What is a gunsmith???

[GRUMPA]

SWMBO got a magazine in and she pointed out they had an article about "Gunsmithing". Well.....turns out it was an article about being your own gunsmith, and it proceeded to describe the ins and outs of maintaining your own firearm. Pretty much cleaning it.........OOOOOOOkay.....

In my mind a true gunsmith can virtually take anything and turn it into a true work of art. Some of the folks I correspond with, and have seen there work, is way over my knowledge. But I sure wish I lived close, like next door type of stuff, I would be over there all the time trying to learn the craft.

You know, the person that seems to rattle off model numbers like an endless supply of M&M's and not skip a beat. The ones that have full knowledge of what's wrong with a firearm and not take it apart yet. The ones that can re-blue something with a luster the factory would be envious of.

I don't know how someone can call themselves a gunsmith by simply cleaning a firearm, but the way that article read I have to wonder sometimes.

[shredder]

I have seen things like that too. In my mind the "craftsman" is going away from many professions. I know a few genuine gunsmiths and they are all just as you describe. Fountains of information capable of turning a raw steel billet into a thing of beauty. Others can transform a block of walnut into a stock that will take your breath away. Some just drop your Rem 700 into a new stock and replace the trigger, call it a custom rifle.

[oneokie]

IMO, what that article describes is a gun fixer.

[dragon813gt]

IMO, what that article describes is a gun fixer.

I wouldn't even go that far. Sounds like a gun owner to me. Tim is an example of what a gunsmith really is. I know enough to be dangerous. Luckily I also know my limits. If you don't know how to take apart your firearms to clean them I wonder why you even have them.

[koehlerrk]

JMHO, but here's my definitions:

Gun Owner - knows how to properly clean all owned firearms, can attach items that use some kind of screw.

Gun Mechanic - knowledgeable in most firearms, can do all the stuff an owner can, plus knows how to swap out broken parts, can glass bed, bolt lap, and make other minor accuracy tweaks, can drill and tap for scope mounts, and knows how to correctly mount a scope to a rifle.

Gunsmith - a walking encyclopedia of firearms, a highly skilled craftsman in all aspects of firearms work. Someone who can be handed a truck axle, some bar stock, and a block of wood and will have no difficulty turning that into a working firearm. With some extra work, it will look better than most anything currently produced by major manufacturers. If a Gunsmith can't do it, it's impossible.

For reference, I know three actual Gunsmiths, these men are something special, and I am a much better Gun Mechanic due to their training.

[waksupi]

The ones who get me, are those who read how to do something on the internet, misunderstand what they read, and proceed to do some dastardly deed to a firearm.

[texaswoodworker]

JMHO, but here's my definitions:

Gun Owner - knows how to properly clean all owned firearms, can attach items that use some kind of screw.

Gun Mechanic - knowledgeable in most firearms, can do all the stuff an owner can, plus knows how to swap out broken parts, can glass bed, bolt lap, and make other minor accuracy tweaks, can drill and tap for scope mounts, and knows how to correctly mount a scope to a rifle.

Gunsmith - a walking encyclopedia of firearms, a highly skilled craftsman in all aspects of firearms work. Someone who can be handed a truck axle, some bar stock, and a block of wood and will have no difficulty turning that into a working firearm. With some extra work, it will look better than most anything currently produced by major manufacturers. If a Gunsmith can't do it, it's impossible.

For reference, I know three actual Gunsmiths, these men are something special, and I am a much better Gun Mechanic due to their training.

This is a question based purely out of curiosity. Where is the line drawn between a gunsmith, and the next step up? The guys who not only design new guns, but revolutionize the way guns work. Guys like John Moses Browning. I'm not sure if you'd simply call him a gunsmith, a gun designer, or something else.

[koehlerrk]

This is a question based purely out of curiosity. Where is the line drawn between a gunsmith, and the next step up? The guys who not only design new guns, but revolutionize the way guns work. Guys like John Moses Browning. I'm not sure if you'd simply call him a gunsmith, a gun designer, or something else.

Well now, that's an interesting question...

A close friend of mine has the job of being a product development engineer for Beretta, he personally did a lot of work on the Nano. But he's not a Gunsmith as he simply supplied the ideas, but didn't do the work with his own two hands.

John Garand built, with his own two hands, the very first Garand. He was very much a Master Gunsmith.

Eugene Stoner may not have built all the parts of the first Armalight Rifle, but it was pretty close. He was a Master Gunsmith.

Sam Colt hand built a lot of his prototypes. He was a Master Gunsmith.

But then there's John Moses Browning... The man who was a Master Gunsmith while still in his teens. The man who, if all he ever invented was the 1911 would have gone down in history as one of the greatest ever. Ditto the 30-06 Cartridge, The M1919 machine gun, the BAR, the M2 50 BMG and the 50 BMG round, the Humpback Browning shotgun, the takedown Browning 22 Semi Auto, etc, etc, etc...

So, to answer the question, the line between a Gunsmith and a Master Gunsmith lies in the fact that a Master can create a brand new product, build it, and have it put into production. Such genius is truly rare.

Then there's John Moses Browning. That man is truly in a class by himself. No one else even comes close.

