Tips for an apprentice gunsmith?

General General Discussion
1

I have been offered an apprenticeship with a local gunsmith starting in December, Im very excited and grateful for this opportunity. I’ve always been mechanically inclined and i can visualize how parts work together but i do not have much experience working on firearms besides Glock and AR15 platforms.

So before i start are there any tips that would help me in my venture?

Thanks everyone.

2

Learn with your eyes and ears, not your mouth.

75% of weapon problems can be solved by a proper and thorough cleaning of the weapon. This will be a foundation of your income as a gunsmith, so charge accordingly.

Machining and welding are valuable skills. So is a proper handshake.

For Glocks and ARs, they are Lego guns. This means parts fit fine 99% of the time and it’s more about quality of parts and process of assembly that is the key. Quality parts + quality assembler = quality weapon. Your expertise here should be in the proper acquisition of parts and the ability to properly assemble them to specs.

Don’t be afraid to offer up suggestions to your mentor or ask why something wouldn’t work. It’s best to learn under someone that tried something, failed, and learned something because of that failure. Personal experience speaks volumes in this industry.

Definitely get into the business aspect of things too, if that’s your goal (ie your own shop). Any business is 90% about the business and 10% about the industry, but a skilled trade business like gunsmithing is more toward the 70/30 realm.

3

Have you worked on a manual lathe or mill yet?

sent from mah gun,using my sights

4

Thanks for this post, alot of good information in this and i’ll take it to heart.

lathe yes, mill not enough to say i’m proficient.

5

Aside from what already has been noted, start investing in books and learn to navigate Brownells with your eyes closed. The Jerry Kuhnhausen series of books are great (and will put you to sleep if needed). As to gunsmithing the AR15, this book is pretty good and will provide you with instruction for a variety of AR-gunsmithing.

6

When you install a customer’s scope or other accessory, don’t get distracted or absent minded and neglect to tighten the screws.