Good Morning/Afternoon/Evening (where/when you may be),

I am not new to firearms; to include general parts replacement/repair and building my own from sourced parts. What I would like to hear from the audience is how did you get your start gunsmithing?

Did you attend some sort of trade school (is it necessary)?

Just went out and did it/learn as you go (apprenticeship maybe)?

So you can get an understanding, I am starting a gunsmithing business (hobbyist for now) and would just like to here from gunsmiths on their beginnings/do and don't/what worked and what didn't and so on.

Please, if you have never been a gunsmith nor wish to be one, there is no need respond, thank you and have a wonderful day.

Apprenticeship to one, we did Fal and AK builds, blasting, park, Gunkote, guy was a perfectionist and turned into an asshole but I learned a ton of stuff.

I’d be interested in hearing about this as well. I’m wanting to get started working with someone.

The long slow road is learning it from an old timer.  That works better when you both have the same time available and your willingness to learn matches his willingness to teach.  That's a hard match, even when you're related.  Ask me how I know.

Another, much slower route, learn it on your own from every way you can.  It's costly, both in time and money.

I've been advised by more than a few to get an education, preferably as an engineer, this will lead you to be a better gunsmith.  A background in the understanding the of the physics of mechanical movement.  It's easier to teach an engineer the specifics of firearms than it is to teach a firearms enthusiast math and physics.  If you don't have the desire or means to go back to school, I'd fall back to the first option.  Find a shop willing to take you in.  

I have a two year degree from Trinidad State Junior College. It was a great program, and I spent several years doing it professionally.

But I don’t particularly recommend it as a trade now. You need something to pay the bills and that won’t.

I learned while in the Army. I was a machinist and had stuff that the unit armorers could not fix sent to me. I don't how high up that decision was made but my chain of command decided it was better to have me work on things before having to send stuff back to the depot stateside.

With a full time job and getting older it's a hobby I could have turned into a 2nd job but I like working on guns and I wanted to keep it that way so I didn't invest in the
big stuff which would take me down a rabbit hole that would end with me hating working on guns.

I too am getting older, and kind of just want to do it as I part time gig. I would be very interested in your business plan/model or whatever if you don’t mind sharing what works?
Mostly cleaning and installing scopes/building AR’s? Or are you doing more?

Ya man, I get this...I am most certainly not looking at it as a full time career or anything.

I just want people to feel happy/proud/safe with their firearms.

Watch a lot of videos, shotguns are the easiest to work on especially the older ones. Complete set of AR tools if you're going to do that, there are also a ton of info on here in the archive library. Drill press
is a must, dremel tool, Brownells top tier screwdriver kit, good vise, grinding wheel/polishing wheel, band saw helps. Caliper, trigger pull gauge, headspace gauges for common calibers. Above all,
PATIENCE, learn to walk away when you start to get frustrated or pissed. Good cleaning kits, with solvents, cutting oil, tap set, sight pusher(good one). Just get what you need for your first project and
go from there, I have bought tools that I thought I would only use once thinking I should have just borrowed but if you get rolling you'll use whatever you buy more than once.

Hobbiest for me. Can’t afford for others to do it.

Got bored and tired of paying someone else to do the work so bought the tools and machines and learned on my own. Still have more to learn but at least i have a lot of tools now.

After 3 years of college out of high school, decided I wanted to be a gunsmith.  This was back in the early 80's, choices were more limited so attended Colorado School of Trades.  Program then is different than now (and much less expensive).  You progressed at your own pace and most of the work was repairs. I did build a 35 Whelen on an Argentine Mauser action but that was the extent of any custom rifle building.

I did attend a Machine Technology program at a local community college a few years after attending CST.  While I learned machining basics at CST, this program was a lot more in depth.  Goal was to get an associate's degree but wasn't able to do that due to family obligations.

A family member gave me a small Craftsman lathe (made in England in the 50's or 60's) and I was able to do a lot of work making parts with it as it had a milling attachment also.

