Most hated job ever.

[44man]

I hate recoil pad fitting. Just finished one for an 1100.
I do so few I will not buy the tool.
There is always great fear getting near that disk spinning like crazy.

[MBTcustom]

That's nothing. The most hated job ever is changing the firing pins in a Savage Fox SXS.

[country gent]

My most hated is dealing with the know it all who thinks he knows more and dosnt. Ive had several that asked what to do and then proceeded to tell me I was wrong. Most actual projects I can get behind and enjoy doing them to the best of my ability, but dealing with the wanna be is another story.

[pcolapaddler]

My most hated is dealing with the know it all who thinks he knows more and dosnt. Ive had several that asked what to do and then proceeded to tell me I was wrong. Most actual projects I can get behind and enjoy doing them to the best of my ability, but dealing with the wanna be is another story.
Love it when someone calls to ask something and then gives soho the reasons why my answer is wrong and theirs is right.

Why did they call me in the first place?

[Wayne Smith]

All I know is after my gunsmith fixed my H&R 999 he posted a notice that he would not work on H&R revolvers!

[Rattlesnake Charlie]

Shoveling out the chicken house.

[rancher1913]

cleaning a restaurant grease trap.

[Mk42gunner]

My most hated job as it pertains to small arms is making a bolt stop and then reassembling a nineteenth century S&W top break revolver in .32 S&W. Everything is tiny.

Best way I have found to do recoil pads is to freeze them before grinding. I have not done any of the super soft ones, but freezing works well with Pacmyars.

Robert

[Artful]

All I know is after my gunsmith fixed my H&R 999 he posted a notice that he would not work on H&R revolvers!

You know back in the day the same thing happened after I brought in an Armalite AR-7 rifle.

[toallmy]

:redneck::redneck:Yep the chicken house , in my youth I shoveled out a chicken house with tall top leather shoes with no socks . The skin peeled off my feat and I could not walk the next day. Probley made 10-20 bucks but I had to bleed for it. It's a lot of po in a chicken house , horse stable to.

[ratboy]

cleaning a restaurant grease trap.



eeeww.
this man knows.

[dead dog]

[QUOTE=Mk42gunner;3472430]My most hated job as it pertains to small arms is making a bolt stop and then reassembling a nineteenth century S&W top break revolver in .32 S&W. Everything is tiny.
I am having the same problem the an Iver Johnson .32, never again.

[LAGS]

Try finding the Detent Ball for a Smith & Wesson Revolver sight on Shag Carpet.

[bob208]

one when they say all you have to do.

[44man]

Try finding the Detent Ball for a Smith & Wesson Revolver sight on Shag Carpet.
True, I save all bearings from everything and have some that fit the rear sights.
I lost a screw from my watch on the carpet and no magnet on earth can find it! :bigsmyl2:

[pietro]

I hate recoil pad fitting. Just finished one for an 1100.
I do so few I will not buy the tool.
There is always great fear getting near that disk spinning like crazy.


I've learned to always wrap the rear end of the buttstock with two layers of yellow masking tape, so that when the sanding disc starts to tear the outer layer, I can stop power sanding/grinding, and finish up the pad's final level via filing/sanding with the pad off of the stock.

.

[wch]

cleaning a restaurant grease trap.
Pulling KP and cleaning out Army mess hall (excuse me, dining facility) grease trap- and then having to explain to First Sergeant as to why my boots were covered with s--t.

[Ballistics in Scotland]

I've learned to always wrap the rear end of the buttstock with two layers of yellow masking tape, so that when the sanding disc starts to tear the outer layer, I can stop power sanding/grinding, and finish up the pad's final level via filing/sanding with the pad off of the stock.

.

Thin steel shim stock with double sided tape would be better with a stock you don't plan to refinish. A belt sander provides more control and precision than discs. Even a portable one held upside down in a bench vice would be fine.

[Ole Joe Clarke]

Dealing with folks who think they know everything is really frustrating to those of us who do. :-)

[screamingjohnny]

I can think of a lot of things that I hate more than doing a recoil pad job, but I have a pad grinding jig. I made mine. I improved the B square model. I wish you good luck in the future.

