Sunday, February 21, 2010
As I detailed last Wednesday, the waiting list closed Thursday at
midnight. I've gotten several requests since then, which I'll
honor. Any received from this moment on, however, will be
deleted.
Also as noted, I will open the list up again in the next couple of
weeks. If you want a spot on the list, watch for that
opening.
-=[
Grant ]=-
Tags: waiting.list
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Many people have written to me over the last year, lamenting that
they "just missed" getting on the waiting list. The last time the
list opened, there was a huge rush of reservations. The list filled
very quickly, and since they were submitted on a first-come
first-served basis those who got in a little late were left out in
the cold.
This time I'm going to do something to level the playing field a
bit.
I am opening up my waiting list for a limited number of entries.
I'll take reservation requests until midnight Thursday, and
sometime in the next couple of weeks I'll do the exact same thing
again. This will hopefully give more people a chance at getting on
the list. (Of course the second opening will be announced here on
the blog, just like this one has been.)
If after both sessions have closed I've received more reservations
than I can handle, I'll let my database program select - at random
- those that go into the list.
I know this is a bit unusual, but it's the only way to give
everyone a fair chance. I receive many more requests for work than
I can accommodate, and while I'd love to do them all the reality is
there are only so many hours in a day. (I have to eat and sleep
sometime!)
Here's how to submit a reservation:
1) Send me an email with the subject line "Reservation request" -
nothing more, and without the quotes of course.
2) In the body, include the following information:
Name
Email address
Daytime phone number
The gun you wish to send (one gun per reservation)
A rough idea of what you'd like done
Don't obsess over which gun to list - you can substitute models
later if need be. Please, don't say "I just want you to look it
over/check it out"; if you need that kind of service, it's best to
visit your local gunsmith.
Understand that these reservations will be roughly two years from
now. Just to be clear: that means I probably won't call for your
gun until sometime in 2012. If you don't want to wait that long,
please don't put in a reservation.
These requests will be used only to fill out the waiting list, and
my database will automatically send confirmation emails when the
list closes in a couple of weeks. The reservations will not get any
kind of individual response, so please save any questions or
dialogue for a separate email.
Thanks!
-=[
Grant ]=-
Tags: waiting.list
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Welcome to the new and
improved grantcunningham.com!
The site has a new look, but more important has a lot of new
functionality. You'll notice that navigation is easier and more
logical, not to mention faster. The new search facility (see the
top right-hand corner of the page) allows everyone - me included! -
to find information contained in the many pages on the site. (It's
powered by Google, and may take a day or two to fully index. If
it's not working this moment, give it a day and try again.)
The blog now has a tag cloud in the sidebar. It's empty at the
moment, because I haven't been using tags up to this point. As I
add new posts, and get around to editing the older ones, you'll see
the tag cloud grow.
That's not all - I now have Twitter and Facebook accounts, and
you'll see the link buttons on many of the pages. Follow me, be
sure to become a fan of the grantcunningham.com Facebook page, and
tell your friends to do so as well!
(Of course, if you find any problems, errors, or bugs, please drop
me a note.)
There's more to come. Stay tuned!
-=[
Grant ]=-
Monday, November 24, 2008
For those who are here for
the first time...the demand for quality custom gunsmithing is high.
Because of this, I am always backed up and maintain a waiting list.
At any given time, the list is at least a year and a half
long.
At this time, the waiting list is full and is closed to new work. I
generally open the list for a limited number of new entries once a
year, usually around the first quarter. Openings are announced here
on the blog when they occur.
If you are interested in getting on the waiting list, simply check
in here from time to time. Even better, use the "RSS" function to
subscribe to the blog's feed. That way you can be assured of not
missing an opening!
Please,
DO NOT EMAIL OR CALL to find out
when the list will open; all openings will be announced here, only
here, and only when available.
In the meantime, if you need what would be classed as "repair work"
I recommend that you send your gun to the factory. If you are
seeking custom work, I can heartily recommend Gemini
Customs in Kentucky and
Bowen Classic
Arms in Tennessee.
Keep in mind that they, too, are normally very backlogged and the
wait times may be long. (If a gunsmith is doing quality work,
he/she will have a backlog. If the gunsmith you're considering
doesn't, that should be a red flag!)