In the early 90s I did have a FFL so I was legal working on other people's guns and to get the discount from Brownell's for gun parts and supplies.  When the requirements for having a FFL changed (not sure what year), I didn't renew my license as it wasn't worth the cost and hassle. Never did do any gun sales as it wasn't worth the hassle.

Quickly realized that couldn't make a living to support a family as a gunsmith.  Most of the work was repairs and while people want work done, they don't want to spend money to do it.  Perhaps supplementing your income with repair work can be done, and with internet searching it is easier to find parts, but you won't get rich doing it. Best bet, IMO, is to specialize in an area such as stocking, custom rifle builds, coating/finishes or similar. Find the type of work you like best and focus on that. Perhaps you can grow the business into a good income but it won't happen fast.

I have a lot of enjoyment doing my own projects. Upgraded (no doubt some will say it wasn't) to a Grizzly combo lathe and mill. Not top of the line equipment but it allows me to do about anything I want.  Virtually every gun I own has been worked on in some way to customize it, refinish it or make it smoother.  

Most proud of the two rifle builds I did using $25 bare Parker Hale M85 receivers.  Other than the action heat treating, DLC on the receivers and bolts, and nitriding the barrels, I did all of the other work.  Was not fast to do and a lot of work building jigs and fixtures to do the machining work but the results were worth it. Rifles that shoot under .5 MOA out to 430 yards and are very unique.

The guy I use for engraving I believe may sleep at his shop, he scored a couple contracts for custom Glock gen 3s and he is constantly busy, he does mostly restoration and custom laser engraving, but he doesn't have a life outside the business.

I started by attending Colorado School of Trades and graduated with an AOS (Associate of Occupational Studies) degree in Gunsmithing in 2007.
Then I got a job as a full-time gunsmith at an old retail shop in Lafayette which had recently changed ownership. The 2 old gunsmiths quit, so I was there working by myself for an owner who didn't know much about repairs.

The school just gives you the basics, so I had to figure out a lot of info on my own for specific models. The hardest stuff to figure out is usually obscure .22s from the 1920s through 40s that nobody in modern times cared enough about to publish diagrams or parts lists for. Often the parts have revisions, so compatibility may be a mystery. Jack First publishes order books with a few diagrams and notes that can't be found on the internet.

It's easy to find technical information for all the well-known models.

I worked on a ton of Remington firearms just because they're so prevalent.
I'd start with those, and know how to replace shell latches, ejector (housings), and magazine tubes before you even think about offering general gunsmithing services.

With maybe a few exeptions (that I've never personally seen) there's no way to stay above poverty level working for someone else, so unless you're going to be your own employer I wouldn't recommend a gunsmithing career to anybody.

I've had much better success as a law enforcement officer (if that tells you anything).

Also, people talk about cops not getting respect, but you'll get far less respect as a gunsmith while giving your (solicited) technical opinion at a retail service counter, in my experience.

Everyone wants to talk to the gunsmith (which prevents work from getting done) and few people like hearing about what something costs to repair, how unavailable parts are for their particular model, or what their ancient crappy gun is actually worth today. I started charging $35 for written appraisals and that actually worked great to cut that crap out. Only people with guns actually worth something would pay that, so nobody ended up disappointed. It also led to us providing value estimates to insurance companies.

You will need a real lathe for any real barrel work, so budget about $7k for that.
A manual mill is nice, but not necessary to get started.

Most work really is just cleaning and replacing parts, but that's only because most people are too lazy to do that themselves. Charge them accordingly. (We charged $65 for a cleaning plus whatever the parts cost, if replacement was needed.)

Refinishing work we farmed out (so we were just the middle man). We never tried to conceal that fact. Nobody cared; we had plently of refinishing business.

