Thinking of going to Gunsmith School
Talked to a few though email some thought I should post here. This might be the wrong Forum to use but going to. Colorado School of Trades is kinda of winning out at the moment. But would like opinions on others. Know about the Pennslvannia Gunsmith School to. I live in Nebraska if that makes a difference.
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I sure don't want to be raining on your parade, but if you become a gunsmith you won't be working on guns to make money. Rather, you will be working on guns because you like to work on guns. Gunsmiths are notorious for not making much money considering the skills they have. You could make more if you drove a truck, or applied the machinests skills at some factory making widgets.
If someone hasn't already told you that, you needed to hear it.
My humble opinion,
Rafter-S
Edited by - Rafter-S on 10/23/2002 23:57:400 -
Pdog, read Rafter's post and then read it again, he is giving you the straight story. Most gun smiths (but not all) learned their trade either working for Uncle Sam in armories or are retired machinists who find working on guns to be an entertaining way to wind out the clock and earn some extra money.
It is going to cost you both time and money to get a real gun smith education and there is a downside to this occupation. As a dealer I hate to admit this, but there has been, and will continue to be, a slow steady drop in the numbers of people interested in the shooting sports- hunting in particular. You will be competing with established gun smith's for a shrinking number of customers. There are many reasons for this and they could be the subject of many posts, but the urbanization of America, restrictive legislation, the mis-education youngsters are receiving about guns, lack of open space and just a plain lack of free time amoung folks in general is causing a drop off in gun ownership and interest shooting. Just finding a place to shoot in many areas is impossible. Gun collecting is on the raise- but as a rule, collectors don't do much business with gun smiths
I would not recommend this line of work unless you have another means of income and simply like the idea of working with firearms rather than the "widgets" Rafter mentioned- and the widgets pay more $$$. We have gun smiths in this forum so it would be interesting to hear how they feel about this subject and whether or not they'd recommend it as a career. Just my opinion.
Mark T. Christian0 -
I attended (and completed) Colorado School of Trades in 1982-3, and found it to be well worth the time and money. Sad to say, there is a lot of truth in what Rafter-S and Mark Christian have to say. I have been a general repair gunsmith since leaving the school, performing almost the complete range of tasks requested of a gunsmith, with a heavy emphasis on rebluing. I am not wealthy. There are, however, exceptions. They are almost entirely among those who specialize in one area or another, do the job well, and become well known. For example, there are several internationally known pistolsmiths who specialize in the customization of 1911-type pistols and have a very long waiting list. There are those who put their knowledge and inventiveness together and produce specialized tools or gunparts. I don't want to specifically name any names, but a slow trip through Brownells catalog will make some names jump out at you. There are famous stockmakers, barrelmakers, metal finishers, etc. If you are good at what you do you will never lack for work. I would not recommend being a one-man operation and being a generalist (voice of experience) because you will find many jobs which demand too much time in labor, ingenuity, search for and cost of parts, etc. to make the job profitable. Specialization is the way to go. I do agree that guns and the gunsmithing trade are at the beginning of a long decline and eventual death due to both politics and technology; but I also feel that a good man in the right area of the trade will have plenty of work for years to come. Location also counts for a lot. There are far more hunters and shooters in Oregon than in New York City. Are you the gentlemen that I exchanged e-mails with a month or two ago about the Colorado School of Trades? If not, and/or you wish to discuss it further, you may contact me at ccnorth@teleport.com. 0 -
I know its not a huge profit area but it has to better then what i am doing now. Which is out of work and no real skill to get another job. Der Gebirgsjager, yeah we talked a couple months ago. But u raise another point I need to think about. 0 -
I, for one, would greatly encourage you to pursue gunsmithing. There are some talented gunsmiths who have a considerable backlog of work. I looked up one, only to find he wasn't presently taking in any more work due to the volume. The gunshop I frequent has often been overwhelmed with jobs. This is a country where people are ashamed to work with their hands.
I'd recommend that you get as much training as you can and then seek out a good gunsmith where you might apprentice with him. There's something about working with someone that will have real dividends in the long run even if the pay might not. I imagine that there are a number of gunsmiths nearing retirement and they might appreciate your assistance as they pass on what they know.
