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  The following reviews are offered as they were originally posted. They have not been edited in any way.  
     

Perdurabo
Sept 09, 2002

 

"I recently got my G1 back from Tony after being cut down and refinished. Not only did he do a top-notch beautiful refinish job, he corrected a couple minor problems he found for me at no additional charge.

Tony runs a completely top-notch operation with excellent customer service. For me, its a lot cheaper and easier to send my rifles off to Tony for refinishing than to do them myself, and his quality is a heck of a lot better than mine

One thing I'd like to see, though, is Tony starting to offer is bake-on finishes like Norrell's Moly Resin and/or GunKote. This would save me quite a bit as well."

euripides

Sept 13, 2002
"I had Tony park my shortie. It is excellent, the blasting and finish came out as good as any I have seen. I am just waiting to finish another to send off to him."
   
WJ-Polish Guy
Sept 19, 2002
 
"...since this guy Tony went crazy and post those redicolous prices on the board I immidietly send him boat load of parts to refinish, before doctor could adjust his medications.

Got the box back yesterday.
Even I`m busy between putting all parts back together and watching TV on my new two dish satelite setup , take the time to write review.

Biggest suprise was fast service, it took bout four weeks all together, which is like rapid deployment in that profession
Job was done good, parts were clean of solutions ( no white stuff as residue), no flash rust and such problems.
Blasting was w/o coarse stuff as I asked. Finish is actually very smooth.

One important thing when working with Tony (I think it is good idea regardless), write exactly and w/o doubts what do you want to be done to your pile of junk, kinda like detail work order. It may be obvious to you, but not to somebody else, specialy when there is many different customers and requests...

Now, mistake I made, I send plastic forniture for the first time to be blasted. Looking on buttstock I think there is a need to go all the way down to sanding with 400 grit to removescratch marks before blasting( I did it with 220) . I should read Gerald`s guide to satin finish

Constructive criticism at the end, I think Tony should use heavier grade oil to coat parts before shipping as mine were kinda dry on arrival (unbagged ones...)"
 
Scrub
Sept 20, 2002
 
"I just picked up my two kits from Tony, along with one for my friend this Thursday. I haven't been able to shoot them yet, but the park job is really nice on all three rifles. I can say that I am well pleased. And yes, the price is right."
Scrub
T2
Sept 20, 2002
"i just received my shorty imbel back from tony and it looks great. i wasn't expecting much for 50.00, (including return shipping & insurance) but i am quite pleased with the work he performed.

do not hesitate to take advantage of his insane prices.

thanks again tony!"
     
Scrub
Sept. 30, 2002
 
"Tony does good work. He did two for me so far and one for a friend. I am well pleased. I haven't got to shoot them yet due to some family sickness, but I will soon.
Tony, if all goes well I may have 3 or 4 more for you soon... (I'm still bartering for that pre-ban para I told you about)
Thanks---"
Scrub
   
Insider
Oct 30, 2002
 
"Tony at M&M Gunsmithing provides quality service with low prices and special discounts to all FALoholics.
Check out his web site"
   
Scrub
Oct. 30, 2002
 
"Yup-
Tony barreled and parked two rifles for me, and they turned out great. I don't know what kind of MOA they shoot, but they regularly hit steel targets @500 meters. The targets measure 6 inches wide and twelve inches tall. At 300 meters, with my red dot mounted on my shorty, even I can put all twenty rounds on the same said steel in just under 30 seconds. I am well pleased.
Tony will be getting more of my biz-- "
Scrub
   
Random Chaos
Oct 31, 2002
 
"I picked up my reparked, cut and recrowned Imbel kit from Gunsmith Tony today and he does really nice work. The park matches my Imbel receiver perfectly and is an even shade overall. The cut and recrowning of the barrel looks like it came from the factory that way. In fact, I left another rifle to be refinished because he did do such a good job. I am very pleased with the work he did and will continue to send him business. I highly recommend his services. He does business as M&M GUNSMITHING and his website is:
http://home.bellsouth.net/p/PWP-MMgunsmithing"
   
TomsFAL
Nov 05, 2002
 
"Tony Does a Great job I just received a G1 back from Tony it looked so nice. I sent my Imbel to Him it has the Dan Coonan Type-1 Metric receiver
Thanks Toms "
   
Insider
Nov 05, 2002
 
"Tony treats us right!"
   
