Hobbyist gunsmithing??

[KokuRyu77]

So I've been thinking about this a while, but what would be a good "starting kit" for gunsmithing? .....
Short term:
More than field striping a gun.
Replacing sights.
Building a P80 Glock

Long term:
Build a 1911
AR15

I know a punch kit of sorts is needed, ball peen hammer, vise is good, and maybe a sight pusher.... I'm wondering what you all peps recommend? Is there a kit on Amazon that has enough of what I'd need without spending $200+ but also keep me 'entertained' for a while?
I appreciate the input!

 

[55fairlane]

Find a great smith and spend several years serving an apprenticeship
Find a collage, pay to learn

You will want to invest in a great lathe ($10k fully tooled up), milling machine ( $10k tooled up) , but you only need these if you want to chamber barrels or do slide work.
Vise, Wilton....punches/hammer/tap wrench ect STARRETT....don't cheap out, good tools are the rule....

 

[BIGE7.62]

I took to long typing, whats said above

 

[armalitesheepdog]

If you want to build a 1911 your gonna need 2-3 hundred worth of specific tools just for that

 

[Squirt239]

Dont do it....its a trap....

Kidding.

Holler at me one day. I'll give you the low down.

 

[STFU]

Find a great smith and spend several years serving an apprenticeship
Find a collage, pay to learn

You will want to invest in a great lathe ($10k fully tooled up), milling machine ( $10k tooled up) , but you only need these if you want to chamber barrels or do slide work.
Vise, Wilton....punches/hammer/tap wrench ect STARRETT....don't cheap out, good tools are the rule....

And a good liability policy as well.

 

[92FSTech]

The functions you listed are tasks performed by an armorer. Basically just replacing/installing parts. A gunsmith is going to be able to machine and fabricate parts, as well as custom fit components, true actions, etc. His tools are going to include a mill and a lathe, as well as a lot of other very expensive and very specialized tooling.

I am a certified armorer on several platforms. What that essentially means is that somebody paid to send me to some classes to learn what I could have learned on my own from reading some manuals and watching instructional videos. The biggest upside to the courses was lots of hands-on practice. Even with the classes, my training and abilities are far short of those of an actual gunsmith. I'm a parts swapper, with a little bit of diagnostic ability, nothing more.

The good news for you is that your goals are probably mostly achievable at the armorer level. Glocks and ARs, at least at the basic level, are just assembled parts. Some tools that would be handy for you:

A sight pusher
A good, high-quality punch set
A nice gunsmithing hammer (w/ brass and non-marring delrin head)
A comprehensive set of flat-ground screwdriver bits
An AR armorer's wrench
Vice block (and a bench vice)
Torque wrench
Upper receiver block or reaction rod
Flat-sided punch for the AR bolt catch pin

A good set of polishing stones and a set of files wouldn't hurt, either.

If you get into 1911s or revolvers there will be quite a few more specialized tools that you will need.

 

[KokuRyu77]

Find a great smith and spend several years serving an apprenticeship
Find a collage, pay to learn

You will want to invest in a great lathe ($10k fully tooled up), milling machine ( $10k tooled up) , but you only need these if you want to chamber barrels or do slide work.
Vise, Wilton....punches/hammer/tap wrench ect STARRETT....don't cheap out, good tools are the rule....

Soooooo when I had the subject as "HOBBYIST gunsmith" i wasn't thinking $20k in milling and machining tools. Lol!!!
I've seen the Starrett brand.

I have looked into classes and such, but was thinking YouTube university until I get more engaged in gunsmithing...

EDIT: I just read what 92FSTech wrote and I feel extra stupid. An armorer does not equal gunsmith and gunsmith is milling and such. So oops.... though it would make sense for building a 1911 (for instance). But my bad on the gunsmith part when I should've said armorer. But hey, I'm learning! Ha

 

[SnoopLoggyDog]

The functions you listed are tasks performed by an armorer. Basically just replacing/installing parts. A gunsmith is going to be able to machine and fabricate parts, as well as custom fit components, true actions, etc. His tools are going to include a mill and a lathe, as well as a lot of other very expensive and very specialized tooling.

I am a certified armorer on several platforms. What that essentially means is that somebody paid to send me to some classes to learn what I could have learned on my own from reading some manuals and watching instructional videos. The biggest upside to the courses was lots of hands-on practice. Even with the classes, my training and abilities are far short of those of an actual gunsmith. I'm a parts swapper, with a little bit of diagnostic ability, nothing more.

