Quote History Quoted:
let me do some clarifying. this is just for my own personal gain not going to become a gunsmith. i have a family so apprenticing is out of the question.
View Quote
There are five schools that hold summer short term session; Trinidad State, Murray State, Montgomery CC, Lassen CC, and Flathead Valley CC. I can say from first hand experience the classes at Trinidad are a bargain. Unfortunately you'll have to wait until late next spring for the next sessions to start.
http://www.nragunsmithing.com/
Another choice is to get a few books and start doing some of the usual jobs for noobs; it's not all about running machine tools.
If you have any interest in old guns (smokepoles) then there are a few other classes around the country in gun building, carving, and engraving, and if you aren't now, you might find out you will be. Check the schedule at The Log Cabin Shop, Connors Prairie, Western Kentucky University, and Jim Chambers Flintlocks. Before you blow that off, keep in mind that you can learn basic skills that are transferable to any sort of firearm.
If you would like to see the possibilities of hand tools, do a search for threads by
runstav at
http://americanlongrifles.org/forum/index.php?topic=14003.0. The guy is not only persistent, he's prolific and build very nice guns of all sorts.
Search results, I don't know if it will work:
http://americanlongrifles.org/forum/index.php?action=search2
His work is inspiring. Be sure to look through the other forums at the site.