I'm thinking of asking a gunsmith...

phydaux · June 30, 2011, 07:08 PM

There's a local gunsmith not too far from my house. I'm thinking of asking him to take me on as an apprentice. Unpaid, two days a week.

What do you think are the odds that he'll say yes?

oneoldsap · June 30, 2011, 07:33 PM

Very few unasked questions get answered ! Take something that you have built , along when you go to ask .

GURU1911 · June 30, 2011, 08:29 PM

Make up a simple resume, listing the skills you already possess & are willing to demonstrate, upon request. You may start out sweeping the floor, cleaning the toilet, or other grunt work. Do it with a great attitude & show a willingness to do with excellence whatever is asked of you.

Guru1911

chadstrickland · June 30, 2011, 11:20 PM

I was a apprentice for almost 2 years before the shop closed and he moved to north carolina...I started by just coming in the store every couple of days and simply observing him work..trying to avoid asking stupid questions..if I didn't understand something I would take a note and do research on my own time...and a few months went by and I brought some of my own stuff down there where I had tried to work on it and showed it to him..then I asked if I could come in when I wasn't workin and helpp him out for free..he said yes..for a while I washed windows cleaned toilets and whatever needed doing..then I moved on to cleaning gun parts that was already laid out and stuff and then moved on to building ak47 and stuff...then he left

..lol oh well I learned alot

Gunn Smithy · July 3, 2011, 10:35 AM

For the last 30+ years I've not had the service of a gunsmith, I've had something better. As it was I was loading some custom 12 gauge slug rounds and had ruined my Forster (I believe) heat sizer (for crimp mouths) by melting off the tip of a couple of shells into the closed system and plugging it up. It was trash and I went about designing a new one. I had a small lathe but was in no way a machinist. I whacked out a part in aluminum and wrote down the specific dimensions to take to a machine shop for them to turn my prototype into the dimensions I'd written down. That's when I found a fellow named John at ELCO Machine Shop. He could do or make anything. Over the years I've made several Shopkeepers Specials; Short barreled, birdshead gripped pistols out of Ruger single actions even including Ruger Old Armies. Several other one of a kind firearms were constructed during this time and what I've found in working with him is that TIME is MONEY. Some times he'd send me packing if I didn't have my ducks in a row just trying to explain the work to him since I was taking valuable time away from him. Also at times the smallest parts were the most expensive since they took the longest to set up and manufacture. If I could devise an order of machining that would save time (including thinking time) it would save me money. For my bobbed Old Army the former ramrod became a take down tool to remove the cylinder (now 45 LC). Instead of machining a "flat blade" into the end, I suggested drilling and placing two pins the same diameter of the screw slot. It worked like a champ and saved loads of money.

Long story short, If a guy has to take time away from his/her bread and butter "money making" time to instruct another, He/She is not making the monies that could have been made if they weren't instructing. A nice guy/gal might do it out of the goodness of their heart (or business is slow), But in my case the guy was running a money making enterprise and although I paid my way, if we both weren't careful it dipped into his profit/loss statement in a big way. Smithy.

Edward429451 · July 3, 2011, 11:19 AM

We have one gunshop in town here that lets a handyman do gunsmithing for them. The man is not a gunsmith, machinist, or even a mechanic, he likes guns and fancies himself a gunsmith. I don't want the guy practicing on my guns so I don't go there.

I know another self taught gunsmith. He told me that if I will teach him to reload, then he will perform free gunsmithing for me on my guns. That was scary to think about.

June 30, 2011, 07:08 PM	#1
phydaux Member Join Date: October 31, 2010 Posts: 65	I'm thinking of asking a gunsmith... There's a local gunsmith not too far from my house. I'm thinking of asking him to take me on as an apprentice. Unpaid, two days a week. What do you think are the odds that he'll say yes?