In the meantime, I hope that you'll check in regularly to my
blog. In it you'll find a wide
variety of posts of interest to shooters, as well as updates (like
this one!) of my current workload status.
Also check out my Library, which has a number of my
lengthier technical articles. Finally, keep up on the kind of
projects I'm doing by checking out my Recent
Work page.
Thank you for your interest in my work, and I hope that I can
someday be of service to you!
-=[
Grant ]=-
Tags: waiting.list
Monday, November 10, 2008
As many of you know, my waiting list has been closed to new work
for about a year. This has allowed me to concentrate on my
tremendous backlog, and progress has been made. Today I'm opening
my waiting list for limited number of new clients!
I have 75 openings on the new list; once those 75 slots are full,
I'll again close the list until (probably) this time next year. I
anticipate to start calling for the first of these guns sometime
around late Summer of '09.
(If you already have a gun on the list, DO NOT resubmit!)
To get on the list, email your name, a daytime phone number, the
gun you'd like to send, and a brief description of the work to be
done. Understand that you won't get an immediate response; with a
large number of emails coming in all at once, you can expect a
couple days delay. You must email to get on the list - phone
reservations are not accepted.
When the list fills, I'll announce the closure here on the blog,
and in the main site.
Now for the bad news: I am no longer be accepting reservations for
work on Dan Wesson revolvers. This is not an easy decision; I'm a
huge fan of DWs, and believe them to be a superior design in many
respects. I own them, carry them, and shoot them regularly, so I'm
particularly saddened to take them out of the lineup. It's
necessary, though, if I'm to properly service the majority of my
clients who don't own them.
Why? Simple: the quality of the DW guns is so variable that the
amount of time I spend making them "right" results in big
bottlenecks in my workflow. The harsh reality is that they often
display worse fitting and quality than many Taurus guns (and you
probably already know how I feel about those.) If the rest of my
work is to get out on a timely basis, something has to give - and
DW is that something.
If you have a DW on the list now, I'll of course honor my agreement
to work on it. Once those examples currently on the list are
finished, that's it for Dan Wessons.
-=[ Grant ]=-
Tags: waiting.list
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
A long-time client called me a while back, and told me that he'd
just acquired one of the Smith & Wesson Model 25 "Lew Horton"
editions with the 3" barrel. He wasn't happy with the gun, and
asked me to do a makeover.
If you've hung out here for long, you know that I love 3" barrels.
I don't know why, exactly, except that I like 'em. This gun is no
exception, and to say I was excited about the prospects would be an
understatement.
I've actually
written about this gun once before - it had the
worst double action trigger I've felt on a factory gun in a long,
long time. He wanted that fixed, and the gun converted to DAO.
(It's an IDPA/carry gun for him, so he sees no need for single
action capability.) The gun came replete with sharp edges, so sharp
that I sliced open my left forefinger when I first handled it!
Those needed to go as well. He also wasn't happy with the stock
S&W sights, for which the gun had already received warranty
repair - the first rear sight actually broke in two when shooting!
Finally, he wanted general competition-friend modifications that
would also be usable "on the street."
I started by getting rid of all the sharp edges, on all surfaces.
The gun then went to the bluing shop for my Black Pearl finish.
(This particular gun has the very hardest barrel steel I've ever
encountered, and it caused no end of headaches in refinishing. The
result is that this gun has a little more shine to it than any
other Black Pearl finish I've done.)

Speaking of the barrel, the crown was both crooked and rough. The
hard barrel, with its thin walls, made a normal crown out of the
question. I made a very, very small crown, just enough to correct
the problems.

The rear sight was replaced with one of Hamilton Bowen's superb
Rough Country units, and the front carries a gold bead sight from
SDM Fabricating. The result is a fast-acquisition sight picture,
useful for both competition and defense.

Of course the gun received a Super Action Job, along with
chamfering the chambers. The trigger was reworked to the modern,
thin S&W style, rounded and polished smooth for comfortable
double action work. The DAO conversion required bobbing the hammer,
and on this gun I tried a new style: a kind of "scalloped" hammer.