Three Precious Metals: Gold, silver and lead0 -
not to butt in on pdog's post, but how long is the gunsmith course in CO?
i would like to have the know how just to beable to do my own work not that i would ever have time to go back to school with farming and ranching but would be something i would like to do.
doc
Edited by - cowdoc on 10/24/2002 21:31:220 -
cowdoc-An interesting name, that! Are you a Veterinarian? If so, you are already engaged in a valuable service! Nevertheless, I shall give a short discertation on Colorado School of Trades. The school is located in Lakewood, CO, just off Colfax Blvd. which is a "main drag". Lakewood is next door to Denver, and is one of those cities the identity of which exists only on maps, but not in practicality. There is continuious city for miles. The building reminds one more of a factory than a school, and in fact it only has one classroom. It is large, drafty, and dirty--although during the hot part of the summer you would wish for a draft. One could liken attendance at the school to be closer to a regular job than academia. One shows up at 8:00 a.m., gets a half-hour lunch, and leaves at 4:30 p.m., Mon.-Fri. The instruction consists largely of the "hands on" method. The public has access to the school via a store front which opens off Hoyt Ave. They (the public) are offered gunsmithing services (performed by the students--much like a barber or dental college) at cut rates, so naturally they go to the local gunshows and buy the sorriest examples of gunmaking possible, bring them in to have them turned into the proverbial "silk purse from a sow's ear", and resell them at an unreasonable profit at the next gunshow. Personally, I defeated this system by taking a whole International Travelall full of personal and friend's guns to the school, and insisting on working on them only ("Hey...I'm paying you to be here-you're not paying me. When the situation changes I'll work on the junkers.") I believe I worked on two of the public's guns while I was there, but did leave with some mighty nice firearms. When I attended, the school was divided into the Pseudo, Stockmaking, Welding, Machine Shop, and Design and Function sections. The Pseudo section consist of learning the basics--how to file, saw, polish and blue, etc. Mostly handtools. The Design and Function section consists of taking apart and reassembling as many different firearms as possible to learn their workings, and general repairs. The others are pretty much self-explanitory. Each section is overseen by an expert in that block of knowledge, and each student has his own workbench. If a problem or question arises the student may approach the teacher's workbench and ask for assistance with the problem; and occassionally the better teachers make a tour of their section and see what the student is doing. The course takes one year (average), and today upon completion one leaves with an Occupational Associates Degree. When I went through one acquired a Certificate of Completion, which I display with pride on my shop wall. What makes this school different and worthwhile is that the instruction is by doing, rather than by book, video and lecture. The proof their system works is that a very high percentage of the graduates go on to actually become gunsmiths, and also that their program has been around since the 1930s. Other, more recent graduates--please forgive any inaccuracies; my information dates from 1983. How do I summarize Colorado School of Trades? Two Thumbs Up! 0 -
Well I looked them up on the web using google for a search on Gunsmith Schools. From what I got program takes 14 months. 0 -
Well, I for one rarely need a smith's services. I have nothing against working with my hands and have a well stocked workshop. But when I DO need a smith, I want a good one. And I want to be able to poke around a store. My advice? If you do it, get your FFL as well and open a store/repair facility, but DON'T count on it as your sole income, rather a spare time thing.
"...hit your enemy in the belly, and kick him when he is down, and boil his prisoners in oil- if you take any- and torture his women and children. Then people will keep clear of you..." -Admiral of the Fleet Lord Fisher, speaking at the Hague Peace Conf0 -
Pdog:
You've got some really good advice here and I'd like to add a comment about your second post about where you say you know it' not a huge profit area and you have no skills to get another job.
I've seen a few top-notch gunsmiths close shop because of all the reasons you've already heard and they were starving.
As a new graduate fresh out of gunsmith school you just couldn't compete with an established firm of 40 years that turns out excellent work and has to close it's doors because of zero profits.
You should have all the necessary skills required before you enter a school for this field.
Have you thought about the machinery and tooling you'll need to get a shop set up? I have a home shop where I play at gunsmithing and anything else I feel like,- five lathes, 2 mills, saws, heliarc welders, precision grinders, tons of tooling and fixtures, at least $30,000 worth at used prices. I can make a stem for your watch or turn a 5 foot cannon barrel and I still need more tools occasionally. It would take a lot of profit to set up and support even a basic gunsmithing business.
I would take some of these guys' excellent advise: take a job and develop some machinist, welding and wood working skills, then get into gunsmithing as recreation.0 -
Pdog, Something to think about, if these gunsmith's have time to do these lenghty letters how busy are they?
Jonk, If I'm showing you the latest and greatest, how can I be making money bluing or polishing or what ever else?
Just something to think about Pdog.0
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