how to become a gunsmith

[bobcat93]

I have a little machine training I've worked as a custom finish carpenter most of my life and im very mechanical minded. I have a collage education. So I'm thinking of going to school for gunsmithing. I eventually would like to open my own shop. Can any skilled gunsmiths give me some tips on which is the best way to go about this endeavor.
Thank you

 

[Preacher]

Hunt up the best school closest to you and have right at it...
Lot of great schools on both sides of the US to choose from..

 

[Cort]

After school, you might want to work for/with one of the well known smiths to get some experience. Joe Chambers worked with Bob Marvel for a while and really produces some super quality work. Joe might have done it all on his own but the time with Bob Marvel had to be helpful.

Cort

 

[X Ring Accuracy]

Or you can read any and everything you can. Buy a lathe. Tear shit up. Cry, tear more shit up. Learn. Keep tearing shit up and acquiring tools. Get check book out. Tear shit up again. More crying and you will get there. Or........?

 

[Lapua40X]

Or you can read any and everything you can. Buy a lathe. Tear shit up. Cry, tear more shit up. Learn. Keep tearing shit up and acquiring tools. Get check book out. Tear shit up again. More crying and you will get there. Or........?

Yeah, but the tuition for a good school is a lot less expensive .........

For the OP:

You may find it necessary to relocate for a while to get the training you seek. I have been told that the program offered by Lassen College in California is top notch:
http://lassengunsmithing.com/
(Don't Google it, Google appears to have an anti-gun policy)
But you can link to it directly from my reference.

 

[butchlambert]

Do you want to do it for fun? It is not a high paying profession. It won't provide a comfortable living for the most part.

 

[gunsandgunsmithing]

My advice would be to start out specializing in one or two specific guns or areas. Get very good at it and build a customer base. You'll pick up lots that pertain to guns in general, along the way, but be the best there is at something. Just my 2 cents worth.

 

[shortgrass]

Or you can read any and everything you can. Buy a lathe. Tear shit up. Cry, tear more shit up. Learn. Keep tearing shit up and acquiring tools. Get check book out. Tear shit up again. More crying and you will get there. Or........?

+1 here

Do you want to do it for fun? It is not a high paying profession. It won't provide a comfortable living for the most part.

Here's another good point. A finish carpenter will realize more, in the end.

My advice would be to start out specializing in one or two specific guns or areas. Get very good at it and build a customer base. You'll pick up lots that pertain to guns in general, along the way, but be the best there is at something. Just my 2 cents worth.

When you first start out you'll need to be able to do/work on a variety of different firearms. Starting out as a "specialist" will severely limit clientele , which NO business can do when trying to get started. Right now, there are more who claim to be 'gunsmiths' than are gunsmiths. A formal education would give you a leg up on those who claim to be.

 

[X Ring Accuracy]

Right now, there are more who claim to be 'gunsmiths' than are gunsmiths.

Aint that the damndest truth

 

[bobcat93]

I get that a lot . in my trade there are many who clam to be great carpenters ..unfortunately there egos proced there skill. I would like to learn the skill of chamber cutting and barrel fitting. I would assume that would be comparable to a carpenter building stairs and cutting complex roofs. That has taken most of my life to develop that ability and there is still more to learn. I try to always remain teachable. That said, I would like to develop my passion of rifles into a paying skill, as I did with carpentry. I'm not looking to get rich, just to make enough to pay for machines and have a way to earn an income when I retire from carpentry.

 

[JLDavid]

Bobcat,
+1 to what you said. My buddy and I are linemen but we have a burning desire to learn the barreling and chambering process. We purchased the contents of a deceased local gunsmith's shop from his widow. We have learned a lot while using his old wore out Atlas lathe and hand ground tools. We are in the process of updating the lathe and getting some newer tooling to chamber barrels with. We do not expect to make a dime with this lathe but like you, it would be nice to have a hobby that could make you a few bucks here and there or in retirement. I do not consider myself a gunsmith by any means and will not call myself one but I would like to learn to do some of what they do so I can make my own accurate rifles in the future. Keep us posted on your projects and what you learn as you go.

