Years ago, I considered attending the Colorado School of Trades, but didn't go. At the time, it was the most-mentioned North American school to prepare one for direct entry to the industry. Today, it's still the place I'd suggest looking to first, if you think that becoming a qualified gunsmith is something that you really want to accomplish.
Where to start with gunsmithing?
- Thread starter mcgrizzle
- Start date
When we more mature guys were starting out, surplus Mausers were everywhere. In addition, there were plenty of old Winchester lever actions and inexpensive 22's to learn on. That is no longer the case.
As far as instruction is concerned, there is a lot of information available from guys on forums like this, if you can separate the wheat from the chaff. In addition, there are some guys providing good information on You Tube. I, myself, am responsible for some mediocre videos which show what a bumbling old guy, with limited resources, limited skills, and limited intellect can do. @WillHenrysWorkshop-gunsmith.
As far as instruction is concerned, there is a lot of information available from guys on forums like this, if you can separate the wheat from the chaff. In addition, there are some guys providing good information on You Tube. I, myself, am responsible for some mediocre videos which show what a bumbling old guy, with limited resources, limited skills, and limited intellect can do. @WillHenrysWorkshop-gunsmith.
I'll add that despite the high cost, I tried for four years to get on the equivalent course at NAIT, only to have each and every application replied to with "we don't have enough applications, so course is cancelled". May have been a mixed blessing...
Honestly, unless you go for a Green Card in the Excited States, as well as going there to get a formal education in Gunsmithing, it seems a great hobby, but a lousy way to feed yourself these days. Seems to me that there might actually be a career stream, in the US.
Dozens of books out there, but most are 100+ years old, or near enough, and assume access to cheap raw material (surplus firearms) that are now considered more valuable than the guns that they could be made in to then. Shop for the amateur efforts that resulted, as potential donors, perhaps.
My one solid recommendation, is to take some business book-keeping courses. Almost to a man, the 'Gunsmiths' I have met over the years, were frikken LOUSY at actual Business. It's one thing to carry on while you know you are subsidizing what you are selling at a loss, it's another to bleed money without knowing you are cut!
As a guy interested in Machining/Metalwork/Mechanics/Woodworking, I once thought I wanted to go that way, but a need to feed myself, took priority...
A lot of good points
Don’t want to be too much of a Debbie downer but take a look around you and it’s just not a viable future. These stores close every day.
Just like I tell everyone, concentrate on getting a job with a large corporation that has excellent benefits, flexible work schedules, and pensions.
It’s a hobby, ####ty paying career.
I was in a band as a young guy, but thankfully my dad laid it out where I could follow my dream and live in a van or go to school and get a trade.
At 21 I bought my first house.
No regrets, retirement in T-5 years.
Don’t want to be too much of a Debbie downer but take a look around you and it’s just not a viable future. These stores close every day.
Just like I tell everyone, concentrate on getting a job with a large corporation that has excellent benefits, flexible work schedules, and pensions.
It’s a hobby, ####ty paying career.
I was in a band as a young guy, but thankfully my dad laid it out where I could follow my dream and live in a van or go to school and get a trade.
At 21 I bought my first house.
No regrets, retirement in T-5 years.
Allow me to add my 2c.
The above advise is sadly accurate. Gunsmithing is a tough gig in this nation as we have a small population and a smaller (although avid and active) gun culture. That said, politics are the primary "black cloud" on the horizon and we're about to see which way the wind blows in that regard. If we are blessed with a reprieve, it will be a reprieve only in the grand scheme of things and last as long as we keep the 'other guys' out of office. Maybe it buys us a decade, maybe it buys us a couple years... The fact remains that this is a trade that will always live under political threat. Some guys can accept that, others opt to develop and ply their skills in more stable industries.
All that said, I have an optimistic viewpoint on the situation in that, BECAUSE its such an unsecure and niche trade in our nation and very few of us are willing to stick our neck out to do it; The demand for smiths is quite high.
Every competent smith I know and interact with is swamped with work. Further, the internet allows us access to clients across the nation so ones particular location isn't a huge factor.
on a more practical note, I would submit that there are various flavors of gunsmith:
Those who do cleaning/maintenance and small repairs.
Those who specialize in full restorations and/or stock makers.
Those who put together custom builds for clients (LR target rifles or race pistols for example).
And custom manufacturers of firearms and components.
Any of the above should involve a fully skilled and vetted individual but I believe it is important to note a significantly increasing level of tooling/operational costs as well as potential profitability AND loss as we go down this list.
The small repair guy is (in my opinion) going to have a tough time convincing someone to incur the cost of shipping their firearm across the country to have it cleaned (for example) and is therefore, likely going to need to rely on a more local client base, which may limit his operation to being an enjoyable side gig.
In contrast, the guy who decides to go into the barrel or action manufacture business will need to invest significant capital and and have the ability to market nationally or even internationally in order to get things off the ground. The potential pay off is that if it works, it can become a successful and profitable endeavor and support both the owner's family and those of their employees . However, as we have seen in multiple cases, one piece of political legislation can "Avro Arrow" your company over night.
I would advise someone considering this industry to decide what flavor of smithing they have the appetite for/interest in while at the same time recommending they pursue as broad a skillset as possible. No one wants to be "a one trick pony", the wider the variety of jobs one can truthfully say yes to, the better their shot at paying the mortgage each month.
