Want to be a gunsmith?

Simple truth; I'll second that.

Hope Harry doesn't mind, but here are my two-cents worth?
Nothing is closer to the truth as what he has explained here.
Indeed: it is a very tough trade to be in!
Too many of us are living in LaLa-land! Getting into gunsmithing by correspondence or even 'hands-on' courses of a couple of weeks are just a waist of money & time! If you can't afford a minimum 1-2 yr 'hands-on' full-time gunsmithing-courses offered in the US, a 5 yr practical full-time European based gun-making course or at least be able to land a apprentice-ship at an engineering-firm for at least 3-5 yrs; then just stick with what you know and what you've been doing before! The only thing that most of them achieve is blowing a lot of money on training, equipment, "kaput-gefixed" guns that need to be replaced, fixed by the real trades-people or worser yet; law-suits if something goes wrong! Really, spending $50.000 on machinery is peanuts and you would not even be halfway there yet!! Not to mention the fact that the very few who think they've succeeded; are usually hold another full/part-time job to supplement their hobby! In fact; most of these home DIY gun-thinkerers usually end up 'undercutting' those who had all the right training & experience under the belt from the start off! If you think, that because they seem to be busy most of the times and are making lots of money, then think again! Most of us are barely scraping a living or able to pay our bills, because of the above! Products/parts are going up and yet we still can't charge $85-$125/hr as the car-mechanics do & yet compared to them have invested three-folded in equipment! In real live: most of us can charge no more then say between $35-$50/hr rate! The very reason we can't afford to contract any apprentices & loose more precious time on trying to instruct/train any apprentices! You can make this hourly rate at most places if you have a decent trade, without the extensive & costly investment of equipment!
Anyway; I've got 30 plus years of European-based toolmaking/machining/welding & gunmaking training behind my back myself and I'm still learning to date! Did also do one of these 'hands-on' 1 yr. gunsmithing-courses at CGAL/USA & a couple at Mauser, Blaser & Sig-Sauer in Germany/Liechtenstein.
Anyway; I wished I had smartened up earlier & I would have choosen another direction in life? I guess I'm getting too old now to learn something else?
Cheers,
jan
Precision Arms-Mfg.

Harry Eales said:
If I can chip in here, for a first post on this site. Gunsmithing is a hell of a hard way to make a living, I know, I've been there and done that myself, so I have a little experience to offer the neophyte.

Firstly, you really need a good, and I mean really good grounding in tool room engineering work. I.e. Lathe, Mill, Shaper, Precision Grinder and hand fitting. That's not available on a few weeks long College Course, or on a ten year long Correspondence Course. To be honest, most of these are a waste of your time and money.

Ideally, a fulltime training course is the way to go. Here in the U/K that means at least a five year apprenticeship, just to learn your basic engineering skills. You simply can't learn the engineering skills you will need in six or twelve months.

The day of the 'All Round' Gunsmith is more or less over, firearms are too diversified and complex for one man to be familiar with all types of weapons. The name of the game today is specialisation. That means you have to find out what is in demand in your area. It may be Practical Pistol Shooting, or BPCR, or Long Range target shooting etc. But whatever is most popular is where your skills should be focused, and your work be most in demand.

The days of the gunsmith who could create a rifle, pistol or shotgun from scratch are long gone. If your good at metalwork do the smithing, if your good at heat treatment, (colour case hardening) stick to that, If your a wizzard with wood, stick to stocking and checkering.

There are many people out there who have a fantastic reputation in very specialised fields within gunsmithing, and many have a backlog of work over months or in some cases years. Nice work if your good enough.

In any job or occupation there are those who have the skills, and there are those who don't. The decision of whether you have the skills, relies on you being honest with yourself.

I've no axe to grind here, I'm retired on on a small, but sufficient pension. I have a small mill, a small lathe and a bench shaper along with a ton of tooling gathered over half a century. I potter along doing things that please me, rather than working for someone else. I've had a specific dream about building a certain rifle since I was in my teens, (I'm now in my late 60's), but I'm living my own personal dream which is more than 50 years old, I have my rifle more than half made, and although injury prevents me from working more than 20 minutes at a time, there's no one happier than me.

Gunsmithing is not a way to make a lot of money, there are a few skilled exponents of parts of the gunsmiths art that do make a very good living, but they are few and far between.

My best advice, start off learning your trade, work on guns in your spare time until you have a well known reputation, and then, and only then, make the final decision to go off on your own full time.

May I wish all of you the best of luck if you go this route.

Harry
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I rencently got admitted in a gunsmithing program. Now I gotta buy all the stuff! If you have any question I'll be around.

Cheers,

AT
 
Wow! Inspirational ! As a mechanic I can see the cross over skills..... I may look into a course or two..... HHmmmmmm. Any recomendations?
 
GhillieShooter said:
I rencently got admitted in a gunsmithing program. Now I gotta buy all the stuff! If you have any question I'll be around.

Cheers,

AT
Click to expand...

The is a gunsmithing course in Quebec too. I noticed a few people from Quebec here, like me. For those interested, it is in Maniwaki.

