How does one become a gunsmith? [Archive]

gundoc

12-04-2007, 10:27

How do you become a gunsmith? That's a great question.

There are a few ways to acomplish this -

Go to a physical school
Home correspondence
Apprentice
Jump in

There a couple of good gunsmithing schools left and the NRA does a lot of short courses at colleges around the country. Home correspondence is a good way to learn if you can't quit your job and go to school. I have reviewed a lot of correspondence courses and AGI (American Gunsmithing Institute) is the one I recommend and use. Apprenticeships are very hard to come by, but if you have the time to do the dirty work for a few years you'll learn things from a good gunsmith. Then there's the "jump in" way. If you have some mechanical aptitude and a few tools you can start very small and learn as you go.

As a hobby gunsmith you can work of guns without an FFL. If you do it full time and receive guns from carriers, you really need an FFL and insurance. But since you're thinking part time right now, let's worry about the headaches later.

If you want to start out because you might like it (you may not) start with small jobs. The Ruger 1022 is an easy firearm to work on and popular enough to provide some income. Get the AGI Armorer's course, and some other videos to learn the guts of it. The library probably has some books, and videos can be rented from Smart Flix for a fair price (I rent from them for gunsmithing, machining, welding, etc.). Do some upgrades to the guns, but DO NOT do trigger work until you're ready. Triggers are the single biggest liability a gunsmith faces. Don't do it without a "back of your hand" understanding of the trigger and have some liability insurance and a lawyer on retainer.

If the 1022 isn't your speed pick another gun. There are videos and books on just about everything. You'll need some proper tools. Just starting out, plan to spend about $3000 for some simple hand tools. Trust me, that's not a lot of tools or money. Once you decide to go further you can invest much more. You'll also ned a dedicated space. A kitchen table works onc or twice, but you need a solid bench and a place for your tools. Don't toss a $50 file in the tool box and expect it to cut nicely very long.

Since there is no licensing (aside from an FFL) for gunsmiths, anybody can be one. I have even met folks who called themselves "mechanicians" and farmed out the more advanced stuff to me.

I really do recommend video instruction and a membership with the American Gunsmithing Association. Get AGI's introductory video and see if you can follow along and understand. The great thing about videos is not only a picture is worth a 1000 words, but you can pause, rewind and review as many times as you need without the instructor getting impatient. Study guns and gunsmithing, welding, machining, wood working, painting, and a few more applicable skills. even if you don't offer welding, you need to be able to tell your customers what needs to be done and talk to your welder in an educated manner.

Brush up on your math and buy quality measuring tools. A thousandth of an inch is quite small, but to a gunsmith 10 thoushandths of an inch (.010") may as well be a foot because it's a lot of material. $20 calipers are not what you want to use working other people's guns.

Ebay is a good place to buy videos, books, cd's, and tools for smithing. build a good library of books and reference material. Books with exploded views can be a bacon saver.

There's lots and lots more I could on about but that's a good start. Remember to start small, buy wise, and make sure you really enjoy it before going to far. You may decide that you want to do DuraCoat instead, or engrave firearms. I have one good engraver and he's backed up worse than I am. Stock makers are very busy, too. Do good work, treat folks right, and you'll have more guns in your shop that you know what to do with.

Good luck!!

Doc

Duce1

01-15-2008, 18:43

Well I do not have a license from a trade school or anything of that nature. I do not tell anyone I do. I am a licensed journeymen Tool and die maker through the I.A.M. so that puts me in the ball park of having some knowledge to how to make parts or do repairs on pistols and rifles, I have made about 20 rifles including a BMG 50 of my own design. I am known around about what I do and everyone close to me brings there weapons to me and trust me to do the work on there children. So I can not say I am a gunsmith but I do have the trust of the local people and the gun shops with 50 miles.

Lou

Remember like gundoc says about the measuring tools!
always starrett micrometers always and Brown & Sharp on the dial calipers and you have the best of quality