Gunsmith

[zachrussell 1]

Does anyone know anything about becoming an apprentice to a gunsmith, if this a job that makes a decent living or if its hard to make a living out of it.

[SNAP SHOT 194]

most people go down the forces route mate to gain the quailfaction as far as i'm aware....

 

good luck with it...

 

Snap.

[waidmann 105]

thats the route i would take bud.

reme as an armourer and then you have the know how of the trade,thats not a gunsmith but a very good start in the direction.

the other option is "fine mechanic" or "tool maker" thats what i was doing before i decided to come back to the uk.

 

a training as a gunsmith will be like rocking horse.......hair unless you have VERY good qualifications and references to beat the other candidates(the best options will be BIG firms(if there are any in the uk still??).

 

i wish you all the best in a very interesting and dying trade(most of it is done by robots,the remainder is "fitted" by tradesmen).

something i would love to do all the same(as would alot of us i'm sure).

[sage 0]

Does anyone know anything about becoming an apprentice to a gunsmith, if this a job that makes a decent living or if its hard to make a living out of it.

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What a shame my friend.

I am one of the 4 gunsmiths/gunmakers at UK Gunrepairs in Somerset. We are a bunch of old boys the young lad in the workshop is in his 40's and the rest 50 plus total workshop time for us put together is over 150 years at the bench.

We have one young lad 15 that is keen as hell and we all would give hime a chance,but so much red tape, health and safty ect. our workshop is full of things that would send the H&S officer into a spin. To give you an Idea when I started in the trade my first job was to make my own vice claps casting them in lead the same as we do to-day NO WAY. second job make your own turn screws (gunmakers screw drivers), file grind and harden, turn and fit handles with heat. 4 of the 5 methods are a no go.

The big london names such as James Purdy Holland and Holland are not taking on apprentices but head hunting tool makers in their 30's and then adapting their skils to that of the gun trade. It kind of works but a lot of the skills are fast being lost and we have no one to pass our skill on to. In the past year we have lost 3 very well respected gunmakers/gunsmiths in our area alone.

Gunshops to-day most of which do not have their own smiths but send repairs up and down the country. the shops and many of the big names in the trade prefer to use outworkers. We have in our gun racks work from many of the big 5 London names.

As to is it a good trade.

For me I love it, still do after 40 years. Lots and Lots of work out there but it is a job that you will find hard to get a good wage out of a 40hr week. We are 3 weeks away from launching a web site in the hopes of picking up work straight from you guys rather than working for the trade only. Last year I/we refurbished a gun for a London shop our bill to the shop £485.00 in p&p 3 weeks afterwards I was shooting on the next peg to the man on a shoot down here in Somerset. Yes the same gun. Over shoot lunch I managed to get the subject around to his smart looking gun. HIS REPLY I take all my guns to ......... Gunmakers they are very good top end price but you get what you pay for. I had to ask! He paid £1430.00plus Vat. Now profit is not a rude word but a grand for posting a gun one way to the West Country is more than strong.

I cant see my reply has helped much. We would love to have 1 may be 2 keen young guys in our w/shops but to conform to the H&S would cost us a small fortune. I wish you luck and if we can help please contact me.

Regards Sage. UK Gun Repairs.

[zachrussell 1]

Does anyone know anything about becoming an apprentice to a gunsmith, if this a job that makes a decent living or if its hard to make a living out of it.

[c

ode]

[/code]

 

What a shame my friend.

I am one of the 4 gunsmiths/gunmakers at UK Gunrepairs in Somerset. We are a bunch of old boys the young lad in the workshop is in his 40's and the rest 50 plus total workshop time for us put together is over 150 years at the bench.

We have one young lad 15 that is keen as hell and we all would give hime a chance,but so much red tape, health and safty ect. our workshop is full of things that would send the H&S officer into a spin. To give you an Idea when I started in the trade my first job was to make my own vice claps casting them in lead the same as we do to-day NO WAY. second job make your own turn screws (gunmakers screw drivers), file grind and harden, turn and fit handles with heat. 4 of the 5 methods are a no go.

The big london names such as James Purdy Holland and Holland are not taking on apprentices but head hunting tool makers in their 30's and then adapting their skils to that of the gun trade. It kind of works but a lot of the skills are fast being lost and we have no one to pass our skill on to. In the past year we have lost 3 very well respected gunmakers/gunsmiths in our area alone.

Gunshops to-day most of which do not have their own smiths but send repairs up and down the country. the shops and many of the big names in the trade prefer to use outworkers. We have in our gun racks work from many of the big 5 London names.

As to is it a good trade.

For me I love it, still do after 40 years. Lots and Lots of work out there but it is a job that you will find hard to get a good wage out of a 40hr week. We are 3 weeks away from launching a web site in the hopes of picking up work straight from you guys rather than working for the trade only. Last year I/we refurbished a gun for a London shop our bill to the shop £485.00 in p&p 3 weeks afterwards I was shooting on the next peg to the man on a shoot down here in Somerset. Yes the same gun. Over shoot lunch I managed to get the subject around to his smart looking gun. HIS REPLY I take all my guns to ......... Gunmakers they are very good top end price but you get what you pay for. I had to ask! He paid £1430.00plus Vat. Now profit is not a rude word but a grand for posting a gun one way to the West Country is more than strong.

I cant see my reply has helped much. We would love to have 1 may be 2 keen young guys in our w/shops but to conform to the H&S would cost us a small fortune. I wish you luck and if we can help please contact me.

Regards Sage. UK Gun Repairs.

Thanks you very much for the post.

[RicW 67]

Another possibility might be to apply to firms like Rimfire Magic, aka SYSS, or Border Barrels for a job as a "Trainee" then move on from there.

 

Ric