Skunkwerks was originally started as RE&D LLC in 2014 and “Skunkwerks” was later added as a “doing business as”, or DBA, because “RE&D LLC” was too difficult for some people to spell.
Skunkwerks consists of two primary employees, one full-time and the other contract labor/professional sales.
The owner and manager of Skunkwerks is James, who is an engineer by education and profession. He is also a self-taught machinist, welder, CAD/CAM tech, and tinkerer.
James has been building and fixing firearms since 2006, with a focus on manufacturing firearm components that are unavailable, rare, or unusual.
Due to his pedantic, introvert nature, he can often be found wandering around the shop, arguing with himself or inanimate objects, and occasionally standing outside, staring at the sun and yelling at clouds.
James handles most of the custom machining work, machinegun rentals, and sales in the Austin area.
“Zach” is the head of sales and demonstration for the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
Zach served honorably-enough in the United States Marine Corps, where he travelled to far-off lands, met interesting people and cultures, then killed them.
While serving in the USMC, Zach developed a taste for the finer things in life, such as purple crayons, Rip-Its, and ChiliMac MREs.
Over his stint in the Corps, he developed a number of people skills and management techniques, thanks to his attendance of several USMC-sponsored social events such as “use this MK19 to greet our new friends in that Toyota HiLux” and “Take this M14 to translate our message of peace and love to our neighbors in Snipers Alley”.
Zach’s time in the Corps also assisted him in learning how to weld and perform a number of metal fabrication tasks, due to his USMC-honed skills of breaking things (in lieu of getting them pregnant), or using his sleeping roll to craft necessities.
His return to civilian life required him to find a new way of shooting pallets of ammo and blowing stuff up on someone else’s budget, therefore he joined the Skunkwerks staff in 2023 as a contract employee in sales.
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