Big Bren Thank You!!!!!

Gentlemen: I want to again thank all of the members hereabouts who helped diagnose and fix my Bren. You will recall the rather lengthy thread about it. (54R issues) Converted by the builder to 54R and then ABANDONED by the builder and told to use "better ammo" to avoid explosions. (ok....)

Many of you stepped up and helped out. But I want to especially thank Vincent from TX who went above and beyond the call of duty. First he tried sending me new locking shoulders. When that didn't work, it was he who realized that the builder reamed by 54R barrel incorrectly, so he voluntarily just sent me a new barrel to test. Asking nothing in return. When that ultimately worked, he then parkerized a new barrel for me and sent it back to me. Again asking nothing for himself! When that barrel as well didn't work, he sent me back the first barrel beautifully parkerized and finished! Sure, I made sure he was not out of pocket for shipping and such, but a professional builder might have charged hundreds for the time and effort Vincent lent to the cause. I am deeply grateful for his efforts.

I take the time to post not just to thank Vincent and all of you guys, but to post my appreciation for the board and those who make it possible for non-builders like myself to not only own, but restore and maintain these guns and other historically significant guns. Without this board and the time and dedication of all of its members, I could not hope to own and operate unique and classic guns like the Bren.

What we have here is truly special! I thank you all. Happy shooting!

And that's what makes this web site one of the best if not the best in the world and I say that not only for Vincent but all of the knowledge base contained here that help people like me get a glimpse into their world and learn heaps Hoorah :super::beerchug:

glad to hear that "we" have solved the problem. when you get out and use it how about a video for the crew?

It was very interesting for me, someone who'd never seen or heard of a closed bolt semi auto Bren! What a feat of perseverance designing that into a parts kit!

Thank you for the kind words, djandj. I am just a “shade tree builder” trying to follow the example set by Peter, Jim and many other folks here.

Hang on a minute, before you go slagging the builder off for "abandoning" your gun, tell the full story.....

There is a LOT more that you're leaving out than you're saying. That is VERY uncool to say things like that on a public forum.:mad:

OOPPS!............Fasten your seatbelts Lad's. This could be a Bumpy Ride!.......:ugh:

Think there is a salvo incoming.......duck!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by csmarcher

Hang on a minute, before you go slagging the builder off for "abandoning" your gun, tell the full story.....

There is a LOT more that you're leaving out than you're saying. That is VERY uncool to say things like that on a public forum.:mad:

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He doesn’t mention the builder by name.

And I have to wonder how you claim to know so much. I would think it was a matter between him and the builder.

Most people would just be happy the gun is working now and it didn’t cost a lot to fix. Shipping it to a gunsmith + repair charges would have been quite expensive in comparison.

Some people just don’t know when to, “let sleeping dogs lie.”

I know the builder personally, have worked with him extensively for 10+ years on the semi-auto Bren projects, and know more of this story than most. I'm not going to discuss this on the forum any more, but there are two sides to every story.

Nuff said.

So you know the stories about all the others who had the same problems with Brens made by your friend. If you don’t, just Google and plenty will come up. It’s the same over and over. Gun doesn’t work reliably… sent it back once or twice.. builder says it’s fine.. it’s still not reliable… what can I do. Are you going to try and blame all those people who bought your friend’s products too?

I understand how difficult it is to make a functional semi-auto out of the charred remains of a 70 year old gun. That beings said, if you’re going to sell them, they better work, because the folks who spend thousands of dollars are expecting them to.

In my humble opinion if your friend would spend more time trying to fix his product he wouldn’t have to spend so much time trying to defend it.

If what Vincent is saying about the blogs and repeated returns holds validity then something is wrong with the process I do not know about the Gunsmiths world and just how guarded some of your secrets are but in the forefront of any business is customer satisfaction good service/products will get you more business than customer dissatisfaction. And now the web is on board the word can spread even faster I have followed this thread and all the issues that danjap has had and all the help this forum has proffered and after a rather long road and no small input by commonwealth armorers (ret) and Vincents efforts all worked out in the end.

It is all about the customer as they are the ones putting the food in front of you (unless your self sustaining and own a farm) maybe it is just a tweak here or there and if you guys swap ideas thats fine if I had a semi bren built who do you think I would use in that instance. Clue ~ No rocket science knowledge required

Strangely enough, I have googled Historic Arms Bren, and variations thereof, and have found no instances of anyone with a complaint.

Like I said, two sides to every story, I have heard both, and seen the photographs to go with it.

As far as i'm concerned, it's just not the done thing to take back handed swipes at someone on a public forum.

Just unprofessional, and impolite.