Where to find gunsmithing tools
- Thread starter Rebelson
- Start date
Guntech about covered it in a nutshell.
For strictly gun related tools, if you want used, head for every gun show for a couple hours drive around, take cash, and know what you are willing to pay.
Then, after you have spent a couple dozen days, and several hundreds of dollars on gas and food to come up empty handed, order a Brownells catalog, and the prices don't look too bad all of a sudden.
Lathes? Kijiji, Craigslist, and about a thousand places online that advertise machine tools.
Order a KBC Tools catalog. Pretty much as close to a machine shop Christmas Wish Book as there is. It will give you a good reference for what is out there in the way of drills and measuring equipment, as well as some idea what they retail for.
Don't buy tools you think you need, buy the stuff that you have a use for, else you end up with a bin full of tools that have never been used.
Cheers
Trev
For small lathes and mills even the BusyBee stuff isn't too bad. Most of it is made in Taiwan which still a few notches up from the China made stuff.
If you can, a high precision tool room lathe would be ideal. But they are expensive to buy new.
If you can, a high precision tool room lathe would be ideal. But they are expensive to buy new.
I made my barrel vises and action wrenches. Made and sold a few barrel vises, but gave up on that because of the material cost and time required.
What stage are you at? Do you have a shop? If you want things like a lathe, you are going to need a place to set things up.
If you are serious about gunsmithing, and want to be able to do a variety of things, the array of tools that you will acquire is amazing.
What stage are you at? Do you have a shop? If you want things like a lathe, you are going to need a place to set things up.
If you are serious about gunsmithing, and want to be able to do a variety of things, the array of tools that you will acquire is amazing.
- Location
- calgary alberta
Most of the best tools are made for a specific use. IF they happen to get used again it is a bonus.
Buying a cheap lathe will give you poor results. Quality machines you will pay for, but they pay for themselves in time.
I have a small home shop making gas checks for reloaders and i have machining backround, I've always done work on my own firearms and I've done some rebarreling work with a friend. Looking to find a good gunsmithing school aswell so I can learn some real skills the proper way.
Anybody know of any or a shop willing to take on an apprentice? I'm willing to relocate.
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- Location
- Beaverlodge, Alberta
For a good lathe, watch kijiji and have cash ready. Good deals do come up. I wound up getting a Clausing 12x36 in near new condition with a ton of excellent tooling for $1100. Other than the small spindle bore it's an ideal hobby level smithing lathe. The tooling it came with would have cost me several thousand dollars and a new built lathe of equal quality would have cost me a ton more. Just keep your eyes open they are out there.
- Location
- West Quebec
^^^ The best inventory around and decent shipping
There are three levels of gunsmiths and of course, some in between. Some may not agree with me.
There are tool collectors who generally end up in parts swapping.
There are those that buy certain tools to save time and make up the others because they can and see a need for it.
There are those that build jigs and tools for mostly everything they do because they can.
Some smiths are more skilled than others.
It really bothered me that I bought some tools in the past only to discover I had to redesign them to work better.
It helps to apprentice, but that is hard to come by as most shops are family owned or can't afford an apprentice.
Get a good quality lathe and possibly a mill later to expand your tool making abilities.
There are tool collectors who generally end up in parts swapping.
There are those that buy certain tools to save time and make up the others because they can and see a need for it.
There are those that build jigs and tools for mostly everything they do because they can.
Some smiths are more skilled than others.
It really bothered me that I bought some tools in the past only to discover I had to redesign them to work better.
It helps to apprentice, but that is hard to come by as most shops are family owned or can't afford an apprentice.
Get a good quality lathe and possibly a mill later to expand your tool making abilities.
