By
DaveTN
This is pretty cool. I don’t shoot competitively anymore, so I can’t justify the cost of one of these, but to me they are an excellent example of the shift in gun making.
There is very little old school conventional “Gunsmithing” going on at Ed Brown. But there is a lot of high performance, high accuracy machining by quality Machinists, Programmers, and QA inspectors.
I’ve spent my life in manufacturing. I’ve heard it all like “Things aren’t made as good as in the old days”, something must be right because “It is CNC machined” or something is special because it was “Designed in CAD”. I just smile when I see these kinds of statements.
Truth is, we have far surpassed any that could be done quality wise in “the old days”. Unless someone is doing “One off” protype work or working in their garage; most everything is “CNC Machined”. And everything is “Designed in CAD”.
Does that mean everything today is better than it was in the past? Absolutely not. These technologies still rely on the Machinists and the programmers (many times the same person) using them. CNC machines can make junk, and they can make it fast. These CNC machines only do what they programmer tells them to do. If he programs the part wrong; the machine will make it wrong. CNC machines are high drama. They require Machinists and Programmers that are on top of every little detail, every single minute. They require inspectors that are checking all critical dimensions, all the time.
If you have high accuracy, quality machines, and you have the best Machinists and Programmers. You can make extremely accurate parts that don’t require any hand fitting; they fit together to extremely tight tolerances and work every time. In 1992 Ed Brown quit gunsmithing and went strictly design and manufacture. He retired at 65 and turned the business over to his family. With what he put in place; it can carry on.
So, what does this mean to you? Well, it means you can buy a high-quality competition for gun for $2K instead of 10K. It also means if you need a replacement part, it can be shipped to you and dropped in without requiring a gunsmith.
Sorry for the trip down memory lane, this isn't something new, but when I saw this; I saw a good example of a positive change with people involved that are dedicated to quality. I don’t own one of these guns, but I’d sure like to; I bet they are really something.
Why doesn’t Smith & Wesson or Glock or anyone else do this? Because then they can’t sell their guns for $300-$400. But change is happening on a daily basis; someday they will.
https://www.edbrown.com/fueled-series/
By Ronald_55
By DaveTN
By turnip
