[arinvolvo]

I know that most of you will attempt a small gunsmithing project on your own from time to time...Im sure most were sucesses, and some failures.

I havent been a handgunner for very long, so my list of bathroom gunsmithing is rather short...and not very exciting....at the moment I am attempting to fix the sights on one of my autopistols...I will fill you in if I ever succeed to my liking.

So tell me about the basement/bathroom/garage/dremel and file gunsmithing that you have tackled...and tell me how it turned out...and whether or not you think that you should have just taken it to a real gunsmith.:D

[bunghole]

I do a lot of home gunsmithing. I had to "rework" a Kimber Ultra Carry II that would fail to go into battery about 40% of the time. The new type II safety was the problem so I recontoured and polished the plunger in the slide. I also cut a few coils off of the spring to lighten it a bit and now it functions flawlessly. I also did a little work on a Ruger SP101 that I carried in my pocket. I knocked the spur off of the hammer and and filed off the cocking notch to make it DAO. I have done numerous "trigger slap" jobs on AKs too.

[Baba Louie]

arinvolvo,

You may want to peruse the "Gunsmithing" section of the board and ask the same question, or a moderator may want to relocate this thread into that section. Plenty of good, juicy threads there for your enjoyment and intellectual stimulation. :D

With me its always like working on a car... What am I gonna do with all these "leftover bits and pieces?", and that ain't a good thing when dealing with arms and things that can go boom.

Adios

[goon]

Mine are pretty small and trivial. If I have something big, I take it to a pro.
Last night I polished the chambers on my "new" M-28.
Success! Tried three cylinders full out of her this morining and the empties practically fall out.
I have adjusted the sights by drifting or filing on many handguns.
I replaced the rear sight on my AK.
I have been known to smooth out Argentine High Power magazines to make them a little more user friendly and to rework the followers to keep them from binding up.
I would like to someday build a muzzleloader, but I have other things to deal with first.
Hell, I can't even find time to handload any more.:cuss:

[arinvolvo]

Baba Louie, You are right...this thread would have probably been better served in the gunsmithing section of the boards....it just a occurred to me however, that I always looked at that section of the board, and assumed that it was JUST for real gunsmiths.

Im an idiot.

[E357]

Home smithing on old revolvers and bolt guns is a nice hobby. Auto pistols (other than sights, finishes), is best left to more experienced people. Semiautos have a nasty habit of going full auto sometimes. I've seen this happen many times. I'll even admit it happened to me a long time ago when I was foolish. I've shot Thompsons and grease guns, but that 1911 was wild, glad no body was with me.

Elliot

[firestar]

I can honestly say that I have never taken a gun to a gunsmith. Part of the reason is because of the cost but the main reason is because I don't know of a competent one. My friend was in the Marines as a armorer and he gives me a helping hand if something goes wrong. I have found that unless you want some truly "custom" work such as a trigger job or a new finish applied to your gun, gunsmiths are not really needed.

If you need to repair a gun, you can do it your self most of the time. Most people can just buy the part that is malfunctioning and replace the entire piece for far less than the cost of paying a gunsmith and you know it was done right. For example, say you break a fireing pin, just buy the part and replace it. A gunsmith will charge you for the part plus his time and if you live somewhere like me, I can't find a decent gunsmith so I wouldn't trust anyone's work but mine.

[Sisco]

Nothing major, if it requres milling, welding or equipment I don't have I don't do it.
First project; replaced a broken hammer on a NEF rifle. Frustrtating keeping everything in the right place but I got it done.
GP100 & SP101 Rugers, replaced the factory springs, bead blasted both of them. Put a flame design on the GP but took it back off. Added a Trijicon front sight to the SP.
Bought a beater 270 built on a GEW Mauser action and restored it. Re-finished the stock, glass bedded the action and free floated the barrel. Installed a Timney trigger.
All my rifle stocks have been refinished, synthetic ones have been painted.
Next project is a 1911. Going to buy Kunhausen's book first.