I would further submit that for anything beyond cleaning and simple repairs, getting a ticket in machining is THE place to start.
A machinist's skills mesh very well with those of a smith as any sort of metal work on a firearm IS machine work.
"I am a machinist, I work with firearms". This is no different than an artist saying "I am an artist, I paint with oils".
Yes there are artistic techniques unique to working in oils, and simply being an artist doesn't make one skilled in working with oils. The fact remains that machining is a recognized and makeable trade in Canada and that gunsmithing is not.
If one were to take the next 4 years and get an apprenticeship in a good shop, learning the machining trade while maintaining an inquisitive eye for "how does this apply to smithing work" they would be lightyears ahead of one simply tinkering and watching youtube (or taking a night course at NAIT where they'll learn what a lathe mostly looks like). They would also have the added benefit of coming away with a redseal trade that can be applied across the nation in any number of industries.
This isn't 'job done', it's the starting point... Read voraciously on the subject: Books like The E-myth revisited and Who not How are excellent resources for someone considering self employment.
Listen to podcasts like Machine shop Mastery, The business of Machining, Within Tolerance and The Lean Built Podcast.
Watch youtube, ask questions on forums, buy beater guns and practice... do whatever you can to be the culmination of Gavin Gear, Larry Potterfield, Ian McCollum, Doug Turnbull, Brian Litz, Kevin Brittingham(although perhaps not in attitude), Jon Addis and many more...
Politics are uncertain but we do live in an exciting time where information is available, opportunity is global and skilled people are in high demand.
Regards,
Paul.
The above advise is sadly accurate. Gunsmithing is a tough gig in this nation as we have a small population and a smaller (although avid and active) gun culture. That said, politics are the primary "black cloud" on the horizon and we're about to see which way the wind blows in that regard. If we are blessed with a reprieve, it will be a reprieve only in the grand scheme of things and last as long as we keep the 'other guys' out of office. Maybe it buys us a decade, maybe it buys us a couple years... The fact remains that this is a trade that will always live under political threat. Some guys can accept that, others opt to develop and ply their skills in more stable industries.
All that said, I have an optimistic viewpoint on the situation in that, BECAUSE its such an unsecure and niche trade in our nation and very few of us are willing to stick our neck out to do it; The demand for smiths is quite high.
Every competent smith I know and interact with is swamped with work. Further, the internet allows us access to clients across the nation so ones particular location isn't a huge factor.
on a more practical note, I would submit that there are various flavors of gunsmith:
Those who do cleaning/maintenance and small repairs.
Those who specialize in full restorations and/or stock makers.
Those who put together custom builds for clients (LR target rifles or race pistols for example).
And custom manufacturers of firearms and components.
Any of the above should involve a fully skilled and vetted individual but I believe it is important to note a significantly increasing level of tooling/operational costs as well as potential profitability AND loss as we go down this list.
The small repair guy is (in my opinion) going to have a tough time convincing someone to incur the cost of shipping their firearm across the country to have it cleaned (for example) and is therefore, likely going to need to rely on a more local client base, which may limit his operation to being an enjoyable side gig.
In contrast, the guy who decides to go into the barrel or action manufacture business will need to invest significant capital and and have the ability to market nationally or even internationally in order to get things off the ground. The potential pay off is that if it works, it can become a successful and profitable endeavor and support both the owner's family and those of their employees . However, as we have seen in multiple cases, one piece of political legislation can "Avro Arrow" your company over night.
I would advise someone considering this industry to decide what flavor of smithing they have the appetite for/interest in while at the same time recommending they pursue as broad a skillset as possible. No one wants to be "a one trick pony", the wider the variety of jobs one can truthfully say yes to, the better their shot at paying the mortgage each month.
I would further submit that for anything beyond cleaning and simple repairs, getting a ticket in machining is THE place to start.
A machinist's skills mesh very well with those of a smith as any sort of metal work on a firearm IS machine work.
"I am a machinist, I work with firearms". This is no different than an artist saying "I am an artist, I paint with oils".
Yes there are artistic techniques unique to working in oils, and simply being an artist doesn't make one skilled in working with oils. The fact remains that machining is a recognized and makeable trade in Canada and that gunsmithing is not.
If one were to take the next 4 years and get an apprenticeship in a good shop, learning the machining trade while maintaining an inquisitive eye for "how does this apply to smithing work" they would be lightyears ahead of one simply tinkering and watching youtube (or taking a night course at NAIT where they'll learn what a lathe mostly looks like). They would also have the added benefit of coming away with a redseal trade that can be applied across the nation in any number of industries.
This isn't 'job done', it's the starting point... Read voraciously on the subject: Books like The E-myth revisited and Who not How are excellent resources for someone considering self employment.
Listen to podcasts like Machine shop Mastery, The business of Machining, Within Tolerance and The Lean Built Podcast.
Watch youtube, ask questions on forums, buy beater guns and practice... do whatever you can to be the culmination of Gavin Gear, Larry Potterfield, Ian McCollum, Doug Turnbull, Brian Litz, Kevin Brittingham(although perhaps not in attitude), Jon Addis and many more...
Politics are uncertain but we do live in an exciting time where information is available, opportunity is global and skilled people are in high demand.
Regards,
Paul.