[BCgunworks]

I have seen my trade kinda branch out into specialist.

We have master stock makers...who anything wood is what they do.

We have master engravers.

We have machinist/gunsmiths. With all the advances in machining and all the new tooling these I also consider a specialist.

And we have your true artist. There the ones that are to some level a jack of all the trades.

And the list goes on.....but anymore the job has become so diverse and has so much tech knowledge involved anymore the specialty areas get broken down.

[BPCR Bill]

Yes, Browning is still revered to this day in Belgium. His work bench still stands at FN in Herstal as it did the day he died.

Well now, that's an interesting question...

A close friend of mine has the job of being a product development engineer for Beretta, he personally did a lot of work on the Nano. But he's not a Gunsmith as he simply supplied the ideas, but didn't do the work with his own two hands.

John Garand built, with his own two hands, the very first Garand. He was very much a Master Gunsmith.

Eugene Stoner may not have built all the parts of the first Armalight Rifle, but it was pretty close. He was a Master Gunsmith.

Sam Colt hand built a lot of his prototypes. He was a Master Gunsmith.

But then there's John Moses Browning... The man who was a Master Gunsmith while still in his teens. The man who, if all he ever invented was the 1911 would have gone down in history as one of the greatest ever. Ditto the 30-06 Cartridge, The M1919 machine gun, the BAR, the M2 50 BMG and the 50 BMG round, the Humpback Browning shotgun, the takedown Browning 22 Semi Auto, etc, etc, etc...

So, to answer the question, the line between a Gunsmith and a Master Gunsmith lies in the fact that a Master can create a brand new product, build it, and have it put into production. Such genius is truly rare.

Then there's John Moses Browning. That man is truly in a class by himself. No one else even comes close.

[BPCR Bill]

Ahhhh, the term "Gunsmith". Now that term can be used pretty loosely, as I have found out over the years. Sadly, there are a lot of people who will hang the shingle on the door proclaiming they are "gunsmiths", start their business, and promptly begin to ruin firearms.

[John Taylor]

It can be like any other trade. Think of a mechanic, some just keep changing parts till they get it working and some will take the time to figure out what is causing the problem first. I do machine work for another gunsmith who is way more knowledgeable about models and brands than I am but he does not have any machine tools to make parts or install barrels. I sometimes go to him for info and he comes to me for machine work. He is good at stock work and I find I can't make money doing wood, not that I can't work with wood, it takes me longer. Not every smith is a John Browning, a true thinker who could work with his hands.

[btroj]

Is a guy who does only 1911s and no wood still gunsmith? I say yes, no doubt about it.

I think John hit it on the head. The work is so specialized that it is hard to do it all.

I also think there is a difference between a gunsmith and a gun maker. Gun maker builds entire rifles from the ground up, gun smiths repair what isn't working.

Find a guy who does the specific work you need and be happy with it. If I need a receiver drilled for a scope mount I don't care that the guy doesn't do cut checkering.

[pietro]

Ahhhh, the term "Gunsmith". Now that term can be used pretty loosely, as I have found out over the years. Sadly, there are a lot of people who will hang the shingle on the door proclaiming they are "gunsmiths", start their business, and promptly begin to ruin firearms.

Yep - Being a "machinist" does not necessarily make someone a good gunsmith .


.

[Cap'n Morgan]

John Moses Browning was not a mere gunsmith - he was a creator!
What that man accomplished during his lifetime... just amazing. Kalashnikov may have created the worlds finest assault rifle, Colt the most famous revolver and the Mauser brothers the most famous infantry rifle, but Browning had so many unique designs to his credit the mind boggles

BTW: Many places in Europe you can become a "true" gunsmith only by serving a four year apprenticeship at a master gunsmith's shop. And like someone said, after that you should be able to make any part in a fine sporting gun from a raw piece of steel or wood.

[rking22]

Harry Creighton explained it to me as it took a machinest 20 years to become a tool maker and it took 20 more years for a tool maker to learn to be a gunsmith. Something like that ,, and I can't find fault in that explanation, given some 37 years ago

[mac60]

Yep - Being a "machinist" does not necessarily make someone a good gunsmith .


.

But, how can you be a "gunsmith" without having the skills of a machinist? What say ye Tim?

[bangerjim]

A "smith" is someone that works in a medium based upon extensive training, vast experience and knows how to make modify, and fix, things in said media.

A "blacksmith" works in iron and steel

A "coppersmith" works in copper ware

A "whitesmith" works in silver and platinum (aka silversmith)

A "goldsmith" works in gold

A "gunsmith"......well you can figure it out from there.

banger

[Artful]

Banger, there you go trying to use logic

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gunsmith

First Known Use of GUNSMITH 1588
Full Definition of GUNSMITH
1: one who designs, makes, or repairs small firearms

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/armorer
armorer
Full Definition of ARMORER

1: one that makes armor or arms



2: one that repairs, assembles, and tests firearms

[JSnover]

Yep - Being a "machinist" does not necessarily make someone a good gunsmith .


.

True dat. I am a machinist and I've done some work on guns (thankfully all of it has been good) but I'm no gunsmith.