[Dave Markowitz]

My biggest home gunsmithing project was building a Dixie Tennessee Mountain Rifle from a kit. They did most of the work, but I did some final inletting, stained and finished the stock, and browned the metal.

I've also corrected the trigger slap on my SAR-1, using the instructions found at http://linx310.nothingbutguns.com/slapfix.htm.

[zahc]

My stock 10/22 had sights. I scoped it and then removed the front sight, and ground the dovetail/boss thing down and covered it with a magic marker. Brutal I know but I was planning to change the barrrel anyway. I've done a lot of little things.

[cool45auto]

We have a small kitchen table that's about 4' by 4'. That's where all my home smithing and cleaning is done.

"No honey, I don't know how those nicks got in the table!"

[Andrew Wyatt]

I don't have any home gunsmithing stuff to my knowledge.


I mostly just to to the shop to do stuff like that (Dad's a machinist).


I've built all kinds of neat things for guns, though.

[Desert Dog]

Let's see...

The biggest project I have completed so far is a complete metal finish and blue on an Ishapore Enfield. She is purty now... :D All that old black paint was just nasty. I had to polish up and reshape some of the pieces quite a bit, but I was very happy with the results. I stripped and refinished the wood while I had it apart and put 8 coats of boiled linseed oil on it. My best friend says it is the best looking Ishy he has ever seen... That is not saying much.

I disassembled and polished out a Ruger SP101. It looks like a nickel gun now. The wife thinks it is pretty...

Trigger work on a old Stevens .22. Removed most of the creep in the action.

Stock refinish on a Savage .22. Boiled linseed oil is my friend... :rolleyes:

Restored and derusted a Winchester model 60A Target rifle.

Stock fittings and replacements, grip replacements, gun cleaning for friends... Cleaned up an old S&W M&P .38 that looked like it had an extremely hard life.

Still an apprentice.... :D

Mike

[Kharn]

I'm a member over at www.roderuscustom.tzo.com, it can be said I've done a fair bit of tinkering. :D

Kharn

[Onslaught]

As I outlined here (http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=21934&highlight=smash) regarding my bathroom/office attempts to install a set of XS Systems sights on my HK, I mentioned smashing my trigger finger with a rubber mallet... For the record, it's STILL not quite "right"... It still has a catch in it, and hurts sharply when I try to open jars, etc...

So what I learned from doing it at home is... Have the right tools for the job! :D

I've already told my wife that I "need" a vice for my birthday, and I've got a barrel wrench, punches, brass hammer, etc. on order.

I took that HK to my dealer, and he had the sight straight within 30 seconds using a Meprolight sight pusher (the kind that XS Systems says NOT to use) :banghead:

[yzguy]

mostly stuff on my KT's:

http://www.1bad69.com/keltec/index.htm

[Ryder]

I started out refinishing stocks on my long guns. Then I did a couple of black powder pistol kits. I put together a double bbl black powder shotgun kit. Accurized some rifles with glass bedding and crowning. Got into polishing up surfaces to smoothing actions on semi-autos along with adding/fitting some aftermarket parts, minor reliability modifications.

I use a gunsmith anytime drilling or milling is required, also for trigger work on self defense guns.

[standingbear]

restored an ww2 springfield m1 garand.took almost 2 years to find the correct dates,parts ect and hours of elbow grease refinishing a dinged up walnut stock.then only to have to trade it off after i hurt my back. i hand polished the stainless parts up front(with the help of a dremel) and had a dull grey park(bake on from brownelles) put on all the regular steel.was a dark walnut stock,used formbys and steel wool to get that out and bring on the grains in the wood.just finished it with formbys finish and lotsa wax.an iron over a wet wash cloth brought out most dings.traded it for a new p226.i think the dealer got the best end on that trade -though i really enjoy the sig,not quite the same as doing it yourself.

[Sven]

Polished the barrel shroud on my CZ75 - heres the thread with before and after photos:

http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=125151&highlight=shroud

A success, I say!