I've already decided that the next one needs a bit of modification
(the bottom scallop is too deep to balance the top), but I'm
pleased with the result and the way in which it offsets the
cylinder-heavy profile of the gun. The trigger weight dropped from
15 lbs. to 9 lbs., and is of course smooth in both pull &
reset.
Finally, we needed some decent concealment grips. They're made of a
very nice walnut in a "boot" style by Don Collins, with some
specific modifications to his basic design (to better fit my
client's hands.)

The result: a more "special" Special Edition. (My client reads this
blog, and hasn't seen the gun yet. To him I say: don't worry, it's
coming back to you this week, but I couldn't wait to show it
off!)
-=[
Grant ]=-
Tags: s&w
Monday, July 21, 2008
I've been asked to provide a
permanent link to my articles on the failings of gun safety rules.
Happy to oblige; I've added them to the Library as well.
The original article: "On Safety"
Followup article: "Following the safety rules
religiously"
Please read them and consider them carefully. Of course, I'm always
happy to hear comments from readers!
-=[
Grant ]=-
Tags: safety
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
I've added a link to
my
"Stopping Power" series to the Library. I have no idea why I
didn't think of doing so earlier!
-=[
Grant ]=-
Tags: stopping.power
Friday, December 21, 2007
On Wednesday I managed to
ship out all of the work I'd promised for Christmas. It was the
largest FedEx shipment I've done, measured in both units and
dollars. Lots and lots of dollars.
Somewhere in the ivory tower of FedEx management there is
rejoicing: "new LandRovers for everyone!"
Now I'm going to begin a short vacation. I may (or may not,
depending on my mood) make blog posts during the next couple of
weeks.
-=[ Grant ]=-
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
...because I'm desperately
trying to get all of the work promised for Xmas out the door.
Apologies in advance if I'm not around as much as usual.
Oh, by the way: I'm going to take a short vacation after this is
all over! Don't expect many (if any at all) blog entries from the
22nd 'til after New Year's. If you send an email during that time,
expect to wait a while for a reply.
-=[
Grant ]=-
Monday, November 12, 2007
Thanks to the many people
who have entrusted me with their guns, I am enjoying a surplus of
requests for work. In fact, for reasons that are not entirely clear
the requests keep increasing, especially in the last number of
weeks. This is both gratifying and concerning.
Up until this point, I've taken everyone's name and put them on a
waiting list. This worked nicely when I was only a month or two
backlogged, but now I'm up to a year behind - and the list keeps
growing with no end in sight. The management of the list (answering
inquiries, etc.) has now become a time-consuming endeavor unto
itself.
To tell you the truth, when I first started in this endeavor I sort
of harbored the dream of being able to casually say "oh, I'm
so-many-years backlogged", accompanied by a flippant wave of the
hand. Now that I'm at that point, it's not as pleasant as I thought
it would be, because I'm more concerned with the positions of my
clients than with my own. I have so much work to do that guns
anticipated for holiday gifts won't make the date, and mostly not
even the season - and that bothers me.
I'm sure that some other 'smiths are in the same situation, but
I've come to the conclusion that it is unconscionable to continue
to accept "reservations" which are so far out, I can't possibly
predict whether or not I'll be able to make the date. I'm acutely
aware that my skills at time estimation are not as good as they
should be, and I find my chronological errors growing in scope as
the length of the list increases. That's not fair to you, my
clients and prospective clients.
So, as of today I am no longer accepting new clients until I've
worked the waiting list down to a more reasonable level. Those who
are on the list are, of course, still on the list - I just won't be
adding to that list for a while.
If you have wanted to have me work on your guns, but are not on the
list, I apologize for my unavailability. As soon as the list has
shrunk to the point that I feel comfortable putting people on it,
I'll make an announcement and open the list for new work.
Of course, the Blog will still be here to amuse and - hopefully -
inform you.
-=[
Grant ]=-
Tags: waiting.list
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Light blogging today, owing
to a nasty recurrence of the tendonitis in my right arm. A
combination of hard work and shooting way too many lightweight,
heavy recoil revolvers is starting to take its toll!
It hurts to type or hold tools firmly, and work in the shop has
slowed to a crawl in the last few days. I've decided to take it
easy the rest of the week, which (in my experience) should allow
enough healing to enable me to "hit it hard" again next week.
Sigh.
