starting gunsmithing school next month, looking for tips and help

[Andrew Mason]

hello fellow gun tinkerers.

I am starting gun smithing school next month.

I have been looking forward to this for the last several years, and now I am findly doing it.
I know know the standard, don't stick your hand in the moving parts of the mill or the lathe.
and also the pay attention and listen to my instructors, but what else, the nitty gritty, specific things do I need to do?

any recommendation for some specific tools or anything for a beginner gunsmith.
I do already have a quality micrometer, and dial calipers.


thank you to my fellow gun gurus.

Andrew mason.

[Guido4198]

Don't "Go Cheap" on hand tools...Sometimes Harbor Freight is not your friend. :grin:

[w5pv]

A set of hole gages like Starrett,Lufkin,Brown & Sharpe or some other name brand tool.

[pmeisel]

Buy the best quality tools you can afford, a few at a time. You'll still have them when you are old.

And take good notes. You'll be surprised how often some little thing someone showed you isn't really important at the time, but later it becomes really useful!

[gunoil]

think u guys need polishing stones, a big box of roll pins, i like poly pics from midway. How bout magnifier headset to see. Dont let others use your tools. Small vise. Pin vise. Rock-set glue. Peen hammer. Big poly donut to knock pins out. dremel.

[Tazman1602]

Now THAT comment is worth a thousand words. I have a pile of tools that I bought on the cheap. Lasted a few years and then SPRONG.............

..........I also have micrometers, calipers, depth gauges, and hand tools I bought in the 70's BC (before children....) that are still in good shape and work like new today.

Don't skimp on tools, and keep copious notes. You will never be sorry............

Art


Buy the best quality tools you can afford, a few at a time. You'll still have them when you are old.

And take good notes. You'll be surprised how often some little thing someone showed you isn't really important at the time, but later it becomes really useful!

[Lefty SRH]

Andrew, what school are you attending? My family is pushing me to go to gunsmithing school. I already have 16 yrs as a tool & die maker/machinist under my belt.

[riorider]

Dont forget the common sense, goes a long ways use it!

[Tokarev]

Dont let others use your tools.
This is one of the best advises you can get. Every time I loaned a tool, it was returned broken or not returned at all, even by those whom I otherwise held in highest esteem.
And take your time contemplating and measuring before you cut.

[Andrew Mason]

Andrew, what school are you attending? My family is pushing me to go to gunsmithing school. I already have 16 yrs as a tool & die maker/machinist under my belt.

I am going to lassen community college in susanvile ca
it is in north east California.

[Char-Gar]

The person or persons to ask that question are your instructors in the school. For certain the curriculum will include the tools of the trade and their use. Save you money and buy what they tell you to by. Most likely they will also have a deal with a supplier to get tools for their students cheaper than the open market.

I can only give you two bits of advise;

1. Learn to cultivate patience with the work and with people.

2. Do your thinking BEFORE you start to do the work. Think a job through from start to finish before beginning. Don't start, thinking you will figure out the next step when you get there.

[nhrifle]

Ask lots and lots of questions, anything that comes to mind. I am learning from a man who has been doing this since the early 1960's and he is a treasure trove of information and historical stories. He is a certified armorer and warranty repair center for just about any manufacturer out there, and is eager to share his knowledge base with me.

[Bent Ramrod]

I was at Lassen a couple weeks ago. They will give you a locker and some bench space. You should be getting a list of required items that you need to have for each course you will be taking. I would regard that list only as a start.

You will probably need the usual run of chisels, rasps, files and so on for stock work. You will need files, screwdrivers, and sandpaper for wood or metal. If you are going to do any operations on barrels and actions, you ought to get an edge/hole finder and at least one (preferably two) dial indicators of the Interapid (or at least the Last Word) type. You will need these for locating starting points for hole drilling and for setting up barrels to be chambered and threaded. They have the machine tools, but it would be best if you got some lathe bits, milling cutters, drills and so on, just to keep from spending time looking for those that are supposed to be in the toolroom. (Some of this stuff is available for sale there in the shop.)

Ask your instructors and fellow students what they have and use. There are Brownell's and MSC catalogues, very well thumbed, in the shops and the instructors ought to have all the suppliers on line. Several boxes came in for students who had ordered materials while I was there.

Don't get so involved in your own work that you fail to keep tabs on what your fellow-students are doing. People come up with the most amazing shortcuts sometimes. And, if worst comes to worst, it's better to have somebody else make the mistakes for you to observe and avoid.

I do envy you. Susanville is really a pretty area and those of Lassen's courses that I participated in or was able to observe seemed to be very well set up. Best of luck!

[smokeywolf]

All good advice.

I have found Starrett's "Last Word" indicators to be not as dependable or robust as I would like. Stick with Interapid or even better Compac test indicators. The Compac indicators are the most solidly built and usually have the greatest range of the name brand test indicators. There are others that are passable, Brown & Sharpe or even SPI.

One thing I have not seen mentioned. You will need a better than basic knowledge of metallurgy. You will certainly get a goodly amount of exposure to the alloys, heat treating and surface finishes used in the production of firearms, but knowing what some of the more widely used alloys are capable of when it comes to heat, tensile strength, shear strength, what can be anodized and what alloys accept bluing better than others will prove advantageous. You need some knowledge of metal forming processes such as casting, rolling and forging. You'll need to know screw and fastener grades.
One or two books covering these topics would be valuable additions to your shop library. One other book that you may not need immediately, but will eventually want is "Machinery's Handbook".

