Gunsmith Schools, which ones are good?

[Gert Odendaal]

Hello all,

I'm a semi-stay at home dad, that works two other jobs as well as watching my 3yr-old. I have recently become infected with firearms as a hobby. I'd like to see if I can turn it into a business.
I have been looking a gunsmith schools, and I can't seem to find real info on the good vs. the bad. An online course works very well for me as I work odd hours. But are these course's worth it? Can I actually become a gunsmith and make a living with it? Which one's should I avoid? Many sound too good to be true.

Example, PSU (phoenix state) claims to train you in 6 weeks to a master level with your choice of secondary like reloading, and get you a state and local license with an FFL for $250.

Others charge alittle more, some much, much more. (4k+)

Then there are community colleges with aren't in my area, so that would be a huge problem, housing, tuition etc.. I don't mind work hard for it, I just don't want to work in vain.
Any info would be beyond helpful! Thanks in advance!

I currently have the privilege to have a gunsmith as a mentor while I am learning as much as possible regarding gunsmith skills. I am a novice /wanna be gunsmith.

As I see it, it is not so simple to follow this road via internet school , to become a gunsmith, you need to be multi-skilled, you need to have skills and knowledge about milling machines, drilling machines, tig/mig/gas welding skills, hand-equipment /machine equipment skills/knowledge, design and artistic skills, a lot more other type of skills to enable you to solve problems, re-loading knowledge and you need to know the law regarding fire-arms and the use of fire-arms.

As you can see it is a very broad spectrum you need to cover, I do not think it is possible for a school to cover all this in six weeks period. Go to the nearest gunsmith in your area and ask him to assist you, that maybe the surest way to become a gunsmith.

I have a link you can take a look at where I am busy building/restoring a .375 H&H Magnum, there are already a few skills you need to acquire, it is not impossible, but start at the right place and you will enjoy every moment.


http://http://www.gunsite.co.za/forums/showthread.php?24182-375H-amp-H-Restoration-and-rebuilding-project

 

[joe0121]

There is a school in Northern Arizona Near Payson I think

Yavapai College : Gunsmithing Program

I have had a guy attending there do work and it was awesome. He spent some time moonlighting at Schneider barrels lapping barrels. IMO take a Machining course first then go to GS school. When I finish my BS in Network Admin I am taking a weekend machining course. I will start by making form 1 suppressors for myself, threading my own barrels, building AR's and 1911 ETC maybe go to an armorers course or two here and there. I figure after 15-20 years Ill get sick of fixing servers and have amassed enough equipment to get started gunsmiths. Only problem is there are no smith close to me whom I trust to apprentice under.

 

[btibrandscom]

Hi guys, I was interested in taking an Gunsmith Schools and was ... One of my good friends owns a machine shop, and is a gunsmith.

Metal Targets

 

[shortgrass]

Hi guys, I was interested in taking an Gunsmith Schools and was ... One of my good friends owns a machine shop, and is a gunsmith.

Metal Targets

Machining skill is important, but isn't the 'end all/be all' of gunsmithing. There's a hugh difference between "todays' machinist and the old school guys that 'grew-up' with manual machining. Most small gunsmithing shops use manual machines. Being a 'machinist' won't make you a stock maker, it won't make you a metal finisher (machinists expect what they make to be 'sellable' right off the machine, no hand work involved), it won't have you ready to hand fit a part or re-solder the rib(s) on classic double. There's much more to being a gunsmith than machine work. What the schools have over the correspondence/interdnet courses is you have a real gunsmith looking over your shoulder to advise you and show you easier/faster/better ways to get the desired results. Just because a guy happens to be a machinist doesn't make him a gunsmith....

 

[RMulhern]

Take up plumbing, electrical, or carpentry work....and you'll be better off!!

 

[shortgrass]

Take up plumbing, electrical, or carpentry work....and you'll be better off!!

And that ^^^^^^^ is probably he best advice given in this thread!

 

[sable tireur]

Shockandawe1980,

Machining skill is important, but isn't the 'end all/be all' of gunsmithing.

No it isn't but it is the one skill which requires a shop, the machines and the instructor in order to learn. It's much simpler and less costly to take these courses at a community college than it is to acquire the machines and try to teach yourself. Most of the other skills we learned in school are bench techniques and metal joining. Unless you used a stock duplicator some of this was done on manual machines then a ton of hand work at your bench. I write a program now and do most of the inletting on my mill.

With two jobs and a 3 year old I'd say your time is full no matter how excited you get thinking about gunsmithing. I suggest getting some books from the library and some DVDs to get started studying as much of the generalized information as you can. You Tube for the great majority of stuff you find there is useless. There are some well done pieces surrounded by a ton of crap. There are also some very good websites which have tutorials which might help with some techniques and problem solving.

Start small. Try doing some simple repairs. Things like wood or metal checking is in demand and can be done in your spare time at home with little investment. Timing and tuning revolvers is another task readily learned and accomplished at home. There is really no need to be the best all around gunmaker these days. In fact, they are getting scarce. Find out what you really enjoy doing and head in that direction.

Regards.

 

[shortgrass]

Shockandawe1980,

No it isn't but it is the one skill which requires a shop, the machines and the instructor in order to learn. It's much simpler and less costly to take these courses at a community college than it is to acquire the machines and try to teach yourself. Most of the other skills we learned in school are bench techniques and metal joining. Unless you used a stock duplicator some of this was done on manual machines then a ton of hand work at your bench. I write a program now and do most of the inletting on my mill.

