Advice on basic smithing tools

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CarriedBy6

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hey guys- I'm totally new to gunsmithing- I wouldn't even call what I have in mind "gunsmithing". I just want to make some simple modifications to an SKS (trigger job, polishing moving parts, open bolt magazine mod, etc) and I need to get a few tools for the job. I think the best place to start is with a Dremel tool and a bench vice. can anyone give me some advice on the best tools for simple grinding and polishing?
I will probably pick these things up from my local crappy-tire.
I have my AGI video in hand, so I think I've got a good start.
Thanks in advance!

also, I don't know where on this site I would look to buy someone's used tools- but if you're looking to sell you can PM me.
thanks.
 
A Dremel is the LAST thing you need. Contrary to the TV ad it is not the right thing for many jobs. And just about everything related to triggers and hammers is on the list of "DO NOT USE A DREMEL FOR THESE THINGS! ! ! !".

The first thing you need to do any gunsmithing of this sort of some skill with basic metal working. Because that is what 95% of gunsmithing really is. So first you want a good solid bench and a good vise ("vice" is bad. It's things like smoking, doing drugs and stuff like that. You want a "vise" :D). Next I'd suggest a GOOD set of files made by Nicholson, Sandvik or some other decent outfit. If you're going to do much in the way of gunsmithing then files are a basic fact of life. Learn to use them and to use them well. Contrary to what many untrained folks thing files are not a steel version of sandpaper. They are one way precise cutting tools in the right hands. Next up is a good hacksaw. Again this is a basic tool so you want to get a good one that will hold the blade with proper tension without buckling or deforming. And a pack each of 32 and 18TPI blades for it. Following closely on this tool buying spree would be an assortment of small stones to be used for honing, polishing and other final operations on sears and hammer hooks. Finding small slip stones suitable for gun working isn't easy. Brownells has them of course. But in the meantime you might look around for the Lansky knife sharpening system. They have a lot of great stones that can be popped off their carriers and used for gunsmithing very nicely.

Stones are best when used with jigs to control and maintain the angles while putting a nice smooth surface on the metal. This is the exact opposite of what a Dremel will do since it's nearly impossible without a lot of work to make up a jig for precision work with a Dremel. Actually it's not the fault of the Dremel. It's the guy holding it. How good are you at ensuring that you grind or polish a small part to within 1 degree of angle or maintain a surface across a sear hook of .001 inch or better? The basic truth is that we can't. So the idea of a hand held power tool for such work is a non starter.

Now this doesn't mean you should not buy a Dremel or other rotary tool. For some things it's the way to go. Just don't use it on anything to do with a trigger or hammer engagement hooks. Or anywhere else that precision is needed. If you do then you are likely to ruin the parts more than help them.
 
99% of smithing is all done with hand tools, files and stones are your friends. A surface plate and a few small jigs help a lot for filing and stoning surfaces to keep them true. SLOW and check often.
 
"...a Dremel tool..." More firearms have been ruined with a rotary tool than any other tool. Forget 'em.
Buy the vice and make at least one pad for it. Pads are 8 oz plus leather.
"...have my AGI video in hand..." Forget that too. You can't learn to be a smithy from a video. Most smithy's spend a great deal of time reading. Buy as many gunsmithing books as you can find. None of which are cheap. Start with the NRA Gunsmithing Guides.
"...buy someone's used tools..." Unless the guy has retired or died very few smithies sell their tools. Most tools they have, they made themselves.
 
Cleftwynd said:
99% of smithing is all done with hand tools, files and stones are your friends. A surface plate and a few small jigs help a lot for filing and stoning surfaces to keep them true. SLOW and check often.
Click to expand...

While I wouldn't stop anyone from running out and grabbing a surface plate (on sale at Lee Valley Tools for ~$40, pretty regularly) I wouldn't consider it a must have, either.

Most gunsmithing is hand tools and brains. If you can't handle working well with both working at once...maybe another hobby, eh?


Dremel Tools are a pretty good rig for some stuff, they can wreck stuff faster than hand tools too. That 'brains' thing again.

A good place to work, a decent bench vise, some bench blocks (hockey pucks are good places to start) a decent set of screwdrivers, some files (you don't need a set, as much as you need a bunch of different files that fit your needs, whatever they may be), some stones, a few measuring tools, and a couple decent reference books will go a long ways.

Once you get started, the sky is the limit, you can generalize, specialize, focus on woodwork, checkering, or assembling black plastic poodle shooters from parts, or make black powder guns from scratch. The tools you buy are going to have to be tailored to the jobs YOU are doing.

If you need a place to start, start by reading as much as you can and see what you may seem to need for what you are interested in. Be aware that a great many of the classic works, like Howe's Modern Gunsmithing, are full of a lot of useful information, but are written in a different time, so you will have to sort out the stuff that applies, from that that does not.

Hit a few used book stores and see what you can find in the way of old School texts from shop classes at various levels. Lots of the stuff you need to know USED to be taught to all grade school kids as part of the general curriculum, before the wisdom decided that getting ones hands dirty was for peons and that the future was all in University educations.
The "Annuals" from Popular Mechanics magazine contain a LOT of good info too.

Cheers
Trev
 
Hey thanks guys, your replies are extremely helpful!

I wouldn't dream of using a Dremel for a trigger job- obviously a file or stone would be better for that.
The SKS bolt close mag release mod that I've been looking into requires removing a hefty chunk of steel
(see pics below for before and after)
ModifiedBolt_zpse5788f8d.jpg

sksbolts1.JPG


From what I've seen, guys have been talking about doing this with a bench grinder (excessive!) and/or a stationary dremel with the bolt in a vise.

I'm going to play it safe and start with a file, at least it'll give me some practice.
 
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trevj, while I agree, a small cheap surface plate has been the handiest thing ever to me for when I need to square up parts, or sand a surface that needs to be perfectly flat. I even use it for hammers. Makes the fit incredibly tight yet smooth.

I didn't post the 10,000 items a smith uses, but I don't think many will disagree that a good selection of quality files and stones will take you a long ways when tuning or repairing firearms. Most tools are a given, such as screwdrivers, hammers, mallets, vise, bench, punches, drifts, etc.....
 
Cleftwynd said:
trevj, while I agree, a small cheap surface plate has been the handiest thing ever to me for when I need to square up parts, or sand a surface that needs to be perfectly flat. I even use it for hammers. Makes the fit incredibly tight yet smooth.

I didn't post the 10,000 items a smith uses, but I don't think many will disagree that a good selection of quality files and stones will take you a long ways when tuning or repairing firearms. Most tools are a given, such as screwdrivers, hammers, mallets, vise, bench, punches, drifts, etc.....
Click to expand...

Yeah. There are adequate substitutes for a real surface plate, that meet the needs of "a flat surface" out there, whether a fells scrounges up a flat bit of plate glass, or uses the table of a table saw, or a chunk of countertop material. The lack of one isn't a hold-back, is what I am sayin'.


Power tools, while handy enough when used well, can make wrecking stuff go faster.

Tools should, IMO, be bought upon some careful consideration, as far as need goes. I can attest from personal experience, as an avowed tool junkie, that no matter the collection in hand, a job comes up that suggests yet another is needed, as well as many that looked like they would be of great use, turning out to be still unused.


I think we are preaching to the converted,you and me, though. :)

Cheers
Trev
 
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