i need a gunsmith to comment on this, please

[rawcut]

[rawcut]

i appreciate the help, and yes this is in online course im dealing with. its just something i want to do as a hobby, not a career. the questions they gave are initial to see what i can figure on my own, the ones that were confusing to me are the ones ive been posting, word for word, i typed them as they gave to me. as much as id love to, i cant afford to enroll in an actual school, mostly for the fact that there is none near sacramento. wife and 3 kids are another obstacle for me. all the help that you and the rest of calgunners gave me is extremely appreciated. im kind of embarrassed of the online course, but i want to be able to repair/customize my own firearms as needed, and if that means i have to ask dumb questions to get answers, so be it. i hope this doesnt come as being harsh to any of you, just trying to explain myself. again thank you all for your help. i love this site.

[rkt88edmo]

I'm not a gunsmith.

I'd answer the first two sentences first and ignore the third blathering run on....unless those rants are part of your smithing training

[Rust]

When I went through the program at TSJC they emphasized being able to use your hand tools strongly. From my experience its true, most of the time you're going to be doing fairly simple work in which it is far more cost effective to swap out a broken or worn part than try to machine a new one. Once you get to the point where you have the skills needed to start doing precision, or custom work (if thats where you want to be in your career) it will pay to put the money into quality machine tools. I'm not sure what they're trying to get at with the end comment about chinese machine tools. There are several import brands that work very well on the market now. But I would not say they're such a good deal that you should pass up some of the older US names. Myself I'd rather have a well maintained used Bridgeport than a new Jet or Enco for example.

[DVSmith]

Always keep in mind that someone writing test questions will frequently throw in extraneous information with the intent of throwing you off course. This is done to see if you really understand the important issues being addressed versus fluff. If you bite on the fluff and go off on a tangent instead of focusing on the core issues as presented in class, they know you were not paying attention. Now I am not a gunsmith, as fun as that sounds, but I have (as I am sure many here) taken my fair share of tests and written test questions for classes when I was a TA.

[-hanko]

rawcut, the idea is to start w/ basics...become a master of your hand tools (you may have noticed the file, for instance) first. You can do almost all jobs by hand, if you pick the jobs you'll take and know when you're under-tooled to take on more complex jobs.

Know how and when to make a jig or fixture if it will save you time and give you a better finished product.

Don't automatically reach for that Dremel thing

-hanko

[rawcut]

thank you and no apologies needed. i just needed to clear up my situation. now that you fellas spoke, im clear on this subject. i guess i wasnt reading the statement hard enough. lesson learned. all the info you all been giving, ive been taking with much gratitude. calgunners like yourselves are the reason why my wife yells at me. i spend more time on this forum than i do with her. but dont take it in a bad way, im enjoying myself. thank you all so much for your assistance.

[motorhead]

the purdey test. files and a hacksaw.

[Utha Schleigle]

thank you and no apologies needed. i just needed to clear up my situation. now that you fellas spoke, im clear on this subject. i guess i wasnt reading the statement hard enough. lesson learned. all the info you all been giving, ive been taking with much gratitude. calgunners like yourselves are the reason why my wife yells at me. i spend more time on this forum than i do with her. but dont take it in a bad way, im enjoying myself. thank you all so much for your assistance.

My wife says it is my bed time.

Most smiths always have certain basic tools and the specific machinery for their speciality or most encountered tasks. Two gunsmithing manuals I have read have warned about buying any tool or supply you don't need. If you are not going to do this task enough to justify a tool purchase improvise or farm-out. USED is OK TOO ROI - return on investment will feed or starve you and your family.

As said before ordering a replacement is better than machining it yourself and farming out to another smith that has the equipment is a smart business decision. He might be the best rust blue'er this side of Germany and you know how to built ARs - you could do business.

Before risking a sizable ammought of money, work (even part time) in a gun smiths shop to learn all the day to day workings of the shop and business.

I keep going back to my hand tools and they are the basics you build your skill on. Then after you learn where to stop with hand tools then use machine tools - but the last final fitting and polish is with hand tools. Power tools can F you up fast - hand tools work slower but you can check more and be more careful.

(edit) I am not a gunsmith - maybe in the future - right know I am a garage hack (like hack saw) - but reading is good and has let me know what projects I should and should not attemp ( a man'z/gall'z gotza ta know their limitations ). (edit)

[shonc99]

Rawcut,

I too am a 'garage-smith' and upon reading your question/comment immediatly knew what the writer was asking.

A true craftsman or 'smith' will be able to do more with a handful of tools than a novice or poor craftsman can with a whole shop full of tools.