"So $550 DIY vs $650 smith". You forgot the cost of the action wrench. Another $100.00? If you do the barrel swap thing enough, you may choose NOT to use the action wrench. Depends on how confident you are at what you're doing.
Then, there's the wait time involved with your smith. Doesn't feel like working that day? Things arn't going as smooth as he would like? If you're doing a FTF transaction, you're OK. If you ever ship anything to get worked on, you better hope it gets there. Lots of stories about lost gear or empty boxes showing or damaged goods.
I'am lucky enough to have found a good man to do my chambering work. I've lost count on how many barrels he's chambered for me.
I send him MY blank and MY custom cut reamer, he'll chamber the barrel and have it back to me in about a week or so, unless it hunting season, then it takes a bit longer.
And when you finally get done spending all your hard earned $$, you've still got BIG $$ invested in a Savage. And you better hope it shoots as good as you hoped for.
One thing to remember, you're only going around one time (unless you're Shirley MacLane) and you can't take those $$ with you unless you change them into Travelers Checks. Spend those $$ and enjoy the ride.