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Asgardnz, thanks for the response. I have done work in machine shops, but really only have basic familiarity with the various tools and machines. Repairing cameras in ages past (the old mechanical kind, this was before the digital era) has given me some insight into the workings of mechanisms, the fitting together of subsystems within the overall machine, and so forth. I'm 61 years old, so it's not like I'm gonna set the world on fire with my 'leet gunsmithing skillz. I just want to, as you say, learn what I might be good at (and that ain't woodwork, believe me) and concentrate on that aspect of things.
I've done much of what you've suggested, including beginning a collection of the guns I'm familiar with and interested in, and most of them didn't work at all. Slowly breaking them down, it becomes fairly clear what the malfunctions are, and a good many "unrepairable" firearms are working just fine now. Others are used as a source for parts, or are broken apart for study. It's been fascinating so far, interesting, educational, nerve-wracking and mostly entertaining.
I will never be a real gunsmith, but I can learn a few things. Above all, I want to be able to take care of the guns I own, and those of friends and family.
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