[chev1958]

Does anyone have any opinions on this gunsmithing school? Gunsmithing sounds interesting to me after retiring from the 9-to-5 grind.

I'm also looking at the Glock Armorer's course.

 

[0311INF]

Scuttlebutt is that you basically come away with largely useless information you could find about anywhere. Apparently a good amount of the coursework is on youtube.

 

[BBMW]

This is something you probably don't want to do as an online program. I'd want a B&M school with equipment and hands on training.

 

[trucker-chase]

I’ve heard not good things. The material is basic and easily accessible for free elsewhere. They pay thousands ($5K plus) to GunTubers to sell their programs. It’s expensive and they pander hard for GI Bill money. I’ve heard professional gunsmiths typically don’t hire the graduates either.

There’s some good videos on them on YouTube. They remind me of those for-profit diploma mill schools whose degree is more worthless than the paper it was printed on. Yet they sell dreams that appeal to people, myself included.

Personally - I’d read or watch whatever textbooks and other source material that you can find to learn about gunsmithing, and maybe find a local place who’ll hire you as an apprentice.

Hope that helps

 

[chev1958]

Thanks everybody!

 

[Big Bird]

There are gunsmiths and then there are gunsmiths. It depends on the kind of work you want to do and the kind of customer base you'll want to attract. Like I wouldn't call a Glock Armorer a gunsmith exactly. I think to truly call yourself a gunsmith you need to know how to run a lathe and mill at a minimum. Like some of the gunsmiths I know who make custom rifles get $10k for their work or more and have a 2-3 year backlog if they are even accepting work any more. But they have years of experience on machines and understand heat treating and tempering and a whole host of other things you need to know to MAKE parts for guns...not just replace them.

There are a lot of sidelines to gunsmithing that are in high demand and don't require significant investments of time to get good at... Metal engraving and wood checkering come to mind. I learned how to engrave in no time at all and do it from time to time on the muzzleloaders I build. I'm no master engraver and my engraving is very workmanlike but typical of the flintlock rifles produced here in the colonies back in the day--maybe even a bit more refined. If I had the time an inclination I could probably get very good at it and command a good price for my work. But I can engrave a flintlock or a trigger guard in an hour and a half maybe two hours and get paid $150-200 for the work depending on how much metal prep I need to do before I put the chisel to the metal.

Wood checkering likewise is a skill that anyone can learn and get good at with some effort and a minimum investment in tools.

All the good gunsmiths I know send their engraving and checkering work out...it's just not what they do. But they are things you can literally do in a small room with some good lighting, magnification and work holding tools and a very minimal investment of specialty tools. And the ability to command $50-100 an hour for your work in very short order.

 

[nedsled]

Just go on youtube and search "SDI" or "gunsmithing" or "gunsmithing apprentice". See what Mark Novak and others have to say about it.

As others have said, it seems to largely be about separating vets from their GI Bill money.

I like Kentucky Ballistics... but sorta don't because SDI is one of his sponsors.

Kinda didn't like Garand Thumb... and still don't... but am feeling better about him since he ditched SDI.

 

[Bosch]

Scuttlebutt is that you basically come away with largely useless information you could find about anywhere. Apparently a good amount of the coursework is on youtube.

All relevant knowledge can be found online.

Some people need an achievement award after finding and learning it.

 

[walkinguf61]

This is a YouTube video on your question

 

[mc1911]

I would start be becoming a very good machinist.

 

[Valmet]

I’ve never heard very good things about SDI. Kinda wish Hickok45 would break with them…

 

[MajorD]

As far as gunsmiths go, the old masters were the type of guys who could look at a broken part and a schematic, grab a hunk of steel and make a perfect fitting replacement that lasted a lifetime. And didn’t charge an arm and a leg either. This sorts of talents are fading away sadly. Most gunsmiths these days fall into 2 categories:
what I might call armorers - can trouble shoot a gun and replace parts, but no mechanical or machining skills
custom gunsmiths who still do A lot of the old school work ( though in modern times is a lot easier with better machinery close to tolerance minimal fit required parts abound. ) the guys who can sit at a bench and turn a raw metal chunk into a work of art are a special and rare breed.

 

[BBMW]

It sounds like this would be a retirement job for the OP. If he were younger, I'd suggest he finds one of the better old skool 'smiths, and ask to apprentice. But that would be a years long process. Not really appropriate for someone who's already retirement age.

 

[Hungernsharktooth]

This is a YouTube video on your question

SDI is a huge scam. Why so many guntubers continue to promote them is absolutely beyond me

 

[BBMW]

Because SDI pays them. It's the same as celebrities doing commercials for questionable products.

SDI is a huge scam. Why so many guntubers continue to promote them is absolutely beyond me

 

[tacticaljoey]

Not sure how anyone would believe you can become a gunsmith online.

 

[Big Bird]

I would start be becoming a very good machinist.

This is all well and true but machinists these days use CNC machines and computer programs. Not old fashioned lathes and mills.

 

[DKing]

As a current student at SDI I’ll tell you it is like any schooling. You will not graduate a master gunsmith or expert in anything. You will finish your courses with a good working knowledge of the topics that you will hopefully have the opportunity to expand on as an apprentice somewhere. The courses, like almost everything else, are built around the lowest common denominator so if you already have a basic understanding of the topic it will probably be kinda boring at first. Everybody’s individual experience is going to be different.

 

[BBMW]

Have you tried looking for apprenticeship? And if so, has the SDI content helped?

As a current student at SDI I’ll tell you it is like any schooling. You will not graduate a master gunsmith or expert in anything. You will finish your courses with a good working knowledge of the topics that you will hopefully have the opportunity to expand on as an apprentice somewhere. The courses, like almost everything else, are built around the lowest common denominator so if you already have a basic understanding of the topic it will probably be kinda boring at first. Everybody’s individual experience is going to be different.

 

[DKing]

Have you tried looking for apprenticeship? And if so, has the SDI content helped?

I’m not at that place yet. It’s my understanding they do have services available to graduates finding employment opportunities. Does that mean a guaranteed job? Of course not. I’ll explore that option when I get closer to graduation.