[44man]

I can think of a lot of things that I hate more than doing a recoil pad job, but I have a pad grinding jig. I made mine. I improved the B square model. I wish you good luck in the future.
It came out right and the man is happy but I would make a jig if you can give instructions and pictures. I see no reason to buy one for a few over many years.
I would appreciate it.

[Hardcast416taylor]

My idea of a not so desireable job is to remove a 40 year old 50 gal. hot water heater that is full of hard water calicum and rust. Add to that being the heater is in a basement down about 12 stair treads. Those heaters weigh about as much as " a deceased Baptist preacher with all his sermons with him"!Robert

[Love Life]

Filling sandbags.

[MT Gianni]

My idea of a not so desireable job is to remove a 40 year old 50 gal. hot water heater that is full of hard water calicum and rust. Add to that being the heater is in a basement down about 12 stair treads. Those heaters weigh about as much as " a deceased Baptist preacher with all his sermons with him"!Robert
Plug the top inlet and put an air gauge on the outlet. Put 50-60 lbs of air against the tank while the outlet drain valve is off or totally open. The old white ones had a right hand thread pull out an inch then a left hand thread. Run a rod in it and keep breaking the mineral crud up. It is easier to bucket out the inside crud than haul the whole thing up.

[Reverend Recoil]

Replacing a leaking heater core in a 1970 Ford Falcon. Never, ever again!

[Geezer in NH]

I hate recoil pad fitting. Just finished one for an 1100.
I do so few I will not buy the tool.
There is always great fear getting near that disk spinning like crazy.

Seems you are very cheap. my tool was paid of in the second installation. It is still working hundreds later. What can I say it works better than by hand in less than 1-10th the time. However some of us are better skilled.

[johnson1942]

loved every one of these. good fun reading. i have to say for me cleaning out my uncles pig barn when it was 105 degrees out when i 13 years old. never will forget that. i also limit what kind of stocks i finish also. old greasy ones even soaked in all that stuff that gets the grease out is just to much of a pain. their is always one tiny spot that just wont take a finish even if God was putting it on. redone a 5 string banjo neck recently and it had one spot that no matter what i did would not take a finish smoothly. its finally done but drove me nuts in the process. my wife said, no one will notice and i finally took her word and no one did.

[MBTcustom]

All I know is after my gunsmith fixed my H&R 999 he posted a notice that he would not work on H&R revolvers!

Second.
Been there, done that. Hold everything together under tension and drive in flimsy little 1/16" pins. Make a new trigger return spring because the old one broke, only to find out there's a darn good reason it broke in the first place. I hate those pistols.

[paul h]

My most hated jobs are the ones I don't have the right tools for. It never fails that you figure you're only going to do the job once so you don't want to buy or make the needed tool(s) and the time wasted would have easily paid for the tool or the time it would take to make the one needed.

Non gunsmithing but my most hated is mudding sheet rock. I have a 1200 sq ft unfinished basement and I the hang up is getting motivated to tackle the mudding and sanding.

[Billthomas]

Just finished replacing the crosshairs on a Lyman Target Spot Jr. .0005 tungsten wire, I'm sure the person that made the wire is "institutionalized", and I'm ready to join him!

[725]

I'm kind of basic. Recoil pads are a snap for me. I don't even use my jig much anymore. Some just call for the jig, but many are done free-hand. My worst job has been glass bedding an M1A1. I don't want to ever do another one.

[waarp8nt]

Rebuilding Chrysler A604 transmissions before the new "D" seals we provided.

[John Boy]

... making and fitting a cylinder extractor and lever to fit properly in a JM Ballard 22LR rifle!

[krems]

I like to play gunsmith on all my rifles and handguns. I've done trigger jobs, re--chamber etc. but my least favorite job is scraping the lead out of a heavily leaded bore.......

[robg]

Stock taking at work .even when finished there is no satisfaction in it or is it just me.

[gunshot98]

I have just taken in a Beretta S 58 Trap Over/Under having trouble with it firing both barrels. Can't find anyone that has parts or a tear down. Starting to be my Number 1 pain in the back side.

