gunsmithing schools

[bayonet lug 1]

Ok so I know a lot of you people are gunsmiths but where did you guys go to school? or did you all learn on your own?

Edited June 24, 2008 by bayonet lug

[Gunfixr 76]

I mostly learned on my own, but took a at home correspondance course a few years ago to round out some stuff I hadn't picked up yet. I started over 20 yrs. ago, just reading and studying guns and how they work.

[Franky 2]

Strayer

[pistol fixer 0]

it all depends on what you are calling a gunsmith school. the armourer school from Colt, Smith and Wesson , Glock, H&K, Ect. are not gunsmith schools. you just learn to replace parts on there guns.

 

if you want to become a true gunsmith , the best school IMHO, Is Trinadad State Collage in Colorado.

it is a two year school and when you finish you can build a gun from scratch.

 

as far as teaching your self, it can be done , but it can be very expensive and sometime dangerous.

in the 60's i served an apprenticeship with a Master GunSmith who went on to teach at Trinadad State.

 

the path you take depends on where you want to end up. gunsmith as a hobby or become a professional Gunsmith.

 

just my .02

[gunmonk 0]

piedmont community college in n.c.. if you have a local college offering machinist and welding courses that would be a good start.

[Tackelbarry 0]

If anyone can answer, I have another question. I am planning to take CNC mill and lathe courses this fall. Which CNC program is best suited for producing gun related products? Thanks, Scott

[Gunfixr 76]

If anyone can answer, I have another question. I am planning to take CNC mill and lathe courses this fall. Which CNC program is best suited for producing gun related products? Thanks, Scott

 

That's quite a vague question. Do you mean whether lathe or mill is best? Type of cnc control? Type of class?

 

Both lathes and mills are used to produce gun parts/products. It depends on what type of machining is required to efficiently get the part made.

 

FANUC is probably the most prevalent control.

 

CNC operators are basically just button pushers. They stick a piece of material in the machine, clamp it in, close the door and push the green button. When it's done, they take it out and put in another. Some can make offset changes, some can even set up the machine to run a job and do simple program editing.

 

If you're planning on getting a machine and making parts, then you at least need to be capable of setting up the machine as well as running the parts. Even if you pay someone else to write your programs, you'll also need to be capable of simple editing to get the bugs out. To go all the way is to be able to write the program, download it to the machine, set the machine up, debug the program, and run the parts.

[G O B 3,516]

Learn to use the machines manually, you need to know how to do the processes before you learn how to command the machinery to do it for you!

[Gunfixr 76]

Learn to use the machines manually, you need to know how to do the processes before you learn how to command the machinery to do it for you!

 

+1

 

I machined manually for a living for about 12-14 yrs. before learning how to program and run CNC machines. It definately helps, as you know what the machine is supposed to be doing once you close the door and push the green button.