[Hand_Rifle_Guy]

I'm starting to "fluff and buff" ALL of my auto pistols, one by one. This made a BIG difference in my el-cheapo Heritage Stealth, now it has a better trigger than my target-trigger Glock. (I haven't done the Glock yet, though.) Polishing contacting surfaces on both sides, de-burring things, rounding off sharp corners, polishing and waxing mag-wells, a detail-clean and then delicately applying grease or oil where it goes.

I'm only using 600- or 1500-grit silicone carbide paper, tongue depressers/wood blocks (Sometimes whittled to shape.) for backing, and an excellent pocket knife that'll cut steel. Then it's paste wax, lithium grease mixed with fine graphite, or CLP where it's supposed to liquid, not grease. Lubing is done minimalist fashion.

This works out to about 2-4 hours per gun, sometimes they're detail-stripped, sometimes not. Depends on the gun, and how easy it is to take down.

I install all of my own aftermarket/accessory parts. I do all of my own trigger jobs, limited to delicately polishing contact surfaces by hand LIGHTLY with 1500 paper. So far that's uh...4? 5? Working good, no issues or doubling, any of that dangerous crap, and good improvements. I've gone over and cleaned up/de-burred some antique/used guns too, like my Steyr-Hahn 1912, and my Astra 600.

Heck, I re-chambered the Steyr to run on 9mm Largo, as all it involved was sanding a TINY bit out of the rear half of the chamber diameter, accomplished by a .30 Carbine case, double-back tape, and some 320-grit emery cloth. Judicious run it/check it repeats with the case chucked carefully in a screwgun, and a live round of Blazer 9mm Largo, until it fit just like all the rest of my auto chambers on factory ammo (Calipers reveal .006" is average clearance around the case head on something like 9 different guns.) resulted in a gun that runs flawlessly and doesn't cost $1/shot of 9mm Steyr.

I helped my buddy do a thorough fluff 'n buff on his Keltec P-40, which has made it ultra-reliable, which it wasn't before. That's what got me started, although he did most of the work. It paid off so well that I'm spreading the technique around.

My AMT Automag V is reliability-challenged in more than one aspect, and is proving to be a tricky sumbuck to figure out. One thing at a time, I guess. My Automag III runs like a top, and has a magic target-grade trigger so light it catches people by surprise. Once I got used to it, I love it. It's my aim-for-this for the A-m-V.


For revolvers, I've done a bunch of stuff.

I've built my own grips 3 times.

Tweaked a Webley Mk. VI barrel to work on a Mk. IV frame, and had it all apart and back together.

Had my Mountain Gun apart, (Although I didn't do anything to it.) next I'm going to go through it and slick it up better'n Clinton.

Had both of my DA Rugers apart and back together. The Police Service Six got some polishing, but it needs more work, and new grips are in-process.

Cleaned out my beater Taurus M-82 when the new kitten peed DIRECTLY into the action. (Sideplate off, HOT water flush, re-lube. Works great, no rust.)

Had my parts-bin S&W 1917 completely apart and diagnosed and straightened the ejector rod that made it bind out of time and shave bullets. (This POS still has major issues, but a beautiful set of walnut grips I made.)

Tracked down misfire issues with my beater Colt New Service 1917, which proved to be warped sideplate that lets the hammer hit the frame. This gun got ABUSED. The barrel was torched and then squished in a vice, and someone drilled about 3/8" hole through the sideplate at the bottom above the trigger. That put a notch in the frame, and some intrepid soul WELDED the sideplate back up and filed it flush on the top. See why it's warped? I need to replace it I guess, but the buggered plate is numbered to the gun. The gun had a brand-new barrel on it when I bought it, and it shots ok SA but DA shoves the hammer around. I may just straighten the ld plate if I can. (The guy I bought it from told me the fool he got it from had squished the barrel, and given to his small son to play with, EVEN THOUGH IT STILL WOULD CHAMBER AND FIRE AMMO! :what: That would have been exciting! The guy I bought it from had installed the new barrel forthwith.)