June 30, 2011, 08:29 PM	#3
GURU1911 Senior Member Join Date: December 22, 2010 Location: SEALY, THE REPUBLIC OF TEXAS Posts: 501	SUGGESTION Make up a simple resume, listing the skills you already possess & are willing to demonstrate, upon request. You may start out sweeping the floor, cleaning the toilet, or other grunt work. Do it with a great attitude & show a willingness to do with excellence whatever is asked of you. Guru1911 __________________ NRA LIFE MEMBER (1984) & PRESIDENT: S.W. LA. R&P CLUB, LAKE CHARLES, LOUISIANA (1994-1999) METALLIC CARTRIDGE RELOADER (1977) & GENTILE CHRISTIAN ZIONIST INFIDEL !!! "THERE AIN'T TOO MANY THINGS THAT YOU CAN'T FIX, WITH $500 DOLLARS OR A .30-06"

June 30, 2011, 11:20 PM	#4
chadstrickland Senior Member Join Date: January 26, 2011 Location: alabama Posts: 537	I was a apprentice for almost 2 years before the shop closed and he moved to north carolina...I started by just coming in the store every couple of days and simply observing him work..trying to avoid asking stupid questions..if I didn't understand something I would take a note and do research on my own time...and a few months went by and I brought some of my own stuff down there where I had tried to work on it and showed it to him..then I asked if I could come in when I wasn't workin and helpp him out for free..he said yes..for a while I washed windows cleaned toilets and whatever needed doing..then I moved on to cleaning gun parts that was already laid out and stuff and then moved on to building ak47 and stuff...then he left ..lol oh well I learned alot __________________ Two weapons that was designed by the same man still in use by the us military 100 years later...1911 and m2...is there anything that comes close.....lol annd maybe perhaps a sig sauer p226 tac ops edition..

July 3, 2011, 10:35 AM	#5
Gunn Smithy Senior Member Join Date: June 11, 2011 Location: CA's central valley Posts: 101	For the last 30+ years I've not had the service of a gunsmith, I've had something better. As it was I was loading some custom 12 gauge slug rounds and had ruined my Forster (I believe) heat sizer (for crimp mouths) by melting off the tip of a couple of shells into the closed system and plugging it up. It was trash and I went about designing a new one. I had a small lathe but was in no way a machinist. I whacked out a part in aluminum and wrote down the specific dimensions to take to a machine shop for them to turn my prototype into the dimensions I'd written down. That's when I found a fellow named John at ELCO Machine Shop. He could do or make anything. Over the years I've made several Shopkeepers Specials; Short barreled, birdshead gripped pistols out of Ruger single actions even including Ruger Old Armies. Several other one of a kind firearms were constructed during this time and what I've found in working with him is that TIME is MONEY. Some times he'd send me packing if I didn't have my ducks in a row just trying to explain the work to him since I was taking valuable time away from him. Also at times the smallest parts were the most expensive since they took the longest to set up and manufacture. If I could devise an order of machining that would save time (including thinking time) it would save me money. For my bobbed Old Army the former ramrod became a take down tool to remove the cylinder (now 45 LC). Instead of machining a "flat blade" into the end, I suggested drilling and placing two pins the same diameter of the screw slot. It worked like a champ and saved loads of money. Long story short, If a guy has to take time away from his/her bread and butter "money making" time to instruct another, He/She is not making the monies that could have been made if they weren't instructing. A nice guy/gal might do it out of the goodness of their heart (or business is slow), But in my case the guy was running a money making enterprise and although I paid my way, if we both weren't careful it dipped into his profit/loss statement in a big way. Smithy. __________________ Salvation is through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and in Him alone.

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June 30, 2011, 07:33 PM	#2
oneoldsap Senior Member Join Date: September 16, 2009 Location: I live in the foot of the Green Mountains of Vermont Posts: 1,602	Very few unasked questions get answered ! Take something that you have built , along when you go to ask .

July 3, 2011, 11:19 AM	#6
Edward429451 Junior member Join Date: November 12, 2000 Location: Colorado Springs, Colorado Posts: 9,494	We have one gunshop in town here that lets a handyman do gunsmithing for them. The man is not a gunsmith, machinist, or even a mechanic, he likes guns and fancies himself a gunsmith. I don't want the guy practicing on my guns so I don't go there. I know another self taught gunsmith. He told me that if I will teach him to reload, then he will perform free gunsmithing for me on my guns. That was scary to think about.