how to become a gunsmith

[shortgrass]

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

Take a basic manual machining class, like Eric said, and take a basic gunsmithing class (design, function & repair). There's a lot more to being a gunsmith than chambering a barrel. I wouldn't wait very long to decide what class(es) I wanted to take as these programs fill up quickly, as everyone (for some reason) wants to be a gunsmith. When I went to school, 20 years ago, there was concern there wouldn't be enough enrollment to keep the 2 year program alive in following years. One or two were allowed to start in the middle of the first year to fill the class. Now, the schools have 'waiting lists'. I noticed some of the NRA summer courses have waiting lists, too. Let me correct a statement from above,,,, "everyone wants to learn to chamber barrels", not, "everyone wants to become a gunsmith".

 

[bobcat93]

Thank you for all the posts, they were full of good tips and logical suggestions. I will do some internet search for machining classes in my area, and check out the NRA this week.
Again thank you & safe shooting
Bobcat93

 

[X Ring Accuracy]

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.

Words of wisdom

 

[kelly4124]

I know there's a school in Colorado that's supposed to have a good reputation. It's called Colorado School of Trades it's a gunsmithing school with an in-house gun repair shop. It seems like upper-level students actually do the repairs on client guns, so that sounds like some cool hands-on experience. The website is http://schooloftrades.edu

 

[jonbearman]

Rochester institute of technology,it is an ivy league school and have a specialty in engraving etc for high end guns.It is in rochester,ny.

 

[L.Sherm]

I know a young man who went to Lassen he had nothing but great things to say about the instructors they even taught them how to build some of there own tools instead of buying them all

 

[338 Mollett]

A side note, the last chamber I cut had less than one ten thou. run out and there are people that will be unhappy with that and blame you if the gun does not shoot.

 

[butchlambert]

Runout?
Runout is almost never a problem. It is very difficult to ream an out of round hole.

 

[RHux]

Specialize in one aspect of the trade. Trying to make a profit by working on anything that comes through the door is hard , too much investment for the amount of specific jobs.

 

[gunsandgunsmithing]

Runout?
Runout is almost never a problem. It is very difficult to ream an out of round hole.

Yep, and to test for one/tenth runout...or anything else you wish to check, your test fixture must be AT LEAST as good as the spec'd(1/10,000") tolerance. So, how does one verify a chamber is within .0001"...anyway? ;D

 

[Raythemanroe]

You eliminate as much as possible

 

[gunsandgunsmithing]

You eliminate as much as possible

Is that your answer? That's not very specific.

 

[butchlambert]

I guess when you say run out, maybe run out to what.

 

[Raythemanroe]

Your mean I need to type all the variables? Simple way is if everything touching the barrel and action has a tolerance of .0001 it will add up right?

Ray

 

[gunsandgunsmithing]

Your mean I need to type all the variables? Simple way is if everything touching the barrel and action has a tolerance of .0001 it will add up right?

Ray

No Ray. I won't put you on the spot. I'm not really looking for an answer as much as pointing out that anyone that claims .0001" accuracy in their machine work should be able to explain how they verify their claims. It ain't easy to do, and even harder to verify.
Butch got it.

 

[338 Mollett]

After cutting the chamber and getting everything the way I wanted it.I took a .0001 indicator and placed it on the inside of the chamber wall.The needle never left the graduation marks.

 

[butchlambert]

If you have done much lathe work the indication that you did means nothing and you would understand why. To understand this drill a hole just a hole in your lathe in any type material, say a S or T drill. That is .348 or .358 and then run a .375 reamer into that hole. You do not have to indicate anything until through. Now put your tenth indicator in the hole and tell me the runout.
They way you are indicating means nothing if you are doing this to check a chamber.

 

[gunsandgunsmithing]

After cutting the chamber and getting everything the way I wanted it.I took a .0001 indicator and placed it on the inside of the chamber wall.The needle never left the graduation marks.

That confirms the hole is round. That's the least of your concerns in chambering a barrel. As Butch said, it's pretty hard to ream a hole that's not round, in a lathe. It can be oversized...but it'll be quite round under normal circumstances.


Do you feel confident that you could set it back up and verify the chamber and bore are that true to one another?

 

[butchlambert]

Listen to Mike. Your chamber needs to be coaxial to the bore. You can ream an oversize chamber and it will not have runout. Doesn't make it a good chamber.

 

[338 Mollett]

good ideas let me drink on it