 

[boltfluter]

I get that a lot . in my trade there are many who clam to be great carpenters ..unfortunately there egos proced there skill. I would like to learn the skill of chamber cutting and barrel fitting. I would assume that would be comparable to a carpenter building stairs and cutting complex roofs. That has taken most of my life to develop that ability and there is still more to learn. I try to always remain teachable. That said, I would like to develop my passion of rifles into a paying skill, as I did with carpentry. I'm not looking to get rich, just to make enough to pay for machines and have a way to earn an income when I retire from carpentry.

That is an excellent plan for retirement. Feel free to contact me if I can be of assistance in any way. Sounds like a great adventure. ;D

Regards, Paul

www.boltfluting.com

 

[butchlambert]

If you can do it as a hobby, go for it. You will spend most of your earnings initially buying tools and tooling. It sounds as if you are prepared for this.
Good Luck

 

[Jay Christopherson]

Or you can read any and everything you can. Buy a lathe. Tear shit up. Cry, tear more shit up. Learn. Keep tearing shit up and acquiring tools. Get check book out. Tear shit up again. More crying and you will get there. Or........?

Yeah, but the tuition for a good school is a lot less expensive .........

For the OP:

You may find it necessary to relocate for a while to get the training you seek. I have been told that the program offered by Lassen College in California is top notch:
http://lassengunsmithing.com/
(Don't Google it, Google appears to have an anti-gun policy)
But you can link to it directly from my reference.

Just for the heck of it, I googled "lassen gunsmithing" - I got tons of hits and your link was #3. Pretty sure Google doesn't do any filtering of their search results. You can certainly game the system to get your hit ranking higher (or lower), but unless they run into a law that requires it, they don't tend to filter results. Google Ads however, are a different story.

 

[bobcat93]

With all the replying on this post it will be a competitive retirement.. Damn!..
I like the idea of buying a gunsmith shop tools after he or she has passed away.
Maybe there is good magic / juju in the tools. Kind of like buying frosty the snow mans hat. Also I think another trick is to come up with a unique tooling or product, some thing like developing a new trigger or mag system etc. People want and find interesting that only you do...for now..
The idea has occured to me about relocation for education, not sure if that could happen. So for now I'm going to take the suggested earlier post of taking a few machine classes to get the basic understanding and safety procedures.. I've met to many gentlemen throughout the years who are now unable to pick there nose do to carelessness or just trying to finish up on a Friday and Oops! There went some important part of a hand..all accidents can be avoided with respect for tools..skin is no match for something made to cut steel.

 

[itchyTF]

Long hair and long sleeved shirts can also be hazardous to your health if not careful.

 

[shortgrass]

If nothing else, think about taking a NRA Summer Gunsmithing class or two. They're a week long, some are two weeks. You'd at least get your feet wet and it wouldn't require an immediate relocation. Those NRA classes are held at various gunsmithing schools through out the country, Montgomery Community College in Troy, N.C., Trinadad State Jr. College in Trinadad, CO., Murry State College in Tishomingo, OK., and I think Lassen in CA. I think a couple more offer those classes, too, but can't list 'um off the top of my head. You've got a computer, they're easy to find. These classes aren't taught by some 'hack' or 'gun plumber', they're taught by real gunsmiths. The classes range from beginner to advanced. www.nragunsmithing.com

 

[bobcat93]

I will look into the NRA course ..that was a good lead ..thank you.. If I were to take some simple classes before hand what would some one suggest.. CNC classes or manual operation
Thank you

 

[Erik Cortina]

I will look into the NRA course ..that was a good lead ..thank you.. If I were to take some simple classes before hand what would some one suggest.. CNC classes or manual operation
Thank you

Manual classes for sure. You need to learn the basics first. You don't need CNC machines to do great gunsmithing work, and most of the top gunsmiths don't use CNC. Actually, don't even think about CNC until you have chambered a few hundred match winning barrels.

 

[Raythemanroe]

I think it would be more fulfilling to compete with a gun you Smithed, Good luck and always be safe.