cost to have a slide mount installed

Anyone have a slide mount installed on a 1911 lately and if so, how much did the gunsmith charge for the work?  One of the guys here contacted a local gunsmith to see how much he would charge to install a Marvel Custom Guns mount on his 1911 and he was quoted $200.  Just seems a little high.

I think KC is around 100 for rib and install

Chris Miceli wrote:I think KC is around 100 for rib and install

When I was going to have a frame mount installed on mt Gold Cup it was $45 a hole for drilling and tapping at the local gun smiths.  That is $450 so I did it myself.  I had the slide milled on my 9mm SA RO to mount a Vortex Vemon and that was $150 which included refinishing the slide which matches the frame perfectly.  A good gun smith deserves the prices they get.  Don

People need to remember the liability that goes into every drilled and tapped hole. Gunsmiths take a risk with every hole.  But $200 is too high.
Jon

From personal experience have a bullseye gunsmith do it not a local gunsmith. I paid $120 to a local gunsmith and it was for sh*t. Thankfully it was corrected by a competent Bullseye gunsmith. If you can't use a bullseye gunsmith use a gunsmith who is a competitor as well. Here was my experience: https://www.bullseyeforum.net/t5265-attn-gunsmiths-update-need-advice-on-shoddy-bo-mar-rib-install

My Smith charged me $5 a hole, so it was $20 for him to install a Clark rail for me.

Local smith $15 x 4 holes and $40.00 for the rib.  Very reasonable.  7 day service.

Thanks for the input.  I've never been happy with this guy's work and $200 is too much.  We'll get it done, but not from him.  The shooter still needs to order the mount and I've been letting him shoot one of my wad guns in the interim.

Rock River 5" PS1427 $35.00 and $15.00 shipping.  Just bought 2. 

The RR is a lower mount than Clark or Marvel and has many more mounting slots.

All mount ribs use the same drilling pattern and include the screws.  

Use Loctite 222MS as it holds but does not require heat to remove.

Chris Miceli wrote:KC's Integral Aimpoint Micro slide mount cut  is around 250.  

 the integral aimpoint slide mount cut is super nice,low profile scope,but in my range officer don't like the idea,because the sight cuts,i order RRA ,for mount an aimpoint or ultradot option.

cdrt wrote:Anyone have a slide mount installed on a 1911 lately and if so, how much did the gunsmith charge for the work?  One of the guys here contacted a local gunsmith to see how much he would charge to install a Marvel Custom Guns mount on his 1911 and he was quoted $200.  Just seems a little high.

$200.00 for scope mount,is the same traduction of a kick in the nuts 

There is more to mounting a base on a slide than drilling and tapping a few holes. If the shade tree smith is using a drill press the mounting will not be as good as someone using a milling machine or Jig Borer. Drill presses do not have radial bearings so the spindle can move. Milling machines have precision radial bearing and Jig Bores have ultra precision bearings. Then the average drill press vise costing $25 will never compare to the squareness of a milling vise costing $500+ or a Jig Borer vise even more expensive. Plus there are no provisions on a drill press to move accurately. Yes they do sell X or XY slides but they too are not very accurate. Better than using transfer punches but still not very good.
 Hole location is critical too, most bases come with oval headed screws that are a decorative version of the typical flat head screw with 82 degree angle (90 for metric). If the holes are not drilled at exactly the same centers as the holes in the base the taper of the 82 degrees will only touch one side. The screw will never tighten correctly, greater torque will tilt the screw but it will never fit as it should have. This eventually leads to loosening as the aluminum material of the base creeps. Putting loctite on the threads bind the threads so when checking for tightness the torque is quite high due to the loctite yet the base is "loose". Possibly leading to the zero movement posted in other threads though there may be other causes too.
 When mounting scope bases for friends I measure the exact hole locations so I can  locate the holes in the slide in the same exact locations. I drill the slide on a Jig Borer because it's easier than the mill. I also tap the holes with the spindle so that the threads are straight without wobble as when using just a tap wrench.
 Because of the various methods  will explain why some want quite a bit more than others to mount a scope base. A BE shooter should consider this before mounting a scope base.
 I would not want my scope base installed by someone using a drill press!

^^Given that a 1911 slide can be mailed without a lot of FFL-to-FFL rigamarole, I would definitely be inclined to suck it up and ship it out to a known Bullseye 'smith. Cheaper than trying to fix it or have a new slide fit later on.

Keyholed wrote:^^Given that a 1911 slide can be mailed without a lot of FFL-to-FFL rigamarole, I would definitely be inclined to suck it up and ship it out to a known Bullseye 'smith. Cheaper than trying to fix it or have a new slide fit later on.

Yep, that's the plan.  Thanks everyone for the comments.  Will let you know when it's done.