I never thought I'd get old enough to complain about getting old
enough to complain!
-=[
Grant ]=-
Friday, August 17, 2007
You've probably noticed that
there wasn't a Friday Surprise waiting for you this morning. Well,
it's not my fault!
The company that hosts www.grantcunningham.com had an outage, which
lasted from roughly 9pm PDT Thursday to about 1:pm PDT today
(Friday.) During that time, I couldn't post anything to the site,
you couldn't get to the site, and no emails got through.
So, if you sent an email during that time period, I didn't get it -
and it looks like I never will. Please resend, and I'll respond as
soon as possible.
Thanks!
-=[
Grant ]=-
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Let's clean out the ol'
noggin:
-- Neat little "preaching to the choir" site called
What kind of
person supports gun control?
-- I've been thinking that the reason revolvers don't seem to
capture much attention any more is because no "high speed low drag"
kind of people use them. Unfortunately, pointing out that France's
GIGN used to issue revolvers probably isn't going to have the
desired effect!
-- Ruger's QC continues to be hit-and-miss. Just this week, I got
in a new 3" GP100 with the barrel screwed in too far (canted to one
side), and a 4" example that didn't time correctly. I continue to
recommend them as good base guns for custom projects, because once
they're sorted out they make a superb custom - and you'll never
wear one out. Probably best, though, to buy in person, and inspect
carefully.
-- I get an unexpectedly large number of inquiries as to what I use
as a bore cleaner. I've used the homebrew Ed's Red formula for years, and have found
nothing else that I like more. (I do use Hoppe's 7.62 formula for
jacket fouling removal, however.)
-- The number of Detective Specials that are still in use as police
backup and off-duty guns amazes me. Hardly a week goes by that I
don't get at least one email or call from a LEO who is still using
one in a secondary role. I've said it before, I'll say it again:
S&W is missing a big market for the small 6-shot revolver.
(Colt, of course, is missing out too - after all, they hold the
designs for the Magnum Carry, but they don't want to make revolvers
any more.)
-- I'm working on pictures for a new entry on the
Recent
Projects page. I won't divulge any
more than it is, for once, not stainless. Stay tuned.
-- A non-relevant entry: got the latest versions of
iLife
and
iWork
last week.
Verdict: Pages is finally a heavy hitter, Numbers is really cool,
and the latest version of iPhoto is worth the cost all by itself.
It's a great time to be a Mac user!
That's it for today. Boy, am I glad to get all of that out of my
head!
-=[
Grant ]=-
Thursday, July 19, 2007
I recently finished a Ruger
SP101 for Michael Bane, host of "Shooting Gallery", "DownrangeTV",
and well known for his many years of involvement in the shooting
sports.
He's posted a review of his new toy on his weekly podcast.
Listen to it
here.
Glad you like it, Michael, and thanks for the kind words!
-=[
Grant ]=-
Friday, June 29, 2007
This has been a bad week for
me, internet-wise. The mail servers at the company that hosts
grantcunningham.com have been experiencing slowdowns and failures,
and my own internet connection (comcast.com) has been on-again,
off-again all week. I'm typing this on Thursday evening, about
11:00pm Pacific time, and the connection just came back on. It has
been off all day, except for a few hours this morning.
So, if you've emailed me and haven't gotten a reply, that's why. I
just downloaded a whole pile of emails, and I'll try to get through
them in the next couple of days.
Thanks for your patience!
-=[
Grant ]=-
Friday, June 22, 2007
Sorry, but there's no Friday
Surprise this week...the surprise, instead, is the site remodel!
(Hey, I remodeled my kitchen - why not my website??)
I've never been totally happy with the layout of either this blog
or the website; they just didn't look like what I'd envisioned.
This new layout is much closer to what I wanted, and introduces
some new features as well.
You'll notice that the main site is now better organized, more
logically laid out, and easier to navigate. (I hope that you'll
think it's better looking, too!)
The Blog, aside from having the new layout, now has many more
categories (on the left) so you can read more of what you're
interested in. The date archives have returned as well, in case
you're a chronological kind of reader.
Have a look around the redesigned grantcunningham.com. If you find
something that doesn't work, or doesn't seem to display properly,
please email me so that the problem can be
fixed!