ShrikeAK
 

"A short while ago I sent a G1 kit off to gunsmith_tony to be built & refinished. Now that it is back in my hands, I cannot underscore what a fine job he did on it. The finish is absolutely flawless, and the action is smooth as silk. I must also mention the custom charging handle he used on my FAL. Top-shelf. Quite impressive. Just waiting for the weather to warm up so we can send some rounds downrange. Tony's work was top notch in every way. He has my full endorsement for anyone like me who picked up a kit but just lacked the time and tools to do the job right.
ShrikeAK"
Abwehr
May 09, 2003
  "I just received my first FAL build from Tony this week, and the work was SPECTACULAR! There is no question that Tony does first rate work. I had sent the kit and receiver to Tony in October 2002 and was promised 4-6 weeks build time. I never really expected to get it in less than 3-4 months, but after 6 months, I was getting concerned. After several phone calls, Tony gave me a good date and he kept his promise.

I highly recommend Tony to anyone that wants a firearm reworked/rebuilt/refinished and the price should be higher for the quality work he performs. Thanks for the great job on my FAL!!!!!"
Kulaman308
July 05, 2003
  "Just recieved my (2-sets) of Hinge Pins from Gunsmith Tony,they are Extremely well made, are threaded on both sides with allen screws ,so you can make an adjustment and keep them from loosening.They are abit wider than the originals,and beveled on the outer edges.They come Parkerized. Thanks Tony!! Well Done."
darkknight9
Nov 21, 2003
  "What started as:
Dan's grade III kit with US made pistol grip
M/D (brake) from FAC
wood handguards 2nd, r4 buttstock, and Penguin premium handguards from Gunthings
H,T,S from tapco
mag floorplates from gunleather
and an imbel NGL receiver are home again
A few initial observations:
Tony packs his items to be shipped with excellent care. The fedex guy could have stomped on the package and it would have been ok.
On that note: Tony gets the Atlanta Constitution-Journal Sunday edition at his house.
On that note: now I have the Atlanta Constitution-Journal Sunday edition at my house
The firearm came back with all pieces shipped including the second shipment from Gunthings directly to Tony.
The firearm was well oiled.
*****
I hope to have a range report to give after the weekend, but for now I will try to post a few picks in the /Fal Images forum.
The park job is quite uniform on the fal itself, and a little spotty on the mags, but that might be happening for two reasons. 1. Its cold out and until the mags warm up, I'm skeptical of the splotches I'm seeing. 2. they were very cheap painted dirty mags from Tapco a ways back, and they may have been scrathced to hell for all I know..... There is one scratch on the fal itself (barrel), but not too deep AFAIK.
The request I made on 4/23/03 to have Brad at Gunthings ship an R4 butt and soem Penguin handguards was received well, but when the rifle arrived today, they were packed in the box, but not on the rifle. This small detail is easy to overlook, but I bring it up because I assumed (ASS-U-ME'D) that whichever butt would get used would also be blasted and degreased along with the metal of the parts kit and the charging handle/carry handle. Here I admit that I should have followed up more thoroughly. Both butts are scratched and in surplus condition along with the plastic for the charging handle and carry handle.
Along with the rifle and parts came a copy of an invoice, and a letter talking about park finishes and the differences in metals, a smoothing out or "break-in" period, notes on headspace (NATO v Win), and feed ramp issues with softpoint and hollow-point ammo. Very informative.
I can honestly say that, pending a function test/break-in of the rifle I am pleased to be able to say I have my first fal. I was not pleased with the turnaround time, and the communication was indeed lackluster at best throughout the entire process. Emails sent regarding status of my build were usually returned promptly, but had only one line answers such as: just a few more ahead of you, and: I'm working on it now. DETAILS. Details are what feed the imagination and the impatience of the mind. Knowing that X number of other things were needing to be done first or that He was on THIS (generic) step of my build process would have done wonders for my sanity during the wait.
Now, I understand that into everyones life, a little chaos and randomness must fall. But after awhile even the smallest of detailed oriented updates would have been favorable to "I'm working on it." After the months drag on you wonder to yourself, "is it really being worked on?" "Am I being fed a line?"
I received this info on the 13th, when I asked for a tracking number: "I'll box it up tomorrow (FRIDAY) after work and drop it off to FedEx Saturday."
But it was packed in the Atlanta Constitution-Journal Sunday edition.
11 months, eight days.
I believe in fairness that if you are reading this review thinking of whom to send your build off to, please read the following from Tony's website:
http://www.mandmgunsmithing.com/FALWork.html
"...Please do not assume I will remember all the little details of any email or phone conversations we may have had days, weeks, or months ago. I have many customers, and it may be several weeks before I get to your job."
***************************
IN CLOSING:
I feel my fal was put together very sturdily and the park job was quite nice. I expect to get many years of enjoyment from my rifle.
Tony, while not the best communicator, was always pleasant to deal with, and was the only person at the time offering a full build with park for $135. I indeed got my money's worth and would use him again in the future if I were quite specific about the turnaround time.
I hope to shoot it soon,
-darkknight9"
Rhodie R1
April 15, 2004
  "I have to take a moment and write about the two build Tony at M&M did for me. I sent him a near unfired STG58 kit, and a fairly shot-out South African R1 kit that some "Rocket Scientist" had used a pipe wrench on the gas block to remove the barrel. I needed both built up. Tony put an Imbel type 3 on the STG with a Belgian FSE brake, and a Coonen type 1 with a Belgian FSE brake on the R1. Got them back after a long while, BUT......They are perfect. The STG is stone mint unissued appearance, and the R1 is sweet! He put a new cocking knob on, no charge? The park job is first rate. All the wrench marks are gone. Took them out Saturday, both run fine. Thank you Tony, well worth the price, and the wait!"
WarDawg
April 16, 2004
 

