Thread: How to start gunsmithing

Originally Posted by gundoc

I see you are in Southland which is not too far from me. Give me a PM and you can come and visit and I can give you some pointers.

@ Howa1500 Best offer you could ever get. Top man @gundoc that is a great offer.

Originally Posted by Moa Hunter

Ph the NZ Army recruiters and ask about becoming an Armorer in the Territorials. I am guessing you can do TF while still at school when you turn 16

That's a good idea.

gundoc....you are a gunuine GC. lets hope the young fella can take you up on the offer and get a foot in the door.....I know of a chap in states who does awesome custom rifle building,he is getting on and cant find young person to pass on skills to.... the old school hard earned little tricks of the trade die with the tradesman if they arent passed on.....the same in any trade.

A really good book is Precision rifle barrel fitting by John Hinnant.

I'm just starting out with gunsmithing/rifle building and wish you all the best. I've been breaking expensive stuff lately but am learning more each day on my self taught journey. An engineering qualification will help you.

Master the use of the lathe, milling machine and welding skills ( including tig and mig)
There are plenty of good books to read on the subject ( Roy Dunlap, and the gunsmith kinks series from brownels)

Great offer @gundoc. Where were you when I was 14? (-:

Other advice of course, get your FAL. Tinker away (it is YOUR gun after all) but leave the high pressure / load bearing parts of firearms safely alone.

Here is something else. It's not all about metal shop work.

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Originally Posted by gundoc

I see you are in Southland which is not too far from me. Give me a PM and you can come and visit and I can give you some pointers.

there ya go son a chance of spending sometime with an old master.Iveused his services over the years and hes good ,bloody good not only with his hands but explaining whats gone wrong and exactly how its fixed.
for a young buck youre aiming high -from me best of luck and heres to success ,may it be long and enjoyable.
that TF army option is also a cracker -familiarity with firearms ,life skills and i can tell you friendships and comaradrie that will carry you right through life.theres also a lot of hardwork adventure and fum to be had in the green machine.

Originally Posted by Cordite

Here is something else. It's not all about metal shop work.

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Glueing metal?? I thought this thread was about learning gunsmithing. There are probably a great many viable applications for glueing metal but I don't think firearms fall into that category (apart from stock repair). I am often accused of being a dinosaur but I am happy to embrace new technology when it is better than the old way. I don't think this is one of those occasions!

Lots of good advice here. Take Gundoc up on his offer – learning from a Master is a rare and valuable thing and those skills and tips will stay with you for the rest of your life, whatever you end up doing.

Some miscellaneous thoughts that come to mind:

Gunsmithing doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive. It’s easy to get tempted to buy the fanciest tools, take on the biggest jobs, etc etc, and if you take on more than you can handle it can be a frustrating fruitless experience.

Choose a project you’re interested in, read up on it to get a feel for the steps and challenges involved. (The internet provides a lot of knowledge quickly, but be aware that it is often incomplete or limited. Books are hard to get, take time to arrive, and aren’t easily searchable unless digitized, but often are far better written and logically laid out. Often books hold in depth basic information while the internet holds novel/unique/specialized knowledge. Both are valuable), consider how you will take on a challenge, consider your skills and tools at hand, then begin.

It’s not exciting, but practice on junk guns to begin with. You will make mistakes, you just won’t have damaged a valuable gun in the process. You can also experiment with techniques more when you aren’t worried about the outcome. You’ll also learn better ways to do things with time, so the best way you can think to do something when you begin might feel like a hack job to you when you’re more experienced. Plus junk guns (rusty .22’s, old single shot 12 gauges) usually take a lot of minor repairs but keep on shooting fine once their 50 years of dried grease, cracked stock, peened firing pins, and stripped out screws are replaced. Usually the materials to repair these guns are found in scrap heaps, which also helps keep the costs down.

Don’t get lazy or cut corners. It’s so easy to say, and so hard not to. When you’re in a rush or frustrated, take a break, take a nap, have something to eat and walk away for a bit. I’ve caused far more, and bigger problems than I’ve ever solved by cutting corners or trying to rush something. You’re going to do it (we all do), but learn from the experience, and maybe try to make sure you rush/try new techniques on small/low value projects… they hurt less to learn from!

Finally, and this is a big one, always do work that you are proud of. Don’t let someone push you into doing work you don’t think is acceptable, be it quality or safety wise. When you are learning you will be doing work for yourself, so don’t let your impatience or frustration get the better of you. You will learn a lot more and feel better about things if you take the time to do things properly, seek help when needed, and ultimately do it how you wanted, even if it takes extra time.