If you're not sure you can affect the repair, don't be afraid to tell the customer that. Always under-promise and over-deliver (first rule of salemanship).
I've turned jobs down, and accepted plenty that looked iffy. When I told them how questionable it was, I usually heard about how no less than 3 other smiths had already declined.
I successfully repaired about 90% of such jobs, which helped my reputation I guess.

We had guys drive from other states to have their seized choke tubes removed by us. We got really good at that.
Boss hired an 18-year-old assistant, mostly to do the cleanings, and we developed a procedure to really torque them out of there (with heat).

@KitBuilder
I knew I wasn't the only one getting people who thought they had to tighten their choke tubes with an impact.  

Very much agree on what he said tho.  The older cheaper guns are issues because there are so many of them, they were cheaply built and as he said, very little "full" documentation available.  

One thing I always have to remind myself, if they could have done it, or wanted to, they would have.  Charge them accordingly.  If you give away $15-20 on every gun repair, you'll never be able to make the jump to what you should be charging.  Many people associate a low price with sub-par service.  And like he said, don't over promise and don't be afraid to say no and turn it down.  Eventually they'll ask you to do it and accept a $ you're both comfortable with.  

Also, remind everyone who comes in with a botched repair, "it would have been cheaper if you would have just brought it to me before you made the problem worse"

I did a couple of semesters at TSJC. At the time I really couldn't afford it and went in the Army.

I home gunsmith for my personal, family and close friends projects. I did recently restore and rust blue a close friends Colt Woodsman that was in a fire.

I do it for the enjoyment and challenge. So it's basically just a hobby.

Not a gunsmith, but I’ve done a lot of my own custom work, repairs and some refinishing.  The paint on type.  Often thought about getting into it working for someone as a third career after my retirement with the state.  But as I’m aging I’m developing arthritis in my hands and no way would I try doing this now.

I don't know if you have tried this, but I use VOLTAREN and it works pretty well.

If he's already on a Rx Anti-inflammatory do NOT use that without consulting your doc first.  Realistically your pharmacist may actually be the better one to consult first.  I can't use it unless I skip taking one of my regular drugs.

Armorers' school.  Plenty of them and plenty of blackpowder rifle classes.  That was my foundation.

Then 2 year gunsmithing school.

I started out of necessity.
Every time I have had a "gunsmith" do something for me, I always had to go back behind them and fix what they did, re do it, or finish it up. EVERY time. Local or send it off.
I simply got tired of doing this and said hell with it, I think I can do this better myself. As it turns out, I can.
I have bought a lathe, mill, and assorted tools over the years.
I never went to any schools or received any training, all mine is self taught from reading as well as trial and error.
I practice on scrap metal before doing a actual part. Yea I mess up a ruger 10/22 bolt once, but that was a cheap mistake as 10/22 bolts are cheap.
Sometimes I still have to send something off just because I do not have the right tooling and it is just too expensive to buy for one small job. Most of the time it is a mistake and I have to more work to it afterwards. At least once it was actually done right and I did not have to do anything to it.

This is essentially the same story for me. I was an armorer in the Marines, but that's the extent of my formal training (which isn't much at all from a civilian standpoint). I got so tired of getting screwed over by "professional" shops that I just started buying machines and teaching myself. It's easier to swallow messing up your own part than paying someone to mess it up for you and waiting months to find out. I was hired to be the gunsmith at a local gun shop where someone will come in, tell them what they want done, and if the shop needs to they kinda consult me to take a look at it on a case by case basis. I've turned down a lot of work though, because I'm straight up and will tell them if I don't feel like I can accomplish the job to our mutual satisfaction. People get super frustrated by that, but I sleep better about it.

Harbor Freight knock-off Dremel, done!  Master Gunsmith!

I’m a gunsmith, but I’m also a retired Special Forces weapons specialist, so I have an income. It’s a bitch these days to make any real money as a gunsmith unless you’ve been doing it for years.

But if you’re interested you have several options. I think that I saw that you live in Virginia, so that does limit you in some ways.

