Want to be a gunsmith?

Drewz said:
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!!
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There you go.
http://www.armurerie.ca/pages_en/index.html

I'm in this course since september. If you got any question I'm your men.:popCorn:

AT
 
Personally, I am 23 and would love to get into gunsmithing. I have taken a minor welding course, but am unsure what kind of metal and machining education/experience I need to get into? I love guns, specifically milsurp rifles. The older the better, newer stuff I would work on for a wage. Is my heart in the right place? I think so. Do I have the money, education or experience to get into gunsmithing... we'll see. Where would I go to train for this vocation?
 
I'm moving to Pg next weekend and am a millwright who is currently going to be a stay at home dad who's thinking about a career change...Gunsmith would be a nice change...

Gunnar --> Don't be surprised if you get a "harassing" phone call in the next little while... It's good form to know your local gunsmith ;)
 
ok im thinking of taking a online course but i wanna no if it is gonna be worth it.. im pretty good at fixing my guns i have so do i or dont i take the online course?? i just wanna do it as a part time thing
 
i used to do gun smith work mostly gun stock but got out of it because of the new gun law a lots of fun and great people
dave
 
Been thinking of getting into doing it more. Been doing it for awhile now on friends firearms and love doing it.
 
you read my mind.....only 3 months ago. I am 37 yrs old and have a great welding & fabricating business that I started 3 yrs ago when I had to retire from professional diving due to health ( its amazing what 3400 cold water dives will do to a healthy body ) . I started taking my gunsmithing course last month, I figure 10 yrs from now when i really know what I'm doing Ill be ready to do it more full time instead of a hobby. and I cant wait, oh yeah .....my wife has a real job with benefits too LOL
 
I'd love to learn gunsmithing and have a background in the trades (10 years Carpenter)
I'm young enough to learn well and old enough to appreciate it.

If anyone needs an assistant and wants to pass on the skill in the GTA please let me know. We can even trade skills if you wish to learn anything about home improvement.

please PM

thanks in advance
 
need for moregunsmiths

I ran into some real negetive feedback when I asked around about gunsmithing.Everyone said it was not posible.I decided that to hell with them all,I will do this.It has been my pasion since I was 17 yrs old and serving in the Militia fireing an FN-FAL downrange.I took a crapy B.S. course online which at best refreshed my memory,bought some self help books and reread the 100's of magazines on said subject.I am doin projects on my own and maby 5-10 yrs from now do it part time...15-20 yrs when retired I'll have something to pass the time away.
 
Although a quick search online provided a whole bunch of those online gunsmithing courses...is there a place in or around the GTA that provides full proper training?
 
antonjon said:
I ran into some real negetive feedback when I asked around about gunsmithing.Everyone said it was not posible.I decided that to hell with them all,I will do this.It has been my pasion since I was 17 yrs old and serving in the Militia fireing an FN-FAL downrange.I took a crapy B.S. course online which at best refreshed my memory,bought some self help books and reread the 100's of magazines on said subject.I am doin projects on my own and maby 5-10 yrs from now do it part time...15-20 yrs when retired I'll have something to pass the time away.
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Razer said:
Although a quick search online provided a whole bunch of those online gunsmithing courses...is there a place in or around the GTA that provides full proper training?
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join the Canadian Army and pick gun smith as a profession :rockOn:
 
Quebec gunsmith course - French only?

Congratulations on enrolling in this course. I checked out their website and it looks like a great course.
I'm just curious - do you speak French?
If not, do you think that you'll be able to learn and participate effectively as an Anglo-phone?


mrclean89 said:
The only full time course in canada is in maniwaki quebec. Ill be attending it this year starting august 9th

Mclean
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I'm still very new to the gun thing, but I'm a very capable 'smith in other terms- locks. the mechanics really aren't that different. Can someone recommend material to get me started updating my skill set? I have seen correspondence courses, but I've done that for other subjects and it didn't really get me anywhere.

Thoughts?
 
after reading the posts
it seems to be a retirment or side job.
My personal suggestion would be to get into becoming a machinist that way you can learn everything about the tools you are going to use
master the tools and there capability's not just cnc machines but manual machining too
this will allow you to have a machine shop or to work in one
i would say that a gunsmith would more likely train a ticketed machinist (giving them a chance to use you to rough out projects in the begining)
Being a ticketed machinist will also allow you to have a well paying job to fall back on.(for when the kids come)
just my two cents

i know gunsmiths and machinist are different but if you cant operate a lathe and a milling machine your hooped.

do want you want in life and don't take no for an answer if a gunsmith wont apprentice you try a machinist.

