a bunch of steel parts, I'll be imitating your packaging.
Next, I inspected the punches/tooling you sent me. The polish and work was good, but what I really appreciated was your taking the time to subtly roll over and smooth out the sharp edges on every single part. They feel good in the hand.
I had just received a replacement punch holder to replace my defective one from Ballisti-Cast and at no point did their workmanship approach yours. For that punch holder/ram, I had to take it out to my polishing wheels and smooth off the sharp edges and polish to a higher finish. But at that, the part still has pitting marks from where they used a piece of rusted steel. I don't mind the use of rusted steel, but I do mind they used a chunk that they couldn't turn down enough to clean up the pitting without going under the correct O.D. It's useable, but doesn't make me want to do business with them again.
On the other hand, your parts are things of beauty and feel good in the hand, something that's very important to me. I wish you made the punch holder for this machine.
BTW, as an aside, if you did, I think the threading for the punch holder/punches should be the finer thread used on the Star machines instead of this coarse thread used by Ballisti-Cast.
Best Regards,
Dave"
And there you have it fellas. Doesn't get any better than that.
1. His communication is excellent. He gets back to you and his responses clearly tell you he took the time to read and understand what you're looking for. If you're not sure, he helps you to understand what you need.
2. His prices are very reasonable, especially for the quality of product you receive, superior to what you can buy from Magma or Ballisti-Cast. See below for more details.
3. His delivery estimated times are clearly stated before you send payment. My experience in two orders is he meets said delivery time estimates with zero drama and no "where's my stuff" calls are ever needed.
Here's the PM I just wrote him expressing my thoughts on the parts I just received. I don't do this often, but when someone exceeds my expectations, I feel it should be made public so he can benefit:
"Hi Chris,
I received my order in the mail today and wanted to express my absolute delight in what I received.
I'm a very detail oriented individual and when I do pistolsmithing, I take the time to do the little things that make a pistol or a revolver not only a more reliable firearm with a better trigger, but also a pure pleasure to shoot. I subtly remove all the burrs/sharp edges/rough machining marks etc. inside the firearm so the gun can function as smoothly as it can.
When I received your package, I first noticed the high quality and care to package it in such a way as to get it here unharmed and without dings. Please let the packer, if it is not you, how pleased I was with their fine job of packing. I really liked it and added some of their techniques to my own for reducing packaging cost and at the same time enhancing product protection. Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery and the next time I ship a bunch of steel parts, I'll be imitating your packaging.
Next, I inspected the punches/tooling you sent me. The polish and work was good, but what I really appreciated was your taking the time to subtly roll over and smooth out the sharp edges on every single part. They feel good in the hand.
I had just received a replacement punch holder to replace my defective one from Ballisti-Cast and at no point did their workmanship approach yours. For that punch holder/ram, I had to take it out to my polishing wheels and smooth off the sharp edges and polish to a higher finish. But at that, the part still has pitting marks from where they used a piece of rusted steel. I don't mind the use of rusted steel, but I do mind they used a chunk that they couldn't turn down enough to clean up the pitting without going under the correct O.D. It's useable, but doesn't make me want to do business with them again.
On the other hand, your parts are things of beauty and feel good in the hand, something that's very important to me. I wish you made the punch holder for this machine.
BTW, as an aside, if you did, I think the threading for the punch holder/punches should be the finer thread used on the Star machines instead of this coarse thread used by Ballisti-Cast.
Best Regards,
Dave"
And there you have it fellas. Doesn't get any better than that.