Gunsmithing help

[boondockcrain]

Hi guys Im new here I have been looking around here for a while but just joined today Im looking to get into gunsmithing through a corespondance school I have been looking hard at Sonoran Desert Institute. Can anybody give me any advice as far as schools, Illinois laws, insurance ect. I am going to start in my house.

 

[koginam]

The biggest problem with correspondence schools is they are very limited and offer little in hands on training. And some are complete rip offs. This one seems pretty expensive for what you appear to get. There are several very good gunsmith schools spread through out the U.S. which you will learn more from then the correspondence schools can teach you. You should also consider apprenticing through a gunsmith. contact TAOGART www.taogart.org for help with apprenticeship and they have a list of gunsmith schools on their site as well. Good luck in which ever way you decide to go it has been a great way to make a living for me for more then 30 years. Just treat it as a business and not a hobby.

 

[Sunray]

Hi. Rethink the whole idea.
1. There's no money it it. Jobs are few and far between. The pay, for those that do find jobs, is low too.
2. Mail order schools don't teach you to use any machine shop machines and you need a firearm to work on for each lesson. IE. if you don't have a .45 or S&W revolver for the trigger job lesson, you're toast. Gets expensive acquiring the firearms and the tools needed. Nobody will lend you one either.
3. Setting up a business in your basement may or may not be legal where you are and you absolutely must know how to operate a business. You will NOT get credit from any supplier for parts or anything else. COD only, until you establish a business credit rating. Having a credit card, now, has nothing to do with it.
Illinois' laws are highly restrictive for anything firearm related too. Just wearing a hooded sweatshirt, with the hood up, while possessing or carrying a firearm is illegal.
The Sonoran Desert Institute is out to lunch.
"...teach you how to convert military rifles into sporting arms..." That drops the value of any milsurp by at least 50%. It wasn't a big deal in the late 1940's to the 70's though. Not done now though.
Module 7 is a joke. Reloading for money requires Federal permits as a minimum.

 

[Sunray]

Disregard this.

 

[boondockcrain]

Im confused what do you mean disregard??

 

[koginam]

I always hear people saying how their is no money in the gunsmith business and yet myself and many many more smiths have made very good livings in the trade. I think the ones who don't make a living at it don't run their shop as a business. If you plan on making a living as a smith you need to have a strong business background.
Every week I talk to smiths about finding sponsors for gunsmith apprentices, I have yet to talk to a smith without a backlog of work. The problems a smith has is getting the work done in a reasonable time frame, getting parts, and getting the guns picked up in a reasonable time frame.
Insurance in my opinion is an absolute must. it is very expensive but it only takes one suite to pay for itself. Get a library started as soon as possible, and keep notes on your work.

Many smiths do only repair work, it is the easiest to get into and requires no real expenditure for machine equipment, and it is a great learning experience.
Set a price and stick with it, Brownells has a very good gunsmith charge sheet to look at it gives a fair rate to charge for different types of work. You might also look at the gunsmiths forum it is made up of mainly gunsmiths who can give you good advise. http://thegunsmiths.com/phpBB2/