-=[ Grant ]=-
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
I've updated the
"Recent
Projects"
page with an unusual item: a S&W Model 66.
Not that unusual, you say? What if I told you it was one of the
rare 3" models? Would that pique your interest? I thought so -
because it sure excited me when the owner asked me to work on
it!
Check it
out!
-=[ Grant ]=-
Monday, November 20, 2006
There's a new t-shirt for you, and
this may be my favorite so far!
Since the original Revolver Liberation Alliance t-shirt
took a pot shot at the
venerable 1911, I thought it only fair that the Glock (and its
polymer progeny) come in for some well-deserved ridicule. After
much consideration, I decided that a play on the famous line from
the movie "The Treasure of the Sierra
Madre" was
in order:

Available
in both short and long sleeve versions, and - for the first time -
both white and ash grey! See and
order the new shirt here!
-=[ Grant ]=-
Monday, October 23, 2006
Several people sent me emails
about the Original Revolver Liberation Alliance
t-shirt.
Everyone loves them, but many expressed desire for a long-sleeve
version. At the same time, I got some emails about the new
"The earth isn't flat..." shirt, and those folks wanted a
short-sleeve version!
Well, all of your wishes have been granted! I now have both shirts
in short and
long sleeve
versions! Go to the
store and
check them out!
-=[ Grant ]=-
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
I've put a new page up on the
site! Called "Recent Projects", it is just what the name
implies: a place for me to share some information about recent
revolvers that I've built.
This page is intended to be a bit different than most other such
pages on your average gunsmith's site. You may have noticed that I
like to give my clients and potential clients as much information
as possible, and this page continues that tradition. I've browsed
around a lot of custom handgun sites, and frequently all I see are
a few (usually bad) pictures of a gun - and nothing more. I always
want to know more about the gun: what kind of work was done, what
kind of unusual features were added, the gunsmith's intent and
philosophy, and perhaps a bit about how the gun performs. In other
words, I want to know if that would be a gun I'd like to have for
myself!
On my Recent Projects
page,
you'll see the gun, learn about how it was built (and why it was
built that way), and much more. The first entry is already up:
a nice Ruger GP-100
that I recently
finished for a client. I started with a gun that was slightly
"ratty", and...well, take a look and see how it came out!
-=[ Grant
]=-
Monday, October 09, 2006
When I reissued
the famous Revolver Liberation Alliance
t-shirt recently, I
was forced to search through my old computer archives to find the
graphics. Along the way I ran across a number of other designs that
I'd done, but which hadn't seen the light of day. I decided to redo
those graphics to modern formats and resolutions and make them
available.
Today I'm pleased to announce the second exclusive Revolver
Liberation Alliance shirt: "The earth isn't flat, your gun shouldn't be
either!"
The shirt features the custom graphic and RLA logo on the back (so
you can annoy the autoloader people even while you're shooting) and
my (small) logo on the front.

Since winter is coming I decided to make this is a long-sleeved
shirt; I ordered mine one size larger so that I could layer it over
a contrasting turtleneck for a recent rainy-day range
appearance.
It's a great shirt - order one today!
-=[ Grant ]=-
Friday, September 08, 2006
Imagine my amazement...
A few years back, I made up some t-shirts that had a picture of a
1911 with a stovepipe stoppage, and the legend "The west wasn't
won...with a jammed-up gun!" I also invented the fictitious
organization "Revolver Liberation Alliance" to take
"responsibility" for the shirts. (And you wondered where my blog's
name came from!)
I made up a few of them, and sent one to Massad Ayoob, one to Jerry
Miculek, kept one for myself, and gave the remaining few to some
revolver shooters that braved to shoot in our club matches. They
really got the "goat" of the local autoloader owners!
Fast-forward a half-decade or so, and I start getting emails from
around the country about those shirts! It took me a while to find
out where they heard of the things, and it turns out that
someone (*cough*Massad
Ayoob*cough*) mentioned his in an article.
Apparently he struck a chord with revolver owners, because they
started asking me for the shirts!
So, in order to accommodate the requests, I've made them available
at my CafePress store. Click here to see and order the
shirt.
Buy one for yourself, a spare in case it gets dirty, and then go
out and annoy flatgun shooters everywhere!
-=[ Grant ]=-