Occasionally you are invited on an adventure which you have no expectation of or realization the unexpected turns it will take. In September of 2014 I was invited to the Timney factory in Scottsdale AZ with a few other industry writers such as The Truth About Guns and Tactical Hogs Weapons & Tactics editors.
The funny thing is that I didn't know what to expect on the trip. Ellis Media, the Media Company representing Timney, just set up all the travel arrangements and said "Just come on out"... so I did. I have to say the trip and travel were amongst the most well thought out and smoother trips I have had arranged for me.



As we toured the facility what we saw was a near fully automated lights out manufacturing operation. People throw around the term “lights out manufacturing”, however Timney actually seems to have it down with a 22 hour by 7 day a week operation. Literally they actually turn lights out and leave the building while machines are churning away at night. A two hour maintenance window is provided per day during working hours to reload raw materials and change out worn tooling. Robots are picking up finished machined parts and loading new blanks. It was like watching a digital machining ballet where billet was turned into beauty. It was an amazing thing to watch whether on the Wire EDM machines cutting hammers, trigger, and sears, or the automated milling or Swiss machines milling and turning trigger bodies and parts. What I saw impressed me and I am not a newbie to manufacturing sophistication and automation.
We even met the assembly and shipping teams whose responsibility it is to assemble, test and ultimately get the right product to the right custom. I had the privilege to watch one of the two testers qualified to assemble the Timney 10/22 trigger, put together my trigger just used in my Magnum Research MLR-22ATU review. I also watched as the shipping team packaged up both the Timney 10/22 trigger and the Skeletonized AR15 trigger used on the Mercury One Foundation AR 308 build.
![]() |
Timney's version of a doorstop |
From sourcing 100% American made metal stock, through the manufacturing operations, to assembly and shipping, Timney has clearly worked to develop one of the most cutting edge manufacturing facilities which maximizes efficiency and quality. The owner and the lead designer (Calvin) often attend manufacturing trade shows just to assure there is nothing else they could be doing to improve manufacturing operations.


![]() |
Timney AK47 Prototype Trigger |
Currently, Timney is working on triggers for the ARX100, Ruger America, and the one I am most excited over, the AK47. I asked that they start making Ruger Mark III pistol triggers as well as a a precision ambi-selector for the AR15... but this was where I got a blank stare back at me. That was a part and not a trigger. My point to them was that with all this machining precision capabilities, I see no reason why Timney should not begin offering more than just triggers. I went on that a precision Timney selector paired with a AR15 Timney match trigger would actually improve tuning accuracy without having to adjust the trigger to allow for the slop of whatever selector you happen to be using.

Chris Ellis from Ellis Media said he wanted us to leave with the impression that Timney was one of the most advanced trigger manufacturers in the world. I left Arizona with a different impression; Timney is a cutting edge manufacturing facility which could be doing and offering shooters more. This may seem like I am overlooking all that Timney has and is doing for us in the Trigger market, however from the 3D prototyping, rapid prototyping, to fully automated processes, I saw no reason why they could not be offering more amazing products beyond triggers, however I am told Timney for the moment will stick with just triggers.

What struck me was the "family" vibe everyone talked about at Timney from John the owner, to the managers, machinist, assemblers and shippers. It was a family who noted that John was going to extremes to offer an environment where their suggestions were converted to product, process, and company value improvements. This family extended from John the owner to Joliet the beautiful and friendly English Mastiff roaming the premises who I thought was so cute that I snapped a few pics before I left the Timney facility, got on the floor, and gave the old girl some love. I am a dog person… more specifically I love mid to large sized dogs.

John (Timeny's Owner) had noticed Joliet, Timney's furry employee, was acting a little odd right after we left and ran her by the vet at which time she passed away from natural causes. Most of us had lost a great dog in our past and began reminiscing and weeping uncontrollably over John's loss. It was quite the spectacle which had passers by I am sure wondering why a group of guys were all sitting in a Marriott teary eye-ed with drinks in hand. As a long time dog owner, it was my privilege to meet Joliet. I immediately emailed these last pictures to Chris to forward to the Timney team and when returning home I immediately gave my doberman twins a hug and kiss. Family is important and I understood at that point how tight the Timney family was.
The trip was an adventure. I had no idea what to expect or to prepare for. Mrs. Pandemic asked repeatedly "what" we would be doing... I had no idea and I think that was the idea to just see what happened.

SOURCES
Timney Triggers - http://www.timneytriggers.com/
Shop a huge selection of Timney triggers at Brownells.com - excellent prices and huge selection. Every purchase helps support this site.
No comments:
Post a Comment