To modify or leave it to the "Professionals"

[Nicodemus38]

the whole basis of this dilemma is this.

to many people are STUPID ****s when it comes to guns and tweaking them. the whole market for the old hell fire trigger for semi auto pistols lead many people for non tracable "improvements' and led to stupidly advertised homebrew for certain semi auto rifles involving staples in the trigger group for burst or full auto mode.
Thats why id have to tell most people to stay away from the inside of their gun if they have a file or dremel tool.

 

[jimmyraythomason]

I have a shop full of well used files and a thoroughly broken in Dremel tool. I also frequently use my bench grinder,belt sander,electric arc welder,Mapps gas torch,hack saw,drill press,glass bead cabinet, high speed buffers and air compressor(just off the top of my head) as needed on my firearms. I'm not a gunsmith but I do my own mods.

 

[gym]

Sights, Grips, and a little polishing, is as far as I go. I worked in a machine shop as a youg man on Govt contracts, and learned how easy it was to screw stuff up. Those tolerances can get out of spec. fast, and you can end up chasing your tail for weeks if you mess around with a perfectlly good pstol.

 

[knockonit]

As long as there are guns and people that shoot them, there will always be someone who knows all and can fix all, and to finish that sentence would be to "fubar all".
Trick is to identify those and not associate with them.
I frequent quite a few shoots with new folks, mostly to figure out who is safe to go with, and who is a bozo, some are just naturals, others work hard at it, then there are those that have to reinvent the safety issues and the triggers,
Good luck to us all, as safe, and knowledgable shooting buddies are hard to find and keep.
rj

 

[rmfnla]

And I've been involved in repairs where we've had a drive shaft of one sort or another driven halfway out of the bearings only to realize the header clutch doesn't move. Luckily the man in charge was wise enough to realize he was in over his head and call the implement dealer. While you are somewhat right about not trying, if you aren't blessed with the wisdom to know when to stop trying you generally do more harm than good.

I might try to change the injectors on a diesel engine, I wouldn't mess with the timing of the injector pump. The diff is slight but important. Likewise, if a weapon continually jammed I would borrow a Dremel with a polishing head and go to work. If the safety wouldn't engage or the bolt not lock, the friendly local gunsmith would be getting a call.

Good points, all.