Milling/Gunsmithing using a Knee mill or lathe rule of thumb

[bearhunter]

There are a lot of reasons, mostly COST, to take into consideration when doing machine work for compensation.

First, when you do such work for compensation there are the legal aspects involved. Ask a Gunsmith how much his/her liability insurance costs and whether they would even consider taking on a job without liability insurance.

I will do the odd bit of work for people but only if I find it interesting, know them really well and am sure of what I'm doing. Even then for the most part I will send them to the local gunsmiths in the area.

Most of the people that bring me firearms to fix are just to cheap to take them to a gunsmith. I usually turn them down.

I'm retired and there just aren't enough good gunsmiths around. That doesn't mean the smiths out there aren't GOOD, it mostly means there just aren't enough of them.

There used to be a time many decades back when smiths could afford to take the time to to make up one off parts. That's the BIGGEST COST. TIME.

The other thing is that so many people think anything firearms related is rocket science.

A gunsmith will charge for his time. He has to or he won't be able to make a living. Often the parts needed are available but either the customer is to lazy to look or doesn't have a clue where to look. Then there is the guy who brings in a firearm in parts, hands it to you and says I need it by the weekend. I can guarantee, it isn't going to happen.

It always amazes me how much machine work is out there concerning firearms. After a while, life is just to short.

 

[trevj]

I know a fellow that worries to the point that I suspect he brings a fire extinguisher with him to a kids birthday party. That's not me, can't get worked up enough to worry like that.

But the point about it being interesting! That is the dividing line for me, whether I will even consider taking on someone else's project.
Most that I do take on, are complete and total non-starters as far as economically feasible work, but I do the stuff for my own edification so it doesn't really matter if I ever see a dime for tools or materials.
Helps to cultivate interesting friends, too. And, folks that have talents to trade, or at the very least, which are not complete cheapskates.

 

[jaroslav]

Aren't there any retired gunsmiths who don't have to work for a living and would make something, because they enjoy their hobby without charging a lot ?
When I was a pattern maker, I always pick to make the most difficult pattern, because I loved the challenge. Money didn't matter.

 

[BCRider]

Aren't there any retired gunsmiths who don't have to work for a living and would make something, because they enjoy their hobby without charging a lot ?
When I was a pattern maker, I always pick to make the most difficult pattern, because I loved the challenge. Money didn't matter.

I've yet to find anyone that chose to turn their hobby into their livelihood that considers what they do a "hobby" any longer. There may be a few that retired from such work and continued it AS A HOBBY but for the most part I think you'll find that many of them were burned out and no longer enjoyed it as much.

Those of us machinists that do such stuff at work as well as at home likely do so because at home they can use manual machines for the joy of the machines compared to CNC at work. Or they make stuff that is wildly different from what they make at work.... or they are the lucky ones that never quite hit the burnout stage.

I do know of an older gentleman in the club that did gunsmithing and retired and still does the odd job for FRIENDS that he personally knows. But that's it. No friend's of friends. Probably because he no longer carries that liability insurance.