Welcome guest, is this your first visit? Create Account now to join.
  • Login:

Welcome to the NZ Hunting and Shooting Forums.

If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed.

Night Vision NZ DPT


User Tag List

+ Reply to Thread
Page 2 of 2 FirstFirst 12
Results 16 to 26 of 26
Like Tree66Likes

Thread: How to start gunsmithing

  1. #16
    Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2014
    Location
    Christchuch New Zealand
    Posts
    6,072
    Quote Originally Posted by gundoc View Post
    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.
    Cordite likes this.

  2. #17
    Member
    Join Date
    Feb 2017
    Location
    Jafa land
    Posts
    5,439
    Quote Originally Posted by Moa Hunter View Post
    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.

  3. #18
    Member Micky Duck's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2015
    Location
    Geraldine
    Posts
    24,657
    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.

  4. #19
    Member
    Join Date
    Dec 2017
    Location
    Scotland
    Posts
    123
    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.
    Micky Duck and Mathias like this.

  5. #20
    Member
    Join Date
    Jun 2013
    Location
    Middle Earth
    Posts
    4,287
    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)
    canross likes this.

  6. #21
    Member Cordite's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2017
    Location
    NZ Mainland (Dunedin)
    Posts
    5,526
    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.
    An itch ... is ... a desire to scratch

  7. #22
    Member Cordite's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2017
    Location
    NZ Mainland (Dunedin)
    Posts
    5,526
    Here is something else. It's not all about metal shop work.

    Attachment 111909
    An itch ... is ... a desire to scratch

  8. #23
    Member
    Join Date
    Feb 2013
    Location
    spreydon christcurch.
    Posts
    6,960
    Quote Originally Posted by gundoc View Post
    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.
    A330driver likes this.

  9. #24
    Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2014
    Location
    Central Otago
    Posts
    2,260
    Quote Originally Posted by Cordite View Post
    Here is something else. It's not all about metal shop work.

    Attachment 111909
    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!
    viper and Mathias like this.

  10. #25
    Member canross's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2017
    Location
    Chch
    Posts
    603
    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.
    Preacher and GDMP like this.

 

 

Similar Threads

  1. Show us your DIY gunsmithing jobs
    By Spanners in forum Projects and Home Builds
    Replies: 95
    Last Post: 13-08-2023, 07:27 PM
  2. SSRNZ no longer gunsmithing
    By Puffin in forum Firearms, Optics and Accessories
    Replies: 7
    Last Post: 07-04-2016, 06:46 PM

Tags for this Thread

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
Welcome to NZ Hunting and Shooting Forums! We see you're new here, or arn't logged in. Create an account, and Login for full access including our FREE BUY and SELL section Register NOW!!