1) Move and attend a 2 year school, Trinidad State Junior College in Colorado, Montgomery County Community College and several others have full 2 year programs. To the best of my knowledge there’s not one in Virginia.

2) Spend summers taking NRA Summer Gunsmithing course by the boatload. You’ll learn slower, but you don’t have to move.

3) Apprentice with a REAL gunsmith. Be sure to check their credentials as there are a lot of shade tree gunsmiths out there with an FFL and a bunch of tools.

4) DO NOT waste your time and money on a mail order course like Sonorian Desert Institute.  You’ll learn a few things, but not anywhere near enough to be a legit gunsmith.

5) Join the military as an armorer. They’ll teach you a lot, but the variety of weapons will be limited.

6) I mentioned that I was a retired SF weapons specialist. I learned a lot, but little that has anything to do with being a civilian gunsmith. I learned how to get anything to work, but it’s not pretty and civilians don’t want that kind of work.

7) Go to a community college with a Machine Shop degree. You will need a machine shop to some degree to be a gunsmith and a local community college will teach you a ton of good stuff. You won’t learn gun specific stuff, but the experience still applies, and the best part is that when/if you determine that being a gunsmith isn’t a very good way to make a living you can fall back on the machine shop degree and do that with gunsmithing as a side job.

Thank you for your comments and suggestions.

I don't think I mentioned this, but I spent over 23 years in the military and worked with quite alot of weapons most people wouldn't even think of. One in particular adventure I had was in Bosnia, where I got the see and work with some of the improvised firearms/weapons those clever devils came up with.

Built my 1st rifle (.50 caliber muzzleloader) as a freshman in High School at the age of 13. Was a assistant in the metal shop side of our Industrial Arts class. I told my dad I wanted to build custom rifles for a living. He told me he would help me with any vocation that was an honest trade but also told me there were probably a lot of guys that wanted to do the same but were pretty hungry.
At 17 I realized it would take a very long time to build a reputation as a builder to where people were willing to wait 2 years while you built them a rifle and paid you $3k to do it.
I decided to become a machinist/welder instead.
I went to night classes at a community college for 2 years and studied "Machine Technology" (Machinist). I was 2nd in my class and thought I knew my shit.
LOL
I went to work for an old Polish man in a 1 horse machine shop and realized I knew just enough to be dangerous, I worked off and on for him about 8 years.
But I was always tinkering with firearms and learning. I took a Springfield 1911 that I had hand fit a beavertail safety on over to a shop that was in Lakewood called Old West Arms to be reblued. The Gunsmith asked who did the work and I told him I did, he offered me a part time gig on the spot. I worked weekends there for a couple of years and learned a bunch from him.
Fast forward about 20 years while I built a career with a State entity but I was always tinkering. I ended up again working part time for local shop doing their "Smithing.
I did that for about 3 years and decided I would hang my own shingle and over the span of about 4 years built a good business out of my shop at home.
All the while I kept a full time job.

I do not have a formal education in Gunsmithing, I have never been in the situation I could put my life on hold while I went to school plus I am just not a formal school kind of guy.
A lot is going to depend on your skill set. I have been blessed with the ability to read something, comprehend it and apply it to my hands and turn out an exemplary product. Attention to detail is paramount.
Books are my #1 tool investment.
I have always been mechanically inclined so that helped a bunch and my background as a machinist gave a solid foundation and the ability to think on my feet and outside of the box.
I have always felt you can make a Gunsmith out of a Machinist but you cant make a Machinist out of a Gunsmith.
As mentioned machining is taught at schools but it is also a pretty narrow scope of work.
I have taken a couple of mail order courses, they will give you a bit of info to work on your own stuff as a hobbyist but would get you laughed out of a credible shop.
I have taken numerous Armorers courses for various platforms and they are beneficial.
I have dealt with a few recent graduates of CST, some were OK but others I wouldn't let fix a tricycle with a rubber hammer. When they reorganized about 15-20 years ago and lost their Master Instructor (John Stewart) they lost a lot. Now they seem like a puppy mill, just sucking in the tuition and cranking out certificates.
I worked with one briefly and he showed me his notebook from the school, it looked familiar to me so when I got home I thumbed through Roy Dunlap's "Gunsmithing" book.
Damn near the same thing.

