gunsmith materials checklist

Your gunsmithing school will cover this in the course.

Well, that would be a serious mistake on your grandmothers part.

1. First, you have to go to the school.

2. Then you have to buy the tools the school tells you to buy.

3. Then you have to learn something useful and graduate.

4. Then you have to probably pick a speciality of some kind to make a living.

In pretty much that order.

Nobody can tell you what tools you need to buy before all that happens.

rc

I vote the drill press will be a good friend. don't be cheap, buy a nice one.

Visit a decent machine shop

You can buy all sorts of stuff that will be perfectly useless if you don't have a customer that will buy what you like.
Your interests and what sells are often dollars away from reality.
If money is not object, hire a gunsmith to teach you at your place.
Then you won't be bothered by the others students who are probably working to get through school.

Look, ...

First, plan on taking some classes in marketing. Far more important than what you make is "selling it."

#2). Get the college catalogue. In there there should be instructions as to what the student needs and should bring and ... Then write a letter with the question to the head of the department... His word is law, so to speak and if you granny won't listen...

At the same time, you might ask about alumni in the area doing the work you wish to do. Might be able to take grandma to visit some machinists and wood workers and have them tell her that something new will probably be out by the time you graduate and you shouldn't buy until then... LUCK...

How much of this do you understand?

Motor 3 - 4 HP, 220V, 3-phase, 2 speed
Swing over bed 16"
Swing over gap 22"
Swing over cross slide 10"
Distance between centers 40"
Spindle nose D1-6 camlock
Spindle nose taper MT#6
Spindle bore 2"
Tailstock barrel taper MT#4
Tailstock barrel travel 4-3/4"
Cross slide travel 8-1/2"
Compound travel 5-1/2"
Number of speeds 16
Speed range 45-1800 RPM
Range of threads (inches) 45 @ 2-72 TPI
Range of threads (metric) 39 @ 0.2-14 mm
Diametrical pitch range 21 @ 8-44 DP
Modular pitch range 18 @ .3-3.5 MP
Width of bed 10"

Vertical motor 3 HP, 220V, 3-phase, 8.9 Amps
Horizontal motor 3 HP, 220V, 3-phase, 8.9 Amps
RPM (each motor) 1725
Power transfer Gear drive Spindle taper R-8
Spindle travel 4-7/8"
Table size 10-1/4" x 50"
Table travel (longitudinal) 29-1/2"
Table travel (cross) 11-1/2"
Knee travel (vertical) 11-5/16"
Max. dist. spindle to column 23-7/8"
Max. dist. spindle to table 15-3/8"
Max. dist. horizontal spindle center to table 12-1/2"
Turret or column swivel 180°
T-slots 3 on 2-1/2" centers, 1/2" stud
Vertical spindle speeds 8
Range of speeds 108, 192, 317, 468, 552, 828, 1356 and 2400 RPM
Horizontal spindle speeds 12
Range of speeds 48, 72, 96, 132, 180, 240, 324, 456, 612, 816, 1140, and 1560 RPM Horizontal spindle sizes: 1" & 1-1/4"



Without a basic grasp of machine tools, what they do, and how you use them, nobody can even begin to tell you what to buy.

rc

These machines are in a local professional custom shop:




If you plan on making a living you will have to go CNC. I personally have a Rockwell 11x36 lathe, Excello 9x48 mill, assorted grinders/sanders, heat treating oven, parkerizing equipment, bead blasting and dust collecting equipment. This is just for support of my hobby, high power rifle competition. One man in a shop has to hussle. You will need experience before you try to make a living at this. School will not give you real world hands on experience. The guy I learn from went to your school and then went into the USAMU as a gunsmith. There he learnd to be a craftsman.

Milltronics RH 20 open bed CNC mill with 4th axis and 24 tool ATC with Tercite way covers, rigid tapping, thread milling, and either a Centurian 7 or FANUC control.
Harrison Alpha 1330 U cnc slant bed tool room lathe with 7 station turret, and Apha mode canned cycle software package
8" BUCK three jaw indexable scroll chuck
Hardinge tool room lathe
Starret 18" Horizontal Optical comparater with metrology software package
Brown/Sharp 24" hydraulic surface grinder
Dumor Hydraulic coupler
System One filter elements
Every Reamer David Kiff makes
Every Pilot in .0002" increments
Wilson Hardness tester
Baldor buffers
Rockwell square wheel grinders
Kaiser screw compressor/dryer
Blast media cabinet
Bridgeport/EZ track manual knee mill with CNC conversion
Hardinge 5C Collets in 1/64 increments
MasterCam version 8, 9, or X for mill.


That right there is the tool/equipment list that'll allow you to build guns quickly, profitably, and better than 9.999999999999999999% of the shops out there if you learn how to run them properly.


Here's part of my shop:

sonier
First off you are doing one thing right you are attending a very good gunsmith school.
But you aren't going to get the experience you need to open a gun shop and be successful with out a lot more than a degree. As was said earlier you must have a very good understanding of sound business practices, to make the big bucks as a builder you need time, to build up a name for yourself. I would suggest finding someone in the trade with a good name and apprentice with them. I have been a gunsmith for many years and made a very good living at it, But it isn't a 9 to 5 job, if you want it to be successful you will have to put in many more hours than anyone working for you.
When we have someone applying for a gunsmith apprenticeship we always let them know "the amount of time you will spend in study and on the job training can put a stress on you not only physically and mentally but on any relationships you might have, it is important you understand this and prepare yourself for this stress." this is true with any small business.
Buy a lathe with a large enough hole thru the spindle to get a barrel blank through. Mine has a 2 1/2 hole I also have a collet set up, and a taper attachment. I like older lathes with a lot of weight for rigidity. Although I just saw a new Accra lathe and mill that were very nice machines. As to the mill a Bridgeport style with a power chuck and power to the bed in both X & Y axis, and both the lathe and mill should have a DRO. With hand tools buy the best you can afford cheap tools means cheap work.
I read about the need for CNC machines for gunsmithing and I wonder how I made it through thirty years without one. They are not necessary for 99.99999 percent of the trade. If you are going to make complete guns including actions yes, or if you are going to make a lot of parts yes but for most if not all gunsmith work they are not necessary.
Their are a lot of things to consider when opening a shop, training, tools, location, insurance, shop set up, lighting, alarms, stock, clientele, advertising, etc...
But I will tell you this its well worth it, and if you do it right you will be happier working in the trade than you can imagine
Their are some good articles at http://thegunsmiths.com/phpBB2/ on starting a gunshop. Also check out www.taogart.org

If you are going to be making rifles then selling them, you will need an 07 FFL, not the 01 FFL. There are more headaches that go along with being an 07 FFL.

As someone who hires people to work on guns, a gunsmithing "degree" doesn't mean much. I'd hire a machinist with no gun experience before I'd hire a "gunsmith degree" with little machining experience.

In this day and age to be a gunsmith you pay $200 to the ATF to get an FFL and wear a name tag that says "gunsmith".

There seems to be a lot of negative responce to your inquiry. Good luck I say. Longrifles has a good list to start. Get the latest and greatest of everything because it will be outdated by the time you get out of school. There are other measures of success than wealth. Happiness and passion for what you do come to mind.