what are some good smithing schools and what should i expect to pay to attend. im self employed now but thinking about the smithing rout. it has always been of interest to me. i just have no idea where to start
Gunsmithing school
- Thread starter eli polite
- Start date
Re: school
This is the latest thread I found, but there are definitely others.
http://www.snipershide.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=2895094#Post2895094
http://www.snipershide.com/forum/ubbthre...rue#Post2654283
This is the latest thread I found, but there are definitely others.
http://www.snipershide.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=2895094#Post2895094
http://www.snipershide.com/forum/ubbthre...rue#Post2654283
Re: school
I attended Pennsylvania Gunsmith School from late 2005-2007.(16 month course) It is 4 semesters long and at that time it was about $4,000 a semester so total about $16,000.It is a good school but knowing what I know now I would not do it again.If you want to be a gunsmith it would be alot better to get in with a working smith and try a internship.PGS is great for the basics and thats about it so if you want to specialize you don't need to spend the money.If you have anymore questions feel free to PM me.
I attended Pennsylvania Gunsmith School from late 2005-2007.(16 month course) It is 4 semesters long and at that time it was about $4,000 a semester so total about $16,000.It is a good school but knowing what I know now I would not do it again.If you want to be a gunsmith it would be alot better to get in with a working smith and try a internship.PGS is great for the basics and thats about it so if you want to specialize you don't need to spend the money.If you have anymore questions feel free to PM me.
Re: school
I think if I was going go to school with an idea of getting into gunsmithing I'd spend the effort and money on a good machinest school.
I've see a lot of gunsmiths come and go, mostly go. I had a shop up until I retired from LE.
When I put adds in the yellow pages I put in an add for gunsmithing and aother one for a Light Machine Shop. The machine shop add generated more work then you can imagine. Actually it got to be too much since I was working full time as a cop and running a NG unit.
Starting out as a gun smith you're gonna starve until you build a repetation, taking in light machine work will feed your family and pay the bills, still allowing one to build up a gun smithing business.
There are a lot of machine shops but they don't take little jobs, they have minimums. Some around here consider anything under $1000 a small job and wont talk to you.
There is a big market for little shops doing nickle and dime jobs.
An example I had a contract with Firestone re-surfacing fly wheels, $25 a piece, 15 minutes floor to floor. Another gig was bluing ejectors for a diesel engine rebuilder. They paid me 75 cents per injector. I fired up my bluing tanks once a week and averaged $450 every time I fired up the tanks just for the injectors.
My problem was because I was working full time, plus my guard unit, I got burned out.
That was a while ago, I'm convinced if I wasn't too lazy I could get all the work I wanted if I was to open up a small job machine shop which would fund a gunsmithing business.
You wont find a sucessful gunsmith that isn't a machinest. Families are nice, but they need fed, housed, and clothed.
I think if I was going go to school with an idea of getting into gunsmithing I'd spend the effort and money on a good machinest school.
I've see a lot of gunsmiths come and go, mostly go. I had a shop up until I retired from LE.
When I put adds in the yellow pages I put in an add for gunsmithing and aother one for a Light Machine Shop. The machine shop add generated more work then you can imagine. Actually it got to be too much since I was working full time as a cop and running a NG unit.
Starting out as a gun smith you're gonna starve until you build a repetation, taking in light machine work will feed your family and pay the bills, still allowing one to build up a gun smithing business.
There are a lot of machine shops but they don't take little jobs, they have minimums. Some around here consider anything under $1000 a small job and wont talk to you.
There is a big market for little shops doing nickle and dime jobs.
An example I had a contract with Firestone re-surfacing fly wheels, $25 a piece, 15 minutes floor to floor. Another gig was bluing ejectors for a diesel engine rebuilder. They paid me 75 cents per injector. I fired up my bluing tanks once a week and averaged $450 every time I fired up the tanks just for the injectors.
My problem was because I was working full time, plus my guard unit, I got burned out.
That was a while ago, I'm convinced if I wasn't too lazy I could get all the work I wanted if I was to open up a small job machine shop which would fund a gunsmithing business.
You wont find a sucessful gunsmith that isn't a machinest. Families are nice, but they need fed, housed, and clothed.
Re: school
Thank you for the input. I was more wondering about the cost and possibility of having a shop that could turn a profit. i have spent the last 5 years building a shop that is just now starting to pay off. I was just looking for something that could generate $$ as a one man thing
Thank you for the input. I was more wondering about the cost and possibility of having a shop that could turn a profit. i have spent the last 5 years building a shop that is just now starting to pay off. I was just looking for something that could generate $$ as a one man thing
Re: school
I would go more towards machining school over a gunsmith school like Kraig suggested.You can either take a gun apart and put it back together or you cant.Machining is a whole different ball game.
I would go more towards machining school over a gunsmith school like Kraig suggested.You can either take a gun apart and put it back together or you cant.Machining is a whole different ball game.
Re: school
+1 on the machinists schooling...its the Heart of gunsmithing IMHO. I think there's a part in all of us whom would love to be able to do it. I certainly would, but more for the personal benefit. Anyone with $$ can buy cnc machines and let it do all the work but to realy understand what it is your actually doing is where the being a machinist comes into play.
If it were me, the first step I'd take would be the machinist course...been thinking about it myself, just unsure if its offered at me local community college.
Good luck to ya!
+1 on the machinists schooling...its the Heart of gunsmithing IMHO. I think there's a part in all of us whom would love to be able to do it. I certainly would, but more for the personal benefit. Anyone with $$ can buy cnc machines and let it do all the work but to realy understand what it is your actually doing is where the being a machinist comes into play.
If it were me, the first step I'd take would be the machinist course...been thinking about it myself, just unsure if its offered at me local community college.
Good luck to ya!
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