[44man]

I guess there are a few other things. Making longer transfer bars for Rugers by hand out of thick tool steel.
Making mainsprings or frizzen springs for flinters is no fun either. You don't find those parts in the corner store!
Making a new fore end for a fine double that could not be bought, steel was all missing too so I had to hand make the steel that went to the frame. Also the parts that locked it to the barrel.
I must have worn out a million hacksaw blades and files in my life.
Making a cherry for a mold is not much fun.157052 Then making an MOA lever that would not tear up my knuckle from stainless, by hand. The factory ones shown are knuckle eaters.
I am as old fashioned as you can get, hand tools and I even made tools that I needed.
I would like to meet Goodsteel someday to just shoot the breeze. Some here understand but many have no clue what it takes to get a slab of steel and make something without machines or cast iron foundry stuff.
I have made hundreds of springs and none have ever broken. 157053Most every part for my flinter was hand made, carving tools, inlays and even the engraving tools. Even the stock started as a plank I bought at a kiln for $30. Hours and hours with a jewelers saw and files.

[Blackwater]

I'm with paul h on the not having the right tools thing. 90% of what I've done has been this way. I managed to accumulate some tools along the way and to improvise on the rest.

But for me, the worst was re-assembling an 1885 Browning BPCR's inner workings! NOT for the faint of heart! Great shooting gun, and marvelously strong, but a real Chinese mousetrap inside .... or should I say "Japanese" mouse trap???? Even so, though, it's a beloved rifle now, in spite of that. Got McLearan's book on it now, and at $$50 or thereabouts, it's a real bargain if you ever have to go inside one.

[44man]

I'm with paul h on the not having the right tools thing. 90% of what I've done has been this way. I managed to accumulate some tools along the way and to improvise on the rest.

But for me, the worst was re-assembling an 1885 Browning BPCR's inner workings! NOT for the faint of heart! Great shooting gun, and marvelously strong, but a real Chinese mousetrap inside .... or should I say "Japanese" mouse trap???? Even so, though, it's a beloved rifle now, in spite of that. Got McLearan's book on it now, and at $$50 or thereabouts, it's a real bargain if you ever have to go inside one.
I have one and at a shoot the trigger got lighter and lighter until I told Carol I had to hold the hammer back when I closed the gun, must have gone to a 1/2 oz trigger. I found the stupid aluminum trigger had a soft steel insert that wore out. I know about taking them apart! I made a tool steel trigger and even put an adjustment screw in it. Never failed yet. The factory trigger is a big ***.

[gnoahhh]

You haven't lived until you've replaced the exhaust system on an MGA, out in the alley, in 20º weather, laying under the car trying to remove a broken manifold stud, knuckles bleeding, cussing a lot- only to take a break to go inside to warm up and discovering that it had been snowing for a while and your legs are covered in it...

Taking three evenings to put a Browning BR-78 action back together was a very close second.

[mozeppa]

brain surgery when yer not a doctor....only did one...hated it.

used automotive tools...patient died.

[44man]

Been there, done that too, I started as an auto mechanic. Moved to semi trucks and to prop up a 1" impact wrench to hammer off spring shackles was never fun. Spent too much time under things.
I worked for a Desoto, Plymouth dealer about 1957, cars were real bad back then and when it got cold I had to take the junker PU and go all over Cleveland to start cars.
I then spent 42 years on airport ramps so I know about cold. Standing under a DC-8 where the wind picked up going under at -20° was no fun. Walking wings to fuel DC-6's and 7's in winter, sometimes with snow or de-icer on them made me know the devil was in charge. Life was tough for the working man. Just thankful I never had to work a coal mine. There are worse jobs around every corner.
Still does not make me like recoil pads! :bigsmyl2:

[gnoahhh]

Yeah, I agree about the recoil pads. I don't care for them much in general, but occasionally resort to them. Recently an old Savage 99T dropped into my lap, which someone had kindly varnished without doing any prep work, and ground the butt flat to install a pad and then stopped. I trued up the flat (luckily the original serial number stamp was still visible after that) and screwed on a thin (½") red rubber pad, masked the wood with two layers of masking tape, and started to grind the pad free-handed on my 12" disc sander. All went well- stock lines carried into the pad perfectly- until I decided to take one more pass before resorting to hand shaping down to the last skinch. You guessed it. Zing. Right through the tape. Total refinish time (which should've been on the ticket from the start but I just wanted to flip the thing and get my money back out of it).