The good news for you is that your goals are probably mostly achievable at the armorer level. Glocks and ARs, at least at the basic level, are just assembled parts. Some tools that would be handy for you:

A sight pusher
A good, high-quality punch set
A nice gunsmithing hammer (w/ brass and non-marring delrin head)
A comprehensive set of flat-ground screwdriver bits
An AR armorer's wrench
Vice block (and a bench vice)
Torque wrench
Upper receiver block or reaction rod
Flat-sided punch for the AR bolt catch pin

A good set of polishing stones and a set of files wouldn't hurt, either.

If you get into 1911s or revolvers there will be quite a few more specialized tools that you will need.

I'm a "hobby level armorer" on AR rifles and various pistols and revolvers. Have also learned how to assemble Mossberg 500 and Remington 870 shotguns into different configurations and upgrades. Can change barrels on Savage rifles, mount scopes, change sights, do refinishing and troubleshoot reliability issues.

It all started with upgrading 10-22 rifles and refinishing old single shot rifles and shotguns. Order a Brownells catalog and your eyes will be opened to what you can do.

 

[92FSTech]

Soooooo when I had the subject as "HOBBYIST gunsmith" i wasn't thinking $20k in milling and machining tools. Lol!!!
I've seen the Starrett brand.

I have looked into classes and such, but was thinking YouTube university until I get more engaged in gunsmithing...

EDIT: I just read what 92FSTech wrote and I feel extra stupid. An armorer does not equal gunsmith and gunsmith is milling and such. So oops.... though it would make sense for building a 1911 (for instance). But my bad on the gunsmith part when I should've said armorer. But hey, I'm learning! Ha

Didn't mean to come across like that, or to make you feel stupid...just trying to clarify the terminology to reduce the confusion. Folks seemed to be going full-bore gunsmith with their suggestions, and from reading your post I didn't think that was what you meant.

I agree that you probably don't need to take armorers classes, especially not right away. While I did learn some useful stuff, it was mainly to get me certified so that I could work on our work guns without voiding the warranty.

I think you can learn a lot of the stuff you need to know from YouTube, especially if you stick to reputable sources. Brownells and Midway have some really good stuff out there, as do some of the smaller shops and even some respected gunsmiths. I refer to those types of videos frequently.

You have to be careful picking stuff at random, though, because anybody can make a youtube video, and that doesn't necessarily mean they know what they're talking about. I've seen some really bad advice.

Some written manuals are a good investment, too, like the Jerry Kuhnhausen shop manual series. Sometimes you don't know what you don't know and those books tend to be more comprehensive in their explanations than most videos.

 

[Gingerbeardman]

Eh all you need is a Dremel and a claw hammer for starters

 

[SnoopLoggyDog]

Eh all you need is a Dremel and a claw hammer for starters

The Cursed Gun Images Thread

Calling @AMD65MASTERRACE Look what they did to your boy! Having a hard time naming this one.... G65? KalashniKrout? HK47?

www.indianagunowners.com

Here is a thread on how NOT to modify firearms. Look at your own risk.

 

[KokuRyu77]

Didn't mean to come across like that, or to make you feel stupid...just trying to clarify the terminology to reduce the confusion. Folks seemed to be going full-bore gunsmith with their suggestions, and from reading your post I didn't think that was what you meant.

I agree that you probably don't need to take armorers classes, especially not right away. While I did learn some useful stuff, it was mainly to get me certified so that I could work on our work guns without voiding the warranty.

I think you can learn a lot of the stuff you need to know from YouTube, especially if you stick to reputable sources. Brownells and Midway have some really good stuff out there, as do some of the smaller shops and even some respected gunsmiths. I refer to those types of videos frequently.

You have to be careful picking stuff at random, though, because anybody can make a youtube video, and that doesn't necessarily mean they know what they're talking about. I've seen some really bad advice.

Some written manuals are a good investment, too, like the Jerry Kuhnhausen shop manual series. Sometimes you don't know what you don't know and those books tend to be more comprehensive in their explanations than most videos.

Oh no worries, you said nothing wrong. I just feel stupid because I didn't recognize the difference! Ha
But im excited to learn and appreciate all the input!

 

[Gunaddict]

I am an engineer trained fix multi million dollar hospital imaging equipment and have been talked to like I’m an idiot. I just ignore them. I am not a gunsmith, but you you don’t need to be for a lot of it. Building an AR is extremely easy. There are a ton of books and videos on how to do it. I have replaced trigger assemblies in Glocks, S&W, etc. Mostly basic hand tools, but here is what I bought as a hobbyist.
A good brass punch kit and hammer
Armorer’s block
A punch kit containing roll pin starters
AR armorer’s wrench and vice blocks or AIM makes a really good starter kit
A good pick set
That’s all I started with and only just added a rear sight pusher

Now, I do not have the education or experience to use a lathe or repair woodworking which is what an experienced gunsmith can do. I will leave that to the professionals. I understand what you are trying to do.

