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Here's an update to this story:
https://www.northwestfirearms.com/t...l-left-my-slide-with-a-nick-out-of-it.204422/

I felt like it needed another post mostly to praise Velzey for being an awesome gunsmith, great businessman, and solid, honest guy.

I'm not going to go over every detail but I'll summarize the original issue. I used Les at Clark County Gunsmithing a few times for some work on my guns. Nothing huge, just stuff I didn't feel qualified for. This summer, I sent him my VP9 to have night sights installed because my sight pusher didn't fit well with the charging ears on the slide and I was afraid I'd scratch up the slide. I figured I'd send it to a professional to do it and pay to have it done. When I got it back, the sights were scratched up and my slide had a sizable but straight dent put in my slide. I was confused about how this could happen and very angry.

I sought out the opinions of seasoned NWFA members and many gave great advice, including Velzey. I PM-ed him to ask if he would be willing to work on my slide to fix the damage as Les really didn't seem to fix his gigantic mistake. He agreed to, and I drove my gun down to Estacada to have him work on it.

Long story, less long....... A couple of different repair options were tried but none got the slide to where Velzey was happy with the quality of his work. He offered to work with me to make sure I had a VP9 that was in the pristine shape that mine was in before I took it to CCGS. Well, I can say that this has been fulfilled, I only hope it wasn't too much of a headache for Velzey; I know fixing someone else's mistake is never very rewarding. But, he has a Gunsmithing customer for life.

If you need some quality Gunsmithing from a guy who treats your gun like his own, Velzey is that guy. I would trust him with anything, from detail-oriented aesthetic stuff, to more complex macro stuff, to rebuilding guns from the ground up. It's refreshing to find someone who takes pride in his work and his professionalism. I sometimes feel like I have to learn to do everything myself to get the quality work I expect. Well, now I don't have to become a quality gunsmith anytime soon. I'll probably learn the trade, but in time as, until then, I have Velzey.

P.S. I love the NWFA community ;)
 
After removing the ding I then filled it with a nice tig fill. But the HK nitride heat treating didn't like being disturbed. It left little tiny micro bubble all around the edges. Hmmmm ok Heated it a little more and filled a little more still the same. Ok removed it all. Talked to the folks at Cerakoat and got the filler they say to use. Fill, bake at 425 and it files just like metal......but you can see a slight outline. Hmmm lets try this again....geeeze I can still see an outline..

Maybe the coating will hide it? Had it coated graphite black....Nope
HK can get me a slide but it will cost me $370 and a 6 week wait for them to serialize it! And dealer cost on a new pistol is $530:)

I want my customer to be happy so I swapped out my personal VP9 for his!
 
After removing the ding I then filled it with a nice tig fill. But the HK nitride heat treating didn't like being disturbed. It left little tiny micro bubble all around the edges. Hmmmm ok Heated it a little more and filled a little more still the same. Ok removed it all. Talked to the folks at Cerakoat and got the filler they say to use. Fill, bake at 425 and it files just like metal......but you can see a slight outline. Hmmm lets try this again....geeeze I can still see an outline..

Maybe the coating will hide it? Had it coated graphite black....Nope
HK can get me a slide but it will cost me $370 and a 6 week wait for them to serialize it! And dealer cost on a new pistol is $530:)

I want my customer to be happy so I swapped out my personal VP9 for his!
Top-notch guy. Learning opportunity all around.
 
After removing the ding I then filled it with a nice tig fill. But the HK nitride heat treating didn't like being disturbed. It left little tiny micro bubble all around the edges. Hmmmm ok Heated it a little more and filled a little more still the same. Ok removed it all. Talked to the folks at Cerakoat and got the filler they say to use. Fill, bake at 425 and it files just like metal......but you can see a slight outline. Hmmm lets try this again....geeeze I can still see an outline..

Maybe the coating will hide it? Had it coated graphite black....Nope
HK can get me a slide but it will cost me $370 and a 6 week wait for them to serialize it! And dealer cost on a new pistol is $530:)

I want my customer to be happy so I swapped out my personal VP9 for his!

Holy cow man!

Now that is incredible customer service. I will keep you in my contacts list for my future needs.

Kudos to you.;)
 
Vezley rebuilt an fn fal for me had to do a complete tear down to replace a cracked aluminum receiver with a Coonnan arms receiver. The gun turned out perfect. Personally I dont think he charges enough for the quality of work he does.. All I can say is thank you Vezley.
 
Vezley rebuilt an fn fal for me had to do a complete tear down to replace a cracked aluminum receiver with a Coonnan arms receiver. The gun turned out perfect. Personally I dont think he charges enough for the quality of work he does.. All I can say is thank you Vezley.
I agree, I don't think he charges enough either. ;)
 
He's a terrible gunsmith, way overpriced and not to be trusted with a Daisey BB gun.
Avoid him at all cost. Better to take all your firearms and drop them off at the next gun buy back event.

Now, if you guys will leave him alone, he will have time to finish all of my projects.
 

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