Good luck,

smokeywolf

[wv109323]

I am not a gunsmith nor do I play one on TV. It appears to me that you need a specialty instead of being a small town gunsmith. The work of a small town gunsmith is very seasonal. (feast or Famine) Also a general gunsmith must have a large array of specialty tools for many jobs that you may only need 1 or 2 times a year. If you have a reputation and specialize then you can have year round work. Your work load needs to come from a very large area that is mailed to you and not a small region or town. Don't get me wrong learn everything you can.
I would find an area that I would want to be in and start attending matches , shoots or gatherings. Once you do some successful work then the word gets out within that group of shooters.
I would specialize in 1911's or rifles or benchrest or blueing or whatever.

[wool1]

As stated above don't go cheap on your tools. I also recommend don't go cheap on your consumables either. Cutting tools, (mill and lathe) grinder wheels ect. Being able to cut or make specialty tools and learning to sharpen your tools is priceless. It is the single most used lesson i received. Having machine experience you are probably aware of this already. As stated above the instructors are the best place to turn for info....I wouldn't trade the experience and knowledge my instructors gave me. I still contact one of my instructors to this day when I get stumped. I've heard it said..... your best friend/worst enemy is your teacher.

Good luck, and have fun!

[enfield]

out of curiosity how long is a gunsmithing course ??

[Andrew Mason]

out of curiosity how long is a gunsmithing course ??

the course at susanvile is 2 years

[smokeywolf]

Just keep in mind, like becoming a machinist, that 2 years barely qualifies as an apprenticeship. Although I'm sure you'll make a fine gunsmith, it will take years before you can call yourself a "master gunsmith".
I went through a 4 year apprenticeship to become a machinist. Even though I had outstanding training from some of the finest machinists I've encountered in my 30+ years machining, it still took over 20 years before I felt like I could live up to the expectations of the old timers who trained me.
Its a fine goal you've set for yourself and I'm both excited for you and little envious.

There are other machinists on Cast Boolits who have as much or more experience than I, but whose experience is more relevant to gunsmithing; theperfessor, buckshot and goodsteel are just 3 that I can think of off the top of my head. There are several others. goodsteel is a full time practicing gunsmith and from all accounts a very fine one.

smokeywolf

[WILCO]

or anything for a beginner gunsmith.

Say goodbye to any women you're running with, if you're not already married.
Stay out of other folks drama and B.S.
If you want to be a gunsmith and really enjoy it, let it consume you.
Get a copy of the Machinery's Handbook.
If gunsmithing isn't fun for you, don't waste your time and money.
Make sure you always get the most amount of sleep, eat well ( Low fat, lots of fruits and veggies with some lean meats.) and stay focused.
Associate with other students who can be an asset to you, and you to them.
You only get one shot, don't screw it up. [smilie=s:

[WILCO]

http://www.constructionbook.com/machinerys-handbook-28th-edition-toolbox-9780831128005/machine-shop/?source=cbegs&epc=885Y&mkwid=xj3pN35X&crid=16269335922&gclid=CPa-v-StrbgCFUyZ4AodsQEAUw

[Andrew Mason]

Say goodbye to any women you're running with, if you're not already married.
Stay out of other folks drama and B.S.
If you want to be a gunsmith and really enjoy it, let it consume you.
Get a copy of the Machinery's Handbook.
If gunsmithing isn't fun for you, don't waste your time and money.
Make sure you always get the most amount of sleep, eat well ( Low fat, lots of fruits and veggies with some lean meats.) and stay focused.
Associate with other students who can be an asset to you, and you to them.
You only get one shot, don't screw it up. [smilie=s:

not married, don't plan on being that way for a while,

[MtGun44]

Remember that the instructor is there to teach you. If you do not understand something,
ask questions and listen to the answers. Too many times people are scared to ask questions
in a classroom situation and miss pieces of the information because of it.

Bill

[andremajic]

Find out which guns they will be working on in your first semester, and start looking around pawnshops, gunshops, and your friends for those model guns. From what I remember, the list of guns needed was quite extensive, and unless you owned a gunshop with 20 years worth of accumulated rifles and guns, you're going to need to network from people who have those guns.

The school will have their own guns and rifles that you can disassemble and learn on. You will have to provide the guns that will be filed on, rebarreled, reblued, etc.

Get to be good friends with pawnshop owners and ask for "broken guns". Put ads out on craigslist and the classifieds looking to buy broken ones. You might get some people on the forum interested as well. For liabilities sake, I would recommend you do not borrow others guns to learn on. You are going to need to work on your own, so if you screw it up you won't have to explain it away to the guy who was generous enough to let you use their gun.

If you reach an agreement with the pawn shop owner that they'll buy back the fixed guns, you'll get the credit for fixing it for your grades, and you might make a tiny bit of profit as well. Everyone wins.

Get in contact with the instructor of the course way ahead of time. Write down all your questions that you're asking here and ask them on the phone. Planning ahead will set you ahead of your peers.

[helice]

I can't tell you anything about tools. One thing I know. Seek counsel. Ask questions. Find men who are willing to help you and let them know how much they mean to you. Look for the men with white hair or grey beards. Look for the quiet ones, the ones who have been there and done that. It is my take that the good ones will not have bought the tee shirt.
Nothing hurts worse than a man who thinks he already knows.