Gunsmithing
 

With all the spoon threads I've seen lately, and getting back into shooting again, I was wondering if this is a career worth getting into. Things are slowing down at the shop, and quite frankly, I'm getting burned out. I know we have at least one Smith here, maybe more.

I've been a tool and die polisher for almost 20 years, and I'm VERY mechanically inclined. I've noticed that when I'm cleaning my spoons that the fitting, and finish of the internals is crude, compared to what I do on a daily basis. I've done some polishing on the barrel feed ramp, and light trigger raceway polishing on my 1911, and would love to go deeper, and do an actual trigger job on it as well. But, I also believe in my first rule : Don't screw with things you don't understand!, so I haven't messed with the sear, disconnector, or anything on the hammer.

So what says they Brain Trust ? I know I can learn it, and do it, but is it a dying art? As much as I'd love doing it, I don't want to be a starving artist, and a fat boy's gotta eat!

Hell if I can do it you can do it! I'm self taught and the fact that I'm old AND retired from another biz enables me to do it at my leisure. More like a paying hobby really. Now Neil (Mericet) is going to school and planning on working as an apprentice and the whole deal to get his master smith degree. If I recall he plans on working on fine guns and actually becoming a maker of fine guns. He would be your mentor as I have accidently been his. Is there money in it enough to make a living? Yeah I guess. Working on so called "black guns" will be your bread and butter along with the 1911 platform. If you learn those I guess you could work as a smith for some of the big box stores as they really need some people that know what the hell they are doing. My niche' is more restoration than repair, although minor repairs and things such as cleaning, mounting scopes, etc. at the shop keeps the cash flowing. Talk to Neil, I think he would be a better voice on what you young un's can do to make a living out of it. If it weren't for social security, my pension, and the band, I would indeed be a starving artist.

* note* don't be filing on sears and triggers they end up being a liability in the biz. Somebody gets hurt...you worked on it last. Replacement triggers OK, modifying triggers? you are at risk. ***

Thanks! Don't sell yourself short though. I've learned the hard way that if you keep your mouth shut, and your ears open, most of the "old timers" will teach you stuff that isn't in any manual, or textbook. When someone offers you hard learned experience, you take it graciously.

So many of the internal parts...if not all..are cast instead of machined now which I think is why you find them to be rough/crude. I second the warning re: action work but plenty of Smittys do it.

go dig around inside a spanish double barrel. most of the internals look like they were made with a hand grinder. just awful stuff.

I would think that gunsmithing would be a very rewarding career, especially when I see the work that David and Neil, etc... have shown here. I don't "produce" anything tangible in my line of work (IT security), so I tend to gravitate to hobbies that enable me to make something tangible (beer, ammunition, music, Porsches, etc...). For me, it's an enjoyable hobby and I know my limits, but I can see how it would be an interesting career, especially if you're mechanically inclined...

Art, don't damn yourself with such faint praise! You're a craftsman of the highest order! Not saying the OP isn't highly skilled too, but the projects you post are beautiful, and not everyone has the hand/eye/patience to do what you do! I always look forward to your 'look what I'm doing' threads!

Mike,
Thanks! You're very kind! The basic stuff I do is nothing compared to what David and Neil can do, but you have to start somewhere! I am very happy with the Parkerizing that I did on my Remington Rand M1911A1 and I have one more to go! The prep work was the most important step to ensure a great result, so I'm going to send the slide to David so he can draw file the slide back to the way it's supposed to look. My local sandblaster will blast it with 70 grit aluminum oxide and I'll do the easy part (Parkerizing). I'll post pics of the whole process when I get started, probably this winter...

A couple of points to consider. My school (Montgomery Community College) has a day, night and weekend class. In the day and night class (2 year) you can do an associates degree, weekend (4 year) is limited to certificate/diploma only. Our class size is 15 students. That means we can start 30 new students every year in the day and night program (not sure on the weekend). We currently have a waiting list of 140 people wanting to get in. There is normally some drops on the list but it mostly takes two years from application to starting this course. Our program head says he can place every single graduating student (if the student is willing to relocate). One of our recent graduates just received an offer from Benelli, another interviewed for a position with the FBI. So, yes, there is opportunities out there. For all the information on the program, call the school and speak to Karen Frye or Riley Beaman.

If you can not take the two years to study, another option (and it could be an excellent primer) is to do some of the NRA short term gunsmithing courses taught by our college (and others). You do one or two weeks of fairly intense training on a very specific subject. I just did a week course in checkering, there was a 1911 build class at the same time and earlier this year there was a 2 week 1911 course presented by Bob Marvel. The Bob Marvel course filled up on the day it was announced.

I do not think it is a dying art but until you build a name for yourself you are not looking at earning big money either. The last time I saw statistics on salaries, the national average for gunsmiths was around $40K per year.

If you want to know more, I will answer as best I can!

Of course, you can also look at my blog http://guns.claasen.us/ to see what I have been doing so far.

What Mericet said.
I've been doing it as a hobby for 25 years and have only recently started as a serious business.
Black gun, 1911's and Glock building and tuning are what most people are interested in. Plus I have a lot of contacts in the police/firefighter field. I am able to give them better prices than most, because of low overhead, and still manage to turn a buck or two. I have to keep my current full-time IT job for insurance, but more and more they don't like old guys :)

spot on.