It is a one year hands-on course. You have to make your own rifle from un finished parts and at the beginning, you'll spend MANY MANY hours hand filing. After all it is the base of the trade, to learn how to use hand tools AND machinery for a total of 1350 hours. At the end you will obtain a D.E.P. aka Diplome d'Études Professionnelles (Professional Study Diploma)

http://www.armurerie.ca/pages_fr/index.html
 
Always wanted to learn gunsmithing..

I've always been interested in Gunsmithing but never knew how to get started. I would love to learn from someone as I feel that is truely the best way to learn this particular art, and I don't feel like drilling holes in my guns only to realize what I'm doing doesn't work so well.

Does anyone want an apprentice that works in the GTA?:ar15:
 
Nice to see some passion in the area of Gunsmithing..... My good friend was a weapons tech in the military. He seems to think there is no money in the trade unless you get an in with a large police department, or work for the big shots over at Bass Pro etc.
 
With all the experience from the older generation telling us NOT to make gunsmithing a career, I would still like to know where/someone who can I educate me into gunsmithing. Is there something I can do like, 1 hour in the evening and still go to work during the day? I live in the Richmond Hill area and there doesn't seem to be a gunsmith for miles. But then again, I may have jumped the gun. Finished college with a degree in design and just started working at a design firm. I just got my gun license and have no firearms whatsoever. However I believe my passion with firearms would not fall short amongst those of you who have shot your guns for years.
 
I'm looking at easing my way into it on the side depends on my hours. I've got a couple years in machining and I'm looking into buying a bar in BC. The current owners have second jobs because most of the week they're not busy and I do love tinkering with guns.
 
GameStalker30-06 said:
I have a question! How to you get a gunsmiths license? Where do you apply for one?

Thanks
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Here in Ontario, you apply at the "Chief Firearms Office" they will require
-that you have a letter from your municipal office, that there are no restrictions where you live
-notify your local police of your proposed gunsmithing business
-CFO will send you an application
- a few months will pass (2 or 3)
- in my case 3 retired OPP inspected my shop
-an monitered alarm system had to be installed
-a gun cabinet had to be bolted to the floor
- proof of experience...(this one might be a catch for most, in my case I have military experience, 1 1/2 as a weapons tech)
-took me 6 months... got my license 3 weeks ago

I've got to mention that those retired OPP were really good to deal with and I am certain that even without the military experience, that they would have given me a license... for ex. if you have the proper tooling... lathe, milling and have some of your own project to show them what you can do.
 
August 9 2011,*I will be starting school at the gatinue school of trades for gunsmithing. Im really excited and feel we really do need more gunsmiths in this country, when I get out I hope to open my own place in nanaimo on vancouver island.

I was planning on going to the states, but the red tape after 9/11 is just insane. There is much less hassle for me in quebec.

Im feeling very happy about this and see great things ahead for all of us.

McLean
 
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Be ready to do some filing, my friend! I have a buddy who must be close to finishing and that what he said: LOTS of filing in the first weeks but it only gets to build your skills and patience. :cool:
 
mrclean89 said:
August 9 2011,*I will be starting school at the gatinue school of trades for gunsmithing. Im really excited and feel we really do need more gunsmiths in this country, when I get out I hope to open my own place in nanaimo on vancouver island.

I was planning on going to the states, but the red tape after 9/11 is just insane. There is much less hassle for me in quebec.

Im feeling very happy about this and see great things ahead for all of us.

McLean
Click to expand...

So what is the cost of schooling, how long is the course etc. More details please! Good luck with this, I am always pulling for anything "PRO" gun related!!
 
line runner said:
Here in Ontario, you apply at the "Chief Firearms Office" they will require
-that you have a letter from your municipal office, that there are no restrictions where you live
-notify your local police of your proposed gunsmithing business
-CFO will send you an application
- a few months will pass (2 or 3)
- in my case 3 retired OPP inspected my shop
-an monitered alarm system had to be installed
-a gun cabinet had to be bolted to the floor
- proof of experience...(this one might be a catch for most, in my case I have military experience, 1 1/2 as a weapons tech)
-took me 6 months... got my license 3 weeks ago

I've got to mention that those retired OPP were really good to deal with and I am certain that even without the military experience, that they would have given me a license... for ex. if you have the proper tooling... lathe, milling and have some of your own project to show them what you can do.
Click to expand...

What specifications did they require for the cabinet? Does it have to be a certain type of safe?
 
Curious, with a gun smithing licence, would there be a change to your PAL to allow you be able to possess prohibited and restricteds solely because of gunsmith status?
 
It does not have to be a safe... I actually have 2 cabinets , one for my personal firearms and one for customer's firearms.
One of my cabinet is a wooden and the other is sheet metal... when they inspected my shop they required that I bolt them to the floor

Allen Gun Works said:
What specifications did they require for the cabinet? Does it have to be a certain type of safe?
Click to expand...
 
I am here in Victoria BC, and looking to start as an unpaid apprentice to learn the ropes of gun smithing in January for a possible full time process. Are there any Smiths out there that would be willing to take on an apprentice? I don't really want to do it for the money, at least not right away.
 
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