Diagnosed the keyholing issue with my S&W 1902 pre-M&P .32-20, which proved to be a badly malformed ejector-rod spring, which made the cylinder bind. I thought at first the problem was the ring-bulged barrel, or the VERY tired rifling, but when run with verified bolt lock-up, no keyholes! Dis-assembly/inspection of the internals showed no unusual wear, but some beautifully crafted parts in a head-scratching action that the Kuhnhausen book has no references to! I still need a spring, though. Makes the DA run cruddy, but at least I can get it to shoot.

Lately I just read about the "poor-man's trigger job", which I first performed on my GP-100. It works great, and all of the revolvers are due for this treatment. It ought to work on all of the hammer-autos as well. "The poor boy's trigger job" (http://www.gunblast.com/Poorboy.htm) By Jeff Quinn, one of the good folks at Gunblast.com (http://www.gunblast.com). *READ THIS!* This is an absolute PRIZE gunsmith kink anyone can do for free! (Note: I made NO spring changes to my gun. Still made a BIG difference.) The only guns I won't do this too (Unless the one I try it on shows improvement.) are the pre-WWII guns that don't need it, as they're nicely worn in.

Struggling with beater old wrecks surely makes one appreciate the reliable guns in the collection, that's fer darn sure! But it's eminently satisfying to track-down and SOLVE problems, and make viable improvements.

It is worth noting that I am 1.) a trained machinist who got started making stainless high-vacuum mass spectrometer manifolds for Hewlett-Packard on surplus machines off of old Navy ships dated 1942, 2.) I have read and re-read all the Kuhnhausen handgun books, 3.) I have intimate familiarity with all sorts of hand tools, 4.) I am an expert-class cabinetmaker and woodcarver, 5.) I have read 60-70 different gun books, and
stacks of gunrags, most more than once, some 3 or 4 times, 6.) I seem to have a VERY good head for thinking in three dimensions, and 7.) if I took it apart, I can put it back together again. From memory. Whatever it is. Without leftover parts.

Jeez. And I don't even have a college degree. (My brother does, though. He's a NASA scientist at JPL, and has a Ph.D in astrophysics. But I got him into guns!) I just make stuff.

My point is that I am willing to take on major 'smithing that I wouldn't neccessarily reccomend others try, even though I'm not a "formally trained" gunsmith. Guns are machines, I'm good at machines, and I've been studying guns for something like 9 years running, as long as I've been collecting. I wouldn't be willing to pay someone else to work on my guns for the same reason that I don't let people work on my cars any longer: I'm better at that than they are, even if they ARE professionals making a living at it. I got disgusted with mechanics who are good and reputable, not hacks, because it's been repeatedly demonstrated that I get it better than they do, and it's MY car they're wanting to charge me mucho deniero to fix. I haven't even been willing to try this with guns, mostly because the guns are a luxury that can wait. Now I just don't have faith that the money I might spend would be worth it unless it's someone like Hamilton Bowen or Gary Reeder.



(Whazzat? I DID? Oh...:o ) Um, oops. (Steps quietly off of soap box.) I, uh, got a little "enthused", there. :o (Swollen head shrinking, inconspicuously tries to shove soapbox into shadows.) Don't mind me. :o [stage whisper] Why didn't you TELL me I was getting full of myself again?[/stage whisper] (Shuffles sideways towards chair, sits.) Just remember that I volunteer to test stunguns, and say you can call me an idiot. Yeah, that's it. :o


(Liberals know that university graduates are smarter than journeyman craftsmen.)

(Yeah, right. http://flymeaway.net/images/anim_lol.gif)

;) :evil:

[Sven]

HRG,

Ever consider gunsmithing as a full time job?

-s

[Hand_Rifle_Guy]

Well sure, but...

We're in THIS state.

Gunsmiths are usually solo critters, and don't make enough money or have enough business to pay employees so I could get a job at it.

Vocational training is far away, and takes a while, and doesn't pay in the meantime.

I need access to about $5000 worth of machines and tooling, plus workspace.

I need an FFL, a downright pipe dream around here without a storefront, and REALLY difficult to get city council/planning department approval of, much less the BATFE.

And we're in THIS state.

[pseudo-military salute] All hail the benificient PRK! [/pseudo-military salute]

;)