The caywood percussion lock

[fatman]

Guys,
My complaint was very simply this.. I bought a gun for 1700.00... I knew the gun was not going to be historically correct. What I did not know was that the lock was going to be a cut flintlock., and when I spoke to Rowe he made it clear that there were no locks at the shop that were for the percussion when my gun was built,they had been all drilled and set with pans. That he would replace mine with an undrilled lock when the arrived from the foundry. That never happened.Instead I was called an ass by Danny Caywood and hung up on. I just wanted a gun that looked great and was not a flint. If the web site stated they were cutting off the pan to make it historically correct and they would be patching holes or Danny had told me this on the phone when I spoke with him when I was buying the gun in the first place I would not have a complaint ,I would not have bought the gun.I bought two Pedersoli , 1 sxs and the frontier 50 cal. The 50 cal is very nice and shoots well. The sxs shoots a little off at the left barrel but is ok. Both these guns were 1/2 the price or less of the Caywood and the finish is flawless compared to the caywood. Guys I know the 2 sides to the story thing but as I said , I would never treat my customers the way I was treated.And I would not waste my time complaining.. I just wanted you guys warned.. If you need to deal with Caywood then just beware and on you guard.Dot you I s cross your T s...not that it would matter.
We are not all gun makers and have to trust in those who are ,if they are building one for you.I have learned my lesson... don't buy sight unseen or by looking at pictures if you do not know the person you are dealing with.
Thanks again for listening .

 

[nit wit]

It seems to me you should have continued the conversation you'd had with Rowe and not with Danny. The only problem I ever had was they sent me a wicked crooked ram rod with my 300.00 spare .54 barrel.
1700.00 bucks is alot of money, I guess I'd have to have a 2 day inspection deal for that kind of dough. This forum reaches many buyers, and negative feedback can hurt the Caywoods more than you would think.
NW :imo:

 

[Russ T Frizzen]

Back in the day, flintlocks were converted to percussion in exactly this manner. It is historically correct. I recall reading somewhere that the excess screw holes were sometimes filled with resin or peened over brass rod. The lock functions just as though it was made as a percussion version. I do think it would have been best if you were told in the beginning that the lock would be a conversion.

 

[rich pierce]

Communication is definitely important in this business. The customer should always know what they are getting and why. And if some changes have to be made because of unavailability of parts (lockplates in this case) then they should be part of the decision-making team. It's clear that a custom gun is a source of great pride and expectation for the buyer and they sacrifice other things to get it. Every builder should want the customer to be excited and pleased beyond expectation. I hope that's what we all strive for.