Gunmithing

J

Jyoung538

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How would one get into gunsmithing? How much would equipment cost to be able to put together top notch custom rifles? Where should I start, just getting some cheap guns and working on them, books, videos? Anything will help!!
Thanks,
Josh
 
Josh

To get started a machine shop course or 2 would never hurt. Check your local college to see what they have to offer. As far as machinery costs, the sky is the limit. Just remember you generally get what you pay for.
 
Jyoung538
Their are several ways to do it you can go to one of the brick and mortar schools listed at Brownells, Midways, and TAOGART's sites or you can go through a apprenticeship course. I don't know of any professional gunsmiths that have only gone through a correspondence course.
As Rflshootr said you can get machine courses through your local community collage but you should also take business classes as well they are every bit as important as machining. Their are many smiths who have only hand tools and a drill press that do repair work, they don't build any guns just repair by replacing parts. Some do bluing and stock work as well so they don't need to purchase heavy machine equipment, they can make a fair living and have a lot less headaches. If you go to www.taogart.org you can find a list of gunsmith schools and learn about the apprenticeship program. It is a very rewarding trade if you treat it as a business and not a hobby.
 
sorry for the double post
 
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Two years full time enrolled in gunsmithing at Trinidad State Junior College in Colorado would be a good start... learn the basics before investing in tooling...
 
You might also stop and check on the liability insurance you should have. That just might chill your thoughts a bit.
 
Get an old mauser..

...and just start. Make a custom mauser. Restock it. Read about rebarreling it.
Learn about do a good/safe trigger job..Learn to measure and check it again.

Pick one small project and find/read as much as you can on it.

Have fun. It can be very rewarding..

:)
 
Get a mentor....someone who will teach you the trade of a machinist. Buy a few books and get some lathe time.

Spend some time in the shop, learning...

All other advice is good too. A machine tool operations course would be superb.
 
I started buying broken 22 rifles at pawn shops 15 years ago and getting replacement parts at Numrich Gun Parts Corp. I fixed them and sold them on consignment at another pawn shop. After many rifles, I only knew how to fix broken old 22s.

I bought dozens of gunsmithing books.

I built some FAL rifles with kits.

I got a lathe and mill and sporterized Mausers by forging or welding the bolt handle, drilling and tapping for scope, doing trigger job, glass bedding, milling safety shroud for M70 type safety, opening bolt face, extractor, feed lips, and magazine well for magnum cartridges, narrowed the trigger guard, and ground the recoil pad with a belt sander. I cut threads, shoulders, extractor relief cuts, and chambers on barrels.

I sporterized 91/30 and M44 Mosin Nagants.

I made shotgun choke tube extensions.
I made barrel vises and action wrenches.

And 15 years later, I still can't call myself a gunsmith, just like after 45 years of playing the guitar I am still not a rock star and after 45 years of taking pictures I am still not a photographer.
 
The best advice is to get a decent paying job, and start tooling up as a hobby and work your way into it.

If you had to buy everything at one time you'd be looking at a $50-100,000 investment, plus some sort of shop to put it in, and then how much work can you get to make that venture profitable? It takes years to build up a good reputation, and they'll be plenty of folks along the way that are big on ideas and have no $ to fund those projects.

I'd also say equally important to metal and wood working skills are business skills. Many talented smiths have burned out and ticked off customers because they lacked business skills, and didn't have the capital to get the business up and running.
 
Jyoung538 said:
How would one get into gunsmithing? How much would equipment cost to be able to put together top notch custom rifles? Where should I start, just getting some cheap guns and working on them, books, videos? Anything will help!!
Thanks,
Josh
Click to expand...

Your library is a great place to start. There, much to my surprise, were a dozen or so books on the subject.
I'd give serious thought to specializing in one area. The ability to either make or rework an action, barrel it, install sights/ribs etc professionally takes some time, Blueing? Case coloring? Thats a whole area that right there. What about stock making- one piece or two piece? Saw dust and oil fumes and vapors from milling DO NOT MIX, you'll have gummed up lathes and really shoddy finishes.
At first I wanted to do everything, then finally decided to focus on just one aspect of it all.
go for it
 
Best advice I can give is don't.
At least not to make a living.

Next best thing is find a wife that has a good job and ease into it part time. That worked for me.

I've got over $20K in chamber reamers alone. not counting 2 lathes, vertical mill, surface grinder, combo H/V mill, grinders, belt sanders and then the tooling for all that. And yes I use every bit of it.

Dave
 
Would Be Gunsmith

You have one of the worlds best resources right here at your finger tips.

Read and search this site and you will find everything you need to get started.

I am in the same position as yourself, I have been reading this site for about 2 years, I print off threads that contain pictures / descriptions of the tools these guys use (then build them), keep descriptions of the processes & proceedures they recommend.

I send emails to the regulars on this site asking questions, (I do not ring them as most are busy, they will reply when they have the time!)

Practice the operations required, facing, cutting to correct size, threading etc. Trying different techniques.

Steve Acker's book "gunsmith machinist" is a great buy off ebay!

I will be building my first rifle this year! yes it has taken 2 years to get it all together but this site and the people on it have given me the best schooling / tutoring I could possibly ask for, as we have very few gunsmiths let alone a smithing school over here!!

I wish you all the very best and welcome to the fascinating world of rifle building:D
 
Josh,

Almost every gunsmith starts out working on small projects that he thinks he can do, and either stops or goes forward depending upon his success. It progresses from early successes to whatever level he wishes (time and talent dependent). I am a retired executive from an engineering firm who now works part time as a gunsmith for one of the largest of the national sporting goods chains. This is not a glamorous position, but is a labor of love and is very satisfying since I like to work on guns (and don't need the money to survive). I am often asked about getting into the gunsmithing business (as it has large romantic appeal), but the truth is as already stated in this thread - it is a rough way to really make a living. If you have the skills to be a competent gunsmith you can easily make 2-3 times as much money working in tool and die, etc.. but it is a tough, but not impossible calling if you are willing to live a low income life. Note that all others have commented as to the difficulty. Ease in, at best.....

Scott
 
I will second what every one else has said. I dabbled in gunsmithing when I was a young man. 40 years ago! Mainly cuz I wanted a good shooting varmit gun. Built a few good shooters ( for that era ).
I am a carpenter by trade and retired. I have also commercial fished here in Hawaii. (15 yrs) I wanted to make some hydraulic reels and ended up buying a lathe & milling machine. I learned to operate these machines by signing up on internet forums. Tried our Community College but the instructor was not interested in teaching.

I would think that to have a succesful shop you would have to be able to do other task as a sideline until you have established some clientell.
Like fixing snowplows if your in the North, or lawnmowers if you live in the South.

Most importand tools: Desire, dedication, willingness to do without, persistance,.


Aloha, Les

Ain,t a horse that can't be rode,
Nor a man that can't be throwed.
 
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