Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing Gunsmithing as Personal Hobby

Yep Youtube is the way to go. You can find everything on it

+1

I'm impressed at Larry Potterfield's gunsmithing skills.

He's pretty sophisticated, seems able to do almost any gunsmithing task.

DF

Thank you! I'll dig them up. And thanks for the other resources as well.

Thanks, all. Your comments have been very helpful.

First or second edition? Or does it not matter?

Mine doesn't have an Edition marked on it.Just Copyright, 1989.
I'd expect the 2nd edition to have more current info,but it might just be a 2nd printing. Don't think it matters much to what you are looking for

http://www.biblio.com/book/checkeri...J98XqoqYE4UDMqNvYnW9bYQyDA7LQaAgx98P8HAQ

This is THE book on checkering and has enough about stockmaking to get you through a big job. I strongly suggest not wasting time on inletted and shaped blanks. Start from scratch and learn why and how it is done. It is only slightly more time and you gain little from having someone do the easiest parts crudely.

You also will develop a feel for what you are doing by the stepwise deconstruction of the blank into a stock.

That came up on Amazon when I was looking for the other. Thanks for the recommendation. I'll check it out.

Got it, thanks.

Yes Rev, read, read, read. Gunsmithing Tips and Projects got me started years ago. I am doing just what you are thinking of doing. Since I retired last year I have rebuilt one rifle, totally built another, and getting my butt kicked royally by a high grade muzzleloader I'm trying to build. When I get too upset I go sit in my shop door and watch my fruit trees I put out grow. It's all good fun.

I have 9 years, 10 months, and 21 days...but who's counting?

Rev,

Get the Bishop interesting, hook him up with the books, tapes, videos, etc.

Once he catches on, farm out your work to him.

Brotherly love and such...

DF

You mean get him interested pastoral care so I can do the gun work? Well, there's a reason he's a bishop.

I was hoping you would see this Art

I'm not sure where he is or how to get in touch with him anymore, Google will help, but Les Brooks sent me a thumb drive with all of his teachings from his years instructing @ Trinidad State Junior College. It's a steal for what you get. I think it was about 20 bux and there was lots of hours of information from pics, videos, narrative. ...good stuff.

Richard Franklin of richards custom rifles has a great set of videos on bench type building and ammo building with wilson dies.....also a bargain.

You have a great talent pool here too. There's a lot of unknown guys as well as Jim Kobe, Butch, and plenty more.

FFL 01 gunsmith licensing is required if you charge anything of value for your work. If you mill, drill or do anything that improves accuracy beyond the original capabilities of the firearm or anything on the big list of general gunsmith activities they deem as manufacturing you are required a $2250 ITAR annual registration and taxes. You will also need permission from your city or county for the home occupation license and the FFL. If you buy guns to assemble or modify it in any way including refinishing the stock, checkering, Cerakote, fitting a recoil pad or sights and then selling it you will need an FFL 07 manufacturing license.

Unless you are ready to go after it to profit the regulations all but prohibit the hobby guys. If you don't charge or keep anything while the owner is not present then you don't really need much of anything license wise. Then it's just two guys playing in the garage with their guns.

Well shoot.

About the only thing I'd be doing for anyone else is mounting a scope or something, since none of the guys I hunt with are really recreational rifle shooters and they don't have any of the equipment to measure torque, etc., but they'd have to be there when I do it for eye relief, so I don't see that as an issue. And I'd probably do that for a beer - although that would be the "A" in ATF, wouldn't it.

What I have planned is simply buying an old rifle here and there, repairing and reworking the stock (which would include bedding and the addition of a pad, if needed), mounting or repairing whatever sights are on it, any other light fixing I think I can do, then either selling it off or giving it to family members. I doubt I'd do 5 or 6 a year, if that. I just need to have something that I enjoy to keep me out of my wife's hair. Would any of that require an FFL?

As for the city/zoning/occ. license, etc., I can take care of all that. It may not be a requirement, since it really wouldn't constitute a business, but I'll check to make sure. After 30 years as a CPA in our community, I still have some contacts in the county offices.

Thanks for that information. It can really throw a wrench in the gears.

RM

Strictly speaking, engaging in the small commercial pursuits you described, Rev, you would need an FFL. On a practical side, that sort of thing has been going on for about 8 decades now with nary a whimper. It all depends on how blatant you are, how much you care to flaunt the law, how trusting you are of your "customers", and how much you talk about it on an open forum.

All good points, especially that one^^^^

Late to the party, computer problems.

I started by studying Roy Dunlap's "Gunsmithing" which is dated. But that's good, intended for people who don't have machine shops. Pretty basic stuff included like tools to acquire and my favorite, how to use a file properly. Then proceed to other books, Wolfe's "Gunsmithing" I think it is called (out of print) which is a compendium of old magazine articles on gunsmithing helped. Written for amateurs.

Then I started fixing common problems on old firearms for friends and acquaintances ,things like old hardware store shotguns that I knew I couldn't make worse. A lot of refinishing, both metal and wood and disassembly/reassembly for deep cleaning - and figuring out how the damned thing worked as you go. Actually function is often restored by deep cleaning decades of gunk off, then on to make it prettier.

As I think somebody mentioned there's no FFL issues as long as you're not in the business. I may charge what I paid for parts as the guy who lets me practice on his gun feels he has to pay something. But not for time or supplies.

I think I learned more from fixing my screw-ups than anything else.