If your on the fence as far as a formal education I would say try a couple of the NRA classes to see if it clicks for you, you have to have the "knack" for it and I'm sorry, I don't think that is something that can be taught- you either have "It" or you don't.
No point in tying up $30K and a couple of years if it ends up not being the gig for you.
If you do go the formal education take the advice that has been offered already, go to a quality school that is more than a certificate school-TSJC is above the rest IMO, I have a good friend who went there and he is a sharp guy and was very well served by the school.

There is an old adage about Gunsmithing- What's the difference between a large pizza and a Gunsmith? A large pizza can feed a family of 4....
Keep a job, make the "Smithing a side hustle.

The 'Smiths that have a strong following and can make a good full time living at it are:
A- Rare
B- Very specialized
C- Excellent businessmen

Bottom line is I am still in "Gunsmithing School", it's the school of dirty hands and hard knocks.

Generally handy. Wanted to install a rail on my rifle that required me to remove the slip ring. Found some YouTube videos and got it done.

Been working on my own guns since.

Generally speaking (unless we’re talking a Garand, M1A or similar era) modern guns are pretty easy to work on if you know the tricks.

Also fuck working on 1911’s.

Specialize in something rather than being a general gunsmith.

I focused on Benelli M4’s and somehow ended up working on hundreds over the past six years. It won’t pay the rent, but it’s a fun hobby level side hustle.

A lot if hacks claim to be gunsmiths. The best gunsmiths have a national customer base and usually a backlog they are working through.

IMO if you aren't using a milling machine and a lathe you aren't a gunsmith. Some people who do use a mill and a lathe are closer to a butcher than a gunsmith.

Take a two year technical course from a quality community college. Machine operations is a skill that can be used across many fields. You will discover if you want to proceed and will have a skill in demand.

Purchasing a quality lathe and milling machine and tooling is expensive. Really expensive. A buddy's father owned a gunshop growing up and he did minor work like drilling and tapping for scope bases and rear iron sights.

There basement was filled with 100 year old machine tools in various states of repair. The gunshop paid the bills, the gunsmith work was a service they provided.

I feel you have sell guns first and be a gunsmith to attract customers second.

I started by tinkering with guns until I decided I wanted formal training. Then I started reading about becoming a gunsmith. And I read about what gunsmiths do, and how to do those things. Then I went to a two year Gunsmithing school (MSC). Then I took a job working on guns. I am still learning, and if you think you will ever be done learning, you are in the wrong field.

Have an open mind. That is my best advice. Be willing to learn from those that know more than you. There is always someone that knows more than you about something.

Most of the 'smiths I know are armorers, and can swap parts and perform minor fit jobs.  The others I consider true gunsmiths are either old and semi-retired and pick the jobs that want to work on, and a few are guys who went to a school like Trinidad and specialize in certain firearms.  One of the younger guys will take on challenges others turn down, but there will be a price to pay.  One customer had an over and under that would fire both barrels at once, and it turned out there was a part that was either sheared off or worn down.  He hand fitted a brass part, tested it in the action, then cut a steel part and heat treated it.  The guy will take on any project, however  if he's really busy or knows of a specialist that could turn it out faster and better, he's not too proud to recommend better known, established shops and services.

Laser engraving appears to be one of those upcoming skills that would be good to learn.  One of the local smiths was thinking of opening another store front to provide engraving services for non-firearm items.  Jewelers and medical clinic folk don't always feel comfortable taking items to a gun shop to get them engraved.  The engraver doesn't cost much to calibrate and maintain.  The cost to the customer comes from scanning an image, cleaning it up, then converting it to a raster file to engraver can use.