There do seem to be problems with a few stock makers.

I can understand how they can end up with too much work but they should just should either give realistic turnaround times or close their order books until they have caught up a bit.
If they are reputable and respected, people will always accept the wait or come back to them.

As for them getting into financial difficulty, i cant see how. They take a deposit to cover the cost of the blank and then its just the value of their time that they invest in the stock. It is not like they shell out thousands of pounds on stock materials and then get knocked by customers. Although this could happen if they were working for a gun manufacturer on a larger scale, i think we are talking about smaller volume stock makers getting in over their head.

I dont want to simplify what they do because some of the customs stocks that i see made by individuals are truly amazing.

It seems that the long standing and reputable stock makers like Warren Edwards and Gary Cane etc, are well worth the wait.