With two jobs and a 3 year old I'd say your time is full no matter how excited you get thinking about gunsmithing. I suggest getting some books from the library and some DVDs to get started studying as much of the generalized information as you can. You Tube for the great majority of stuff you find there is useless. There are some well done pieces surrounded by a ton of crap. There are also some very good websites which have tutorials which might help with some techniques and problem solving.

Start small. Try doing some simple repairs. Things like wood or metal checking is in demand and can be done in your spare time at home with little investment. Timing and tuning revolvers is another task readily learned and accomplished at home. There is really no need to be the best all around gunmaker these days. In fact, they are getting scarce. Find out what you really enjoy doing and head in that direction.

Regards.

I started gunsmithing school in '91 and graduated in '93. We were taught then to make stocks by hand from a blank. If you can learn to do it that way, a good pre-inlet is a breeze. I had 16 yrs. experience as a 'job shop' machinst before I enrolled. The machining part came easy. Being mechanically inclined made design, Function, and Repair easy. making that first stock by hand, from a blank, made me realise nothing is/was out of the question. All told, I made 6 stocks while in school. I still make about one per yr, now. I got 'handed' a lot of work that came in "off the street". It was one of those jobs where I re-soldered the bottom and then the top ribs on a 20g N.I.D. Learning metal finishing (like would be acceptable to any ACGG menmber) taught me more about the details. Details that can be applied to most any task. I guess you didn't read the last sentence of post #4.

 

[sable tireur]

shortgrass,

Machining skill is important, but isn't the 'end all/be all' of gunsmithing. There's a hugh difference between "todays' machinist and the old school guys that 'grew-up' with manual machining. Most small gunsmithing shops use manual machines. Being a 'machinist' won't make you a stock maker, it won't make you a metal finisher (machinists expect what they make to be 'sellable' right off the machine, no hand work involved), it won't have you ready to hand fit a part or re-solder the rib(s) on classic double. There's much more to being a gunsmith than machine work. What the schools have over the correspondence/interdnet courses is you have a real gunsmith looking over your shoulder to advise you and show you easier/faster/better ways to get the desired results. Just because a guy happens to be a machinist doesn't make him a gunsmith....

I started gunsmithing school in '91 and graduated in '93. We were taught then to make stocks by hand from a blank. If you can learn to do it that way, a good pre-inlet is a breeze. I had 16 yrs. experience as a 'job shop' machinst before I enrolled. The machining part came easy. Being mechanically inclined made design, Function, and Repair easy. making that first stock by hand, from a blank, made me realise nothing is/was out of the question. All told, I made 6 stocks while in school. I still make about one per yr, now. I got 'handed' a lot of work that came in "off the street". It was one of those jobs where I re-soldered the bottom and then the top ribs on a 20g N.I.D. Learning metal finishing (like would be acceptable to any ACGG menmber) taught me more about the details. Details that can be applied to most any task. I guess you didn't read the last sentence of post #4.

Shortgrass,

"I guess you didn't read the last sentence of post #4"

This is the only sentence in response #4:


"Glad to see you posted the question. I think this is the best place to get good advice on anything shooting related!"


Perhaps you meant Post #5…


"[FONT=&quot]Hands on experience is worth twice as much as book smarts..."[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]I guess this is part of the 'details' you were taught so much about…[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]

"Learning metal finishing (like would be acceptable to any ACGG menmber) taught me more about the details. Details that can be applied to most any task."

I don't find any reason to get into a spitting contest with you over this. Here are a couple of thoughts on the subjects broached by you.


I have always found that this statement regarding books, learning and hands on experience to boil down to being self-serving and a method of self-aggrandizement. Those who look down on education through books as being a lesser pursuit while learning through years of trial and error using the hands on approach are celebrated as the pinnacle of success. Try telling this to a doctor or a civil engineer and dozens of other career paths including gunsmithing that they can give up the book learning in favor of practicing hands on, trial and error with patients, roadways or other professional paths.


This is where you and I will disagree mostly because you didn't read and understand the path I was suggesting. Since he had a 3-year old (now 10 years old) and was working two jobs, he just didn't have the time to devote to your path. Stated succinctly, I was simply suggesting that he could get started on his path without sacrificing the jobs or time with his daughter. This in no way should have been construed as being a method to avoid a real, live school that teaches gunsmithing. The suggestion of taking a machine shop course was exactly that, to take a course to get the working familiarity with the machines while learning some basic skills to be applied later to gunsmithing since those schools were out of the question at that time. It does not imply that you have to become a machinist at all or that by being a machinist qualifies you to be a gunsmith. It is simply part of the skill set.


I have also found through education and experience that it most often is a case of a combination of both, book learning and hands on. One supplements the other. It's not a case of either or but a combination of both.

Regards.
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT][FONT=&quot][/FONT]​

 

[trappers son]

the gunsmith school in Prescott is very good. My gunsmith Dan Petersen teaches there and you get hands on experience in his shop as well as other opportunities. He makes barrels with an old pratt and the barrels always come out great. He is a perfectionist and would be a good teacher. The school has other good teachers as well.