 

[KokuRyu77]

I am an engineer trained fix multi million dollar hospital imaging equipment and have been talked to like I’m an idiot. I just ignore them. I am not a gunsmith, but you you don’t need to be for a lot of it. Building an AR is extremely easy. There are a ton of books and videos on how to do it. I have replaced trigger assemblies in Glocks, S&W, etc. Mostly basic hand tools, but here is what I bought as a hobbyist.
A good brass punch kit and hammer
Armorer’s block
A punch kit containing roll pin starters
AR armorer’s wrench and vice blocks or AIM makes a really good starter kit
A good pick set
That’s all I started with and only just added a rear sight pusher

Now, I do not have the education or experience to use a lathe or repair woodworking which is what an experienced gunsmith can do. I will leave that to the professionals. I understand what you are trying to do.

Huh.... your company hiring? Haha sounds like fun!

Thanks for the input.

 

[gassprint1]

I think possibly 1 thing to add for a tool is a buffing wheel on a bench grinder for polishing trigger type parts. I let 1 go 20 years ago and wish i had it now. A dremel to do this will work but not as good. I want to do the connecting bars i think they are called in my walther pps, same bar you find in the glocks. I watched videos on how to properly do it..just haven't yet.

 

[chef larry]

The functions you listed are tasks performed by an armorer. Basically just replacing/installing parts. A gunsmith is going to be able to machine and fabricate parts, as well as custom fit components, true actions, etc. His tools are going to include a mill and a lathe, as well as a lot of other very expensive and very specialized tooling.

I am a certified armorer on several platforms. What that essentially means is that somebody paid to send me to some classes to learn what I could have learned on my own from reading some manuals and watching instructional videos. The biggest upside to the courses was lots of hands-on practice. Even with the classes, my training and abilities are far short of those of an actual gunsmith. I'm a parts swapper, with a little bit of diagnostic ability, nothing more.

The good news for you is that your goals are probably mostly achievable at the armorer level. Glocks and ARs, at least at the basic level, are just assembled parts. Some tools that would be handy for you:

A sight pusher
A good, high-quality punch set
A nice gunsmithing hammer (w/ brass and non-marring delrin head)
A comprehensive set of flat-ground screwdriver bits
An AR armorer's wrench
Vice block (and a bench vice)
Torque wrench
Upper receiver block or reaction rod
Flat-sided punch for the AR bolt catch pin

A good set of polishing stones and a set of files wouldn't hurt, either.

If you get into 1911s or revolvers there will be quite a few more specialized tools that you will need.

What do you suggest for a torque wrench?

 

[55fairlane]

I have a Utica TS-30 click type 0 to 30 inch pounds. A little spendy, but worth every penny I paided.
A current googly search shows the price just north of $300 .

 

[92FSTech]

What do you suggest for a torque wrench?

For a very precise, inch-pound tool to do small screws and scope mounts and the like, something like what 55Fairlane posted is the only way to be sure. I've looked at a lot of the consumer grade torque wrenches like the Wheeler and am just not impressed. Fix-it-sticks are well made, but by the time you pay for them you might as well get a legit machinist's tool.

I'll be honest, since almost all the work I do is on my own stuff or free for buddies, my current in-lb wrench is just a cheap harbor-freight job. I couldn't bring myself to pay more for a consumer-grade "gunsmithing" tool that isn't really any better...I'm currently casually watching the used market for deals on a real professional grade tool.

For AR barrel nuts and stuff of that nature, which allows for a broad range of relatively heavy torque, your typical Craftsman mechanic's click-type torque wrench will be fine, or even a cheap beam-type. I use the same wrenches for that stuff that I already had in my toolbox for working on cars.

You're ultimately going to end up with both an inch-pound and foot-pound wrench, as neither will do the other's job.

 

[Hoosier8]

Soooooo when I had the subject as "HOBBYIST gunsmith" i wasn't thinking $20k in milling and machining tools. Lol!!!
I've seen the Starrett brand.

I have looked into classes and such, but was thinking YouTube university until I get more engaged in gunsmithing...

EDIT: I just read what 92FSTech wrote and I feel extra stupid. An armorer does not equal gunsmith and gunsmith is milling and such. So oops.... though it would make sense for building a 1911 (for instance). But my bad on the gunsmith part when I should've said armorer. But hey, I'm learning! Ha

A good hollow ground screwdriver set like the following.

https://a.co/d/cMQkHMz