servicing

[blytm]

Re: servicing

i only do guns for my friends when i do its £5 is that to open the gearbox and see whats wrong with it, if it requires time fixing it and parts i would charge them for parts and my time but for a good friend or some one that helps me out allot in game or lending battries etc, what goes around comes around, if i have the parts spare i will fix it for them as gearboxes arent hard once you get used to them and just trying to help out my community than trying to make profit out of them

Sorry who does your guns john...

[richardy]

Re: servicing

Theres a big need out there for gun techs and anyone willing to go through all the motions, testing, shimming, evidence of fps and back up there work, you can honestly charge a bit more for your work. every gun tech needs to be on at least 10 an hour.

And in some cases your not just paying for labour your paying for skills and knowledge too, that gun techs taken the time to learn his trade and like all other trades he should be paid for it.

[ThatblokewiththeScar.]

Re: servicing

I would happily pay £50 for the work stated above assuming that I couldn't do it myself.

Excellent I will send you a Bill! :D

I have been in business as a Techie for almost four months and a Site Techie for two. This is after years of fixing guns for free and having my own gun collection in bits more often than as complete working machines.

However I am not exactly new to this sort of thing as I used to build Competition Target Crossbows which teaches you allot about spring powered machines. I have been tying my own Trout and Salmon Flies for twenty years which helps immensely as you need to have good dexterity, attention to detail and a good eye especially for fault finding.

Anyone can do tech as it is not about being good with a screw driver. You need patience for one and self control so that you don't throw that problem gearbox across the room after it lets go for the 6th time! If you have an analytical mind and are not phased by strange bits of metal and springs that defy the laws of physics then all you need is practice.

Yes we charge more than your mate does and some who are more established can command a little more. But what you are paying for is the security that when you get your gun back it will work and contain the parts you have paid for. Ours is a very fickle position to be in. It only takes one bad job and we get our names sprayed all over the Internets. But it takes literally hundreds of duff guns to come out of a retailer before you even here of poor quality work and even then people still send guns in and get ripped off.

So support your local Techies we have feelings to you know! :D:D:D

[philbucknall]

Re: servicing

Wow, I massively undercharge!! I only charge for parts used and no labour charges at all! However, I only do guns on site for players there and then at my site so no transport costs.

[North West Outpost]

Re: servicing

Excellent I will send you a Bill! :D

I have been in business as a Techie for almost four months and a Site Techie for two. This is after years of fixing guns for free and having my own gun collection in bits more often than as complete working machines.

However I am not exactly new to this sort of thing as I used to build Competition Target Crossbows which teaches you allot about spring powered machines. I have been tying my own Trout and Salmon Flies for twenty years which helps immensely as you need to have good dexterity, attention to detail and a good eye especially for fault finding.

Anyone can do tech as it is not about being good with a screw driver. You need patience for one and self control so that you don't throw that problem gearbox across the room after it lets go for the 6th time! If you have an analytical mind and are not phased by strange bits of metal and springs that defy the laws of physics then all you need is practice.

Yes we charge more than your mate does and some who are more established can command a little more. But what you are paying for is the security that when you get your gun back it will work and contain the parts you have paid for. Ours is a very fickle position to be in. It only takes one bad job and we get our names sprayed all over the Internets. But it takes literally hundreds of duff guns to come out of a retailer before you even here of poor quality work and even then people still send guns in and get ripped off.

So support your local Techies we have feelings to you know! :D:D:D

You have some very good points there sir....

Myself I have been an avid fisherman, Carp and Pike mainly though tying all my own rigs they need attention to detail.

Shooting air rifles. I could at one point on occasion single hole two shots from 20m.

I have also fitted cometition standard car hifi's into my own cars and nearly decided to do that to make a living. But I decided that could be costly if I got that wrong. I used to go to a lot of car shows and one of the guys who wrote for an Impreza mag used to come over and chat every time he spotted me. I blew up a 1KW mono block once on a sub...oops... It was making a graphics cutter at a garage open day cut out the wrong shapes from 50m away... Right up to the moment it all went quiet...

[richardy]

Re: servicing

Its quite interesting that we seem to have a similar background.

Maybe fishing is the key to a good gun tech..

"gun tech wanted must be fisherman"

Although i prefer carp fishing my self. I also used to install stereos and other "ice". Back in my "car modifying" days, had the engine out a few times on my old reno 19 hehe ive got a video somehwere of me under the bonet in the engine bay pretending to be an engine. Now i look back and cringe at how much money i spent and little i got back when i sold it lol, smae goes for my fishing gear ive got 2ks worth sat in the shed and if i sold it id get maybe 200 at a push.

[sniper34d]

Re: servicing

The only question a gunsmith should ask them self is... What is MY time worth to ME???

[ThatblokewiththeScar.]

Re: servicing

Basically what we are saying is that fisherman are the most honest, trustworthy and technically minded beings on the planet! :D

And now at least I know who to call to get my sat-nav fixed

I don't know about you guys but I think I could be perfectly content fixing and building guns for some some considerable period of time to come.