I once learned to build racing carbs and port heads and manifolds. I went and ask him for a job and he said had some work i could help him with what was my first job you ask I weedeated his yard, mowed his lawn, picked weeds in his mom's garden, swept his shop, took out the gabage, cleaned his car. this went on for about two months then finally he said come over here and took me through a carb diassembly and reassmbly of a stock rebuild for a customer. from that day on i still had to mow the lawn and do garbage but he started to train me and by the end i would do all the work on lot of the carbs and he would flow test and tune them for the customer.

But the moto i've always lived by and worked by " I asked you for the job "

if you ask someone for a job (or even to teach you something) you do what he asks if he comes to you and asks you to work for him then you can have a little more say about what you do and don't do
 
I'm in my mid-20's and have a machining trade. I tried to get into the CF to become a Weapons Tech but that is not a job that is very in demand. That route still is not looking promising about a year and a half later. I'm willing to move pretty much anywhere in this beautiful country of ours for the right opportunity...PM me if you're looking for an apprentice that's willing to learn and has attention to detail.
 
7x61 said:
In view of some controversial posts in "Off-Topic" recently, it is becoming very apparent to me that we sorely need more new gunsmiths in this country. I have trained promising apprentices only to lose them partway through to large machine shops with great benefit packages. It is disheartening, but for a young man with plans of starting a family, for instance, that is a hard option to resist, no matter how much you love guns :)

What to do? Try to encourage talented, enthusiastic people to have a go at gunsmithing (especially pistolsmithing, which is totally what I do). Is it satisfying to make something work? To watch a customer's face when he handles his new custom gun? To get the "Wow! I can't believe it!" email? Of course it is! Can you make a good living at it? Yes - maybe not for the first year, but after that, you're either going to do well at it, or realize possibly you should be selling vacuum cleaners :) Long-term, if you get into it in your twenties, the sky's the limit. If you're recently retired at 50 or so, have the machining and mechanical aptitude, and love guns, why not give it a try? You'd have, after all, probably 20 years....

What is needed? First, you gotta really be into guns, otherwise...
Second, you do need some machining and mechanical background AND aptitude. I find it easy to train someone to do good work if he (or she:) can recognize good work as opposed to mediocre stuff. If they can't really tell the difference, go sell vacuum cleaners! Third, you need either someone to take you on and train you, or a good place to do the gunsmithing and train yourself. Start with your own stuff, or your buddy's :) Nothing wrong with a good heated garage as long as you can get a business licence from your town or city as a home based business (that's needed in order to get the Fireams Licence you need to have other peoples' guns there). Fourth, you need tools and machinery. Good heavy duty USED lathes and milling machines beat the hell out of light, inappropriate new ones, especially the do-it-all 3-in-one etc. units. Yes, you can do decent work on almost anything, but a good sturdy unit is much less frustrating, especially if you're basically learning as you go.

A drill press and bench grinder need not break the bank. Upgrade as you get more money :)

For hand tools there are a few basic hammers, punches, good screwdriver sets with a LOT of bits you can grind to size and shape as needed, and then all the drill bits, a good number drill set, reamers (buy them as you need them - they're darn pricy), a good tap and die set, plus a few of the specialized taps etc. from brownells such as 6-40, 6-48, that you can't get locally.

$20,000 is a darn good start, $10,000 is doable if you scrimp a little.

What can you expect to make about a year down the road? $50 an hour for good work, I currently charge $60 and going to $70 March 1st ,but bear in mind you may in some instances work for three hours the first time you are inside a Luger, in order to make that hour's wage :)

Benefit package, RSP's, etc. ? Nope! Having a spouse with medical/dental etc. sure does help!
I'll be back at this subject, but I'll close with a piece of advice: Specialize!! Whether it's 1911's like me, or Lugers, Mauser rifles, Browning High Powers....hey, AR's are hot! work on guns you REALLY like, get to know them better than anyone else, and the world will beat a path to your door :)


Gunnar

www.armco-guns.com
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Hello Gunnar, just read your post and I've been looking into becoming a gunsmith. I can't seem to find any schools in Western Canada. I'm considering an online course but can't find a mentor or somewhere I could do a part time apprenticeship.
Can you point me in the right direction.
Frank
 
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