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How Exactly Do Gunsmiths Become Gunsmiths...


Airic

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Dan that was too funny. Paul, have you moved past the paper towel holder and the air hose?

Dan willing to take less for building these guns was an issue while we got this thing off the ground. But it was only a small point. He was a customer of mine for years and he built me a couple personal guns and did some jobs for my customers that i was impressed with. I guess the bigest things were his not settling for anything but perfection and his work ethic. I have called him at 10pm and he was still in the shop working. Now that the guns have gotten off the ground we did raise the price on the open guns and guess who got most of that increase. Only reason Dan still buys all that Mac & cheese is so he can keep his dogs supplied with beer. There is proof on this forum. Oh yea, he has one or two every now & then himself. The only time you cant get a thing out of him is during deer season. If he would bag a couple more deer maybe he could eat less Mac & cheese!

Edited by chuckbradley
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I heard a good joke that seemed associated with this thread-

"What is the difference between a Pistolsmith and a Pizza?"

A pizza will feed a family of four. :P

Me? I met Bruce Gray, Dan Ruff and Kelly Jones up in the S.F. bay area and admired the work they did.

Went to school to become an engineer and always loved handguns. Started working on friends guns and local LE guns for food money while in school. Fortune smiled upon me and more people needed work done. I think if you have a passion for something and the willingness to pursue it you will succeed.

A whole lot of tofu was killed in my formative years... :wacko:

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that's a good joke, never heard that one but there is some truth to it. It's just me, my wife and a 17 year old springer spaniel and a 12 year old fat ass beagle. I really gotta put my time in just to keep that damn beagle in beer and pretzels. If you're good at what you do you will make a livin' at it, how good a livin' depends on how hard you wanna work. Today is only wednesday and i bet i've got my 40 hours in already. :wacko:

the hardest part about being a gunsmith is pleasing a competetive shooter, especially in the sport of practical shooting where reliability in your equipment is everything. For the most part there are no alibis here or timeouts. The occassional shooter will never put the demands on his equipment like you guys will and if the gun aint runnin' you know who's name is being thrown into the fire, the gunsmith, even if it had nothing to do with the gun,maybe the problem was the ammo or a magazine or operator error. So you wanna be a gunsmith? Be the best you can be at it but be able to handle the occassional shit storm when it occurs. I actually really like what i do but if you want the easy way out, become a weather man , it's the only job you can be wrong at everyday and you'll still get a paycheck at the end of the week. ;)

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I never cease to be amazed at how much I learn on this forum. In just this one thread I've learned

1. We call them "Race Guns" because the gunsmiths all used to race cars.

2. Dan is one third Chuck's size because Dan is the working slob and Chuck is the businessman.

3. If there is a problem with a gun it is Dan's fault.

4. I don't want to know what Paul does with the paper towel holder and the air hose....

:D:P:D

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I never cease to be amazed at how much I learn on this forum. In just this one thread I've learned

1. We call them "Race Guns" because the gunsmiths all used to race cars.

2. Dan is one third Chuck's size because Dan is the working slob and Chuck is the businessman.

3. If there is a problem with a gun it is Dan's fault.

4. I don't want to know what Paul does with the paper towel holder and the air hose....

:D:P:D

L.O.L. :lol::lol::lol::o

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I really like the fact that Bill,Dale & Chris blame me for stuff i could not have even had anything to do with, it makes me feel like they really care that i may not be getting enough attention, thanks guys for sharing that. :lol::lol::lol: . Don't you guys realize that it's never the gunsmith's fault, it's 99% operator error and 1% act of god. I have no comment on what Paul W. does with the air hose and the papertowel holder, remember we're talking about a guy that just figured out that the underwear go on first and then the pants. :lol:

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Out here in kalifornia, some of us were forced to amass some gunsmithing ability because the lead times of getting work done by smiths around here extends beyond the life span of ordinary mortals.

The first thing I had to learn was how to do trigger jobs on my guns. The second thing I learned from reading various posts is to never do a trigger job on anybody else's guns..... because the general consensus among many is that all trigger jobs are alike, you can lighten a trigger by a huge amount and still fire WWII surplus ammo, etc....

And then there was the lady complaining about the "bad" Fiocchi ammo making her gun jam.... the .32 Walther that hadn't been cleaned in five years and had siezed up from the gunk inside it.

I think earning a living fixing other people's guns would require patience beyond my supply. The guns are fairly straightforward, but the people.....

I wish i could find a gunsmith that i could hire to help me with my workload but my problem is that i am so particular about how my guns are put together i just can't trust anyone but myself to do the job.

Me too. I remember blueprinting this like new model 14 SW target masterpiece I bought....

Like new? Like Rosie O'Donnel is like Angelina Jolie. But since it was mine, it had to be perfect ..... I rememeber thinking: "It's a good thing I can't send myself a bill, because I could never afford all the work I did on this stupid gun."

Edited by bountyhunter
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One of my best friends in going to school at Pine Technical College for their gunsmithing program. He has about 18 months left and 1 internship and he will graduate with a AAS degree in Gunsmithing. He didn't used to know all that much about guns, but he does now. He has all sorts of friends coming out of the woodwork with guns that aren't working right. Right now he isn't charging us, but he will be someday which is just fine with me a guy has to make a living somehow.

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If he's smart he'll start charging something for his work now. I used to do alot of "favor type repairs" for some of my buddies, then all the sudden you tell them you need to get paid for the 10 hours you spent on their gun and they almost seem offended that you actually want to get paid for your work. <_< . I know he means well so make sure you guys at least tip him for his handy work now and he'll take care of you when you really need it. ;)

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Make sure when he does a little work for you you at least pick up the tab for some eats and a beer. Chuck says you won't believe what some guys will do for a twelver of Mich Ultra and a couple of boxes of yellow death!

Edited by smokshwn
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  • 2 weeks later...
Make sure when he does a little work for you you at least pick up the tab for some eats and a beer. Chuck says you won't believe what some guys will do for a twelver of Mich Ultra and a couple of boxes of yellow death!

This must explain how Dans beagle got hooked on Beer and pretzels, it all started in the early days of smithing.

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craig, you gotta tell me, what the hell is "yellow death" ?

TCK , that's the funniest avatar i've ever seen, except Paul W's

Well I probably shouldn't comment on Paul's avatar since I dont know him, maybe this is a good thing?... :unsure:

Glad you like the avatar, kind of fits the way I have hosed down a stage or too :P

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craig, you gotta tell me, what the hell is "yellow death" ?

TCK , that's the funniest avatar i've ever seen, except Paul W's

Well I probably shouldn't comment on Paul's avatar since I dont know him, maybe this is a good thing?... :unsure:

Glad you like the avatar, kind of fits the way I have hosed down a stage or too :P

Use the force Todd, trust your instincts,

right

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