online gunsmith school thoughts

[alxone]

i have been thinking about doing an online gunsmith school and was wondering if anybody has done this or knows someone that has ? i already work on my own guns and restore older ones but im thinking with a sheepskin (no matter how lame ) , that i might be able to fix up old wall hangers ,basic maintenance on modern firearms and offer a cleaning service.
so back to the original question any word on the online gunsmith schools ?
thanks


id go the the school of trades or the nra school but
1 i dont have that kind of money
2 i dont have that kind of time
3 im not moving for school

[dwalker460]

Not sure about an online course, gunsmithing is very hand-on sort of thing. I guess it would depend on what sort of smithing you were thinking of doing.
I believe there are some good gunsmithing school here in Colorado, might check those out.

[Wulf202]

you can do all of the things you want without ever going to gunsmithing school. just take some armorers courses as time permits.

[BPTactical]

Alex,
Don't waste your time or money on "correspondence" type courses. I have sampled a couple and as a matter of fact I have the curriculums from 4 of them I have grabbed at gunshows.
Most are what would be classified at "hobbyist" level. They will teach basics such as cleaning, scope mounting and such but lack real depth.
3 of the curriculums I have are almost word for word dissertations on Roy Dunlaps book: "Gunsmithing".
The book is 40.00, most of the courses are in the 4-500.00 dollar ranges.
The one that is somewhat useful is the AGI dvd course but to get it from AGI you are looking at $3k.
Your a smart man Al(odd but that's ok).
You are fully capable of teaching yourself, get Dunlaps book and get familiar with some of the various areas of the craft.
Then as a new project comes along find every bit of reference material on that item and dig in.

[alxone]

so without a certificate i can work on others firearms or do i need an ffl and if i do need an ffl would a cheap online class help ?

[BPTactical]

Per BATF Regs: "if one is engaged in the repair, modification and customization of firearms FOR PROFIT and or as a business a FFL is required".
I am working from memory so the wording may not be exact but the gist is if you are making money from it, you had best have your FFL.
No "Certificate" or diploma is required to 'Smith.
Its not what you hang on the wall, its what comes from your hands that counts.

[zteknik]

Per BATF Regs: "if one is engaged in the repair, modification and customization of firearms FOR PROFIT and or as a business a FFL is required".
I am working from memory so the wording may not be exact but the gist is if you are making money from it, you had best have your FFL.
No "Certificate" or diploma is required to 'Smith.
Its not what you hang on the wall, its what comes from your hands that counts.

So true!
I knew a smith out in NY that was a master. The guy could take the crappiest Siameese Mauser and turn it into a work of art.No schooling,no ffl just hands on experience and would work on your stuff just for the sake of getting out of the house and enjoying your company.
Then there are the guys at the local shop there that had every known certificate,but screwed up evry barrel they ever worked on..

[alxone]

just for the record id only be replacing parts , cleaning and restoring old stuff . i could not agree more that its the quality of craftsmanship that counts not the crap hanging on the wall .
thanks again for the info

[zteknik]

I would love to get in some of those courses just to familiarize myself with the innards of many firearms.I have a good knowledge from tinkering with my millitary collection and it would be nice to be able to take apart some of the older civillan weapons without having springs and bins go boing..

[spyder]

You can try out one or two of the NRA classes at the college here over the summer.