I dont really have an aspirations to set up a site or a shop but I suppose it would be nice at some point in the future when someone says who makes the best DMR's or who is the go to guy for P90's the first answer is ThatblokewiththeScar. And I am not implying that I'm an expert or anything but we all know if you want a decent Sopmod you go to Richardy and that Midas builds some amazingly quick Lipo powered guns and although I have yet to see one in the flesh apparently Muzzy's GBBR's are something to behold.

For now though I will stick to servicing and repairs as that pays the bills (some of them anyway) And It looks like quite by accident I am becoming a bit of an expert with the New ICS three round burst triggers! Lovely things and very innovative but a little temperamental.

Oh and by the way thanks to both Midas and Richardy for the parts you two sent me top stuff. :D

[TS_Welshy]

Re: servicing

Personally I charge £20 for going into the gearbox. It'll only increase above that if I have to do any major work or modifying, or an extensive overhaul that takes more than about an hour.

Stuff like hop changes and external work is cheaper.

Best value for money right there ^

I think Keeper has sorted 90% of the guns I currently have, which would be about 18 AEGs and a couple of pistols, and has probably done 6 or 7 others for me in the past. I used to be stupid enough to send them off to shops and sites to fix. Pah! Needless to say all of the ones he's done are doing incredibly well.

That level of work for £20 is great, and its free if you tempt him with shiny things and food.

[Aeviv]

Re: servicing

Damn right, I wouldnt go to anyone else other than Keeper regarding internal issues.

First gun i ever had break, TM AK, I paid a professional techie £40 to fix. He took my money for labour then said he couldnt work out what was wrong.

Keeper had it for 10 minutes, stuck a new piston in it, and it worked fine. Did the whole thing for a Spag Bol.

[North West Outpost]

Re: servicing

It is like most things in life. If you get good service you return for obvious reasons.

I wouldn't look to undercut anyone either on any labour charge as what I do charge usually ends up working out for not much more than a couple of quid an hour. Once you take everything into account. On top of that I usually do other things that I'm not asked to do and change things free of charge if I can see something is not right.

It isn't very often someone sends me a gun or gear box and it is as simple as swap a spring, or new piston. It is more complicated than that. Like modding pistons, sector gears. Time consuming but crucial in high speed set ups.

When you think about changing the spring. I'm sure I'm not the only one that gives the whole gear box the once over, cleaning off the old or not so old lube, checking other parts interactions. Re shimming or checking the shimming befor putting the spring in. So time mounts up.

I certainly don't stipulate an hourly rate. That would just scare folk off. Even if you quoted the minimum wage and kept a check of the time spent.

[ThatblokewiththeScar.]

Re: servicing

Well I know the owner of the gun I am about to describe is reading this so I know he wont mind.

Gun: VFC MK18. Sent to a techie (i use this term loosely) on recommendation for the power to be turned down.

Works carried out: Cut down existing spring close gearbox. £35.

Result: Spring binds and stops piston mid stroke allowing the sector gear to eat the piston. Shrapnel sprays around gearbox breaking the spur gear and generally making a mess.

Repair: New gears, New piston, New spring, All for a £20 job that was ****ed up in the first place. The Gun now runs as the maker intended and the owner had the good sense to have it serviced and a few choice parts added along with a rewire for deans at the same time.

And my point is, yes please use whomever YOU trust. And if you dont trust anyone then get your spanners out.

[rmkillerman]

Re: servicing

i just had my m4 service/upgraded slightly, it was well down on power (280 fps) had a txt today and its at 330, all for £25 i might have paid more as there was no shipping but i will defo buy the man a pint

[laurence]

Re: servicing

I will do it myself, but i would be interested to send it off and get it done properly by someone. I know a place that does £5 an hour and thats not including parts, so it can mount up or it could be cheap.

[thekonassure]

Re: servicing

It is like most things in life. If you get good service you return for obvious reasons.

I wouldn't look to undercut anyone either on any labour charge as what I do charge usually ends up working out for not much more than a couple of quid an hour. Once you take everything into account. On top of that I usually do other things that I'm not asked to do and change things free of charge if I can see something is not right.

It isn't very often someone sends me a gun or gear box and it is as simple as swap a spring, or new piston. It is more complicated than that. Like modding pistons, sector gears. Time consuming but crucial in high speed set ups.

When you think about changing the spring. I'm sure I'm not the only one that gives the whole gear box the once over, cleaning off the old or not so old lube, checking other parts interactions. Re shimming or checking the shimming befor putting the spring in. So time mounts up.

I certainly don't stipulate an hourly rate. That would just scare folk off. Even if you quoted the minimum wage and kept a check of the time spent.

Makes me sad that you spent the better part of 2 or 3 days on my gun then PF lost it.

It all depends on the gun and the set up and how much time I have free