"I had Tony build a STG 58/ Coonan and recieved it in Jan. I have nothing to negative to say. It's Kick A$$ . He did a very nice job on this rifle. He missed his turn around time , but didn't miss a thing on his work on putting this rifle back together. Tony is a good guy, and can shoot a FAL pretty damn good also. WarDawg"
kotengu
Sept 18, 2004
 

“First of all, Tony should get a thumbs up just because he co-sponsored the GA FAL match, and I won this blast and park job as a result of that. Any 'smith that sponsors shooters and matches gets a thumbs up in my book (even if I hadn't won).

Secondly - Tony gets another thumbs up because that boy can shoot! Any gunsmith that can (and more importantly, actually DOES) shoot is demonstrating that he can "walk" as well as he can "talk".

Thirdly - this is a BEAUTIFUL park job!

I farted around for a few months after the match, as I didn't have a FAL in need of parking at the time, and after spending several days sitting in the woods looking at my old 870 (since there were no turkeys to look at) I finally sent it to Tony for him to work his magic. I had tried a cheap camo-job with that "removeable" camo tape for turkey season, and needless to say it left the shotgun a gummy mess.

I got it back the other day and it looks better than new, with a perfect park job on every last little piece. It's obvious Tony did a complete disassembly, and was very throrough and meticulous (as opposed to those that blast subassemblies and dunk the whole thing).

Thanks again, Tony - at least now I'll have a good-looking shotty to stare at when I'm in the woods by myself. Maybe it'll even attract those turkeys.......”
BTS
Sept 19, 2004
  “I sent my kit and parts to Tony Marshburn of M&M Gunsmithing (gunsmith_tony) to do a build and park. The recipe went something like this:

Handpicked Tapco Imbel kit (remember these at $99?)
Tapco Spring pack
DSA X series stock set
DSA alloy charging handle
DSA gas nut, hooded rear sight
FSE Mod 3 H,T,S,
(7 US parts so I can add back the original combo device)

I just got it back on Friday. Oh boy, just like Christmas morning, age 10. I opened the box to find he had wrapped the lower and barreled upper separately and included the small parts in ziplocks. Nothing damaged, nothing scratched.

