Born 1952 in Rochester,
New York, one of the younger of seven children of a Rochester fire
fighter, Mark became interested in guns and fine wood working as
a teenager. At that time he was mostly self-taught in checkering
and refinishing gunstocks.
Mark went to work for
Master Gunsmith Bill Gillette of Big Ridge Gun Shop in Hilton,
New York, in 1975, where he learned the fine points of quality recoil
pad installation and custom stock making, alteration and refurbishing.
Mark started doing adjustable
combs in the early 1980's at the Big Ridge Gun Shop.
"During my time
at Big Ridge I was exposed to all facets of a small custom
gun shop's work including soldering, brazing, welding, bluing, cutting,
crowning, chambering, reaming, head spacing, contouring, threading
and lining of rifle barrels. A very important part of my education
was in basic machine tool use."
Mark purchased his first
metal working lathe for his own home in 1976 and a 2300 lb. vertical
mill in 1986.
"The ability to
make my own custom tools and parts has been a great advantage. In
business for myself since 1988 I have worked on thousands of guns
doing recoil pads, adjustable combs and recoil reduction devices.
"In the summers
I take my mobile shop to large trap shoots as well as some skeet
and sporting clay events in the north east U.S.
"I also have been
a vendor at the Grand American Trap Shoot for 18 years.
"In the winters
I work at my home base now in the picturesque Finger Lakes region
of upstate New York. This is where I work on stock jobs brought
to me by customers who often drive from up to 4 hours away."
"My customer base
has grown to include all regions of the country."
Nick says call Mark now!
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