The park on the rifle is a deep grey and very uniform. The only imperfections I noticed were actually the pins in the Imbel lower. I didn’t see any other flaws. The barrel really amazed me; at first I thought it was gunkoted due to the smooth finish. Since I sent it to him before the AWB expired, he neatly cut and crowned the barrel right at around 20 & ½ inches and included the original flash hider, parked as well, ready for the barrel to be threaded.

The DSA X stock set is nice, the black contrasting well with the park. Tony had to do some filing of the rear stock so the rear sight would sit correctly. It was smoothly done and I only noticed because I was looking for it. No complaints of cheek slap from the X stock, it ran well on the bench. The other DSA parts seem to work well and I have no complaints. I especially appreciated the hooded rear sight when I was at the range due to my crappy eyes.

The FSE hammer, trigger and sear also look like they were fitted a bit. The trigger pull was smooth and I didn’t feel much in the way of creep. There were no doubles or full auto bursts. It was smooth and well done. Tony smoothed the front of the trigger, removing any edges.

The rifle parts had a light film of oil on some and some white grease on portions of the bolt. Everything was smooth and it felt like Tony did some filing and fitting to make all the parts move well together. This is one smooth rifle.

All in all, the rifle looks wonderful and got me a few compliments at the range.

Range Report.

I went to K2 Firearms Center in Lakewood. It has 5 indoor 100 yard rifle lanes. You have to sit at a bench and you can not use any surplus there. I had a couple boxes of Winchester White Box and American Eagle with me and just left my ADI in the range box.

I ran the target out to 25 yards. Loaded 1 round in the mag and let it go. About 4” low and 3” right of the center of the bull. I adjusted the rear sight until I was centered and managed to do a 2-3” group without concentrating too hard. I went out to 50 yards and watched my groups open up a bit, but no wild flyers. As my eyes are bad enough and I was just looking at enjoying my new rifle, I brought the target back to 25yards and shot up the rest of my non-surplus ammo. I adjusted the gas nut by a notch and the rest of ammo disappeared in a flash, no hiccups.

Before you “boo and hiss” at the rifle’s accuracy, let me say that this rifle seems eager and willing to do some great groups. I, however, am not. I’m willing to bet that this rifle is on the accurate side of the bell curve based on the sharp rifling, clean crown and good parts fit. It’s the shooter however, who lacks the ability and eyesight to deliver on this.

So…

I know Tony has gotten some good and bad reviews here on the ‘Files. In fairness, he took a lot longer than I originally expected to complete this rifle. He wasn’t always too quick about getting emails back to me. It was frustrating. For all I knew, he could have been in Mexico drinking marguerites in the sun with my rifle at his side. And then I got an email saying I had a package on the way.

What I will say is this: This rifle is amazing. I am very impressed. For the cost of the work, I can accept the delay. Holding the finished product in my hand, I am okay if it took a few weeks to get an email back from him.

I can easily recommend Tony Marshburn and M&M Gunsmithing if you have a clear expectation of what you want and understand that he is a one man show. Did I mention how nice this rifle is? The fit and quality are stunning to me. I can tell that Tony knows what makes the FAL tick. If I get around to affording another FAL, I will send it Tony to build. No hesitations.”
Super B
Oct 27, 2004
  Tony does excellent work. He silver soldered a gas tube for me and reparked. Not only does the rifle now run like a sewing machine, but the park was deep and uniform. Great work for a fair price!

Super B
GrayRoger
Oct 31, 2004
  I just got back my Imbel kit that Tony chopped to 17", refinished and assembled. The park was totaly even, everything matched, very nice. Once I got my hands on some good mags it ran like a top. Realy great work!
jwaters
Aug 8, 2006
  I finally got my AK back from Tony at M&M Gumsmithing. It was worth the wait. I had it built with a Polish Underfolder Kit (Dan's Grade 1), Armory USA receiver, G2 Double Hook kit, and Ironwood Handguard and PG (which I finished and sent with the kit). This was Tony's first Underfolder build, which is why it took a little longer.
I have fired it yet, but it's almost too beautiful to fire. But I will fire it.
I might just have him build a Romy fixed stock for me.

JW