Gunsmith books

[swiley383]

Anyone have suggestions on some good books to learn gunsmith ? I have done an AR build and a few other minor things. I really enjoyed putting my AR together would just like to learn more. 

[Garufa]

The library would be extensive.  

Slapping together an AR is not “gunsmithing”.  Gunsmithing is a craftsman’s art that is being rapidly lost, or nearly is....like tuning a revolver action, properly restoring/refinishing grandaddy’s shotgun, replacing the barrel on an M1917 rifle, installing a 1911 trigger, etc., etc.

[swiley383]

I want to learn trigger works and action tuning to start with and gradually getting to barrel fitting and learn 1911 work

[xtriggerman]

3 hours ago, swiley383 said:

I want to learn trigger works and action tuning to start with and gradually getting to barrel fitting and learn 1911 work

Going to a gunsmithing school like i did is the best way aside from being an apprentice in a full service shop with a established gunsmith. 

When I went to the Pennsyvainia Gunsmith school (18 months full time) back in 1979 the first section of schooling was learning machine operations by making a precision machinist square and a wide variety of various smithing tools and fixtures. Some guys simply didnt have the ability to form metal into the specs of the blue prints we were given. They were quietly asked to cancel their schooling so another person waiting for an opening could attend. I find it difficult to think I could learn from books the fine points of gunsmithing. A hands on instructor will cut to the chase if your screwing up a lathe threading operation or cutting into wood grain in the wrong direction. Thats not to say books And vids are worthless but would take a much longer time to understand the right & wrong way. I remember a friend of mine got some books like you want to do and he asked me where do I put my thread cutting tool when I go to put threads on a barrel shank. I told him what they told us in school, Just below the center point of the barrel or live center point. He snapped back, wrong... the book says dead center. What the book didnted tell him is, its far more accurate below the center line because you never run the risk of setting the cutting tool too high above the center line. If even a tiny bit above, you run the risk of the barrel force pinching the tool into a chatter cut. And that will destroy a clean barrel thread. Back then there was only one Gunsmithing book we were required to buy and that was  GUNSMITHING  by Roy F. Dunlap. The book cover all the gunsmithing opperations needed to build custom sporting/target rifles in the traditional sense of wood and blued steel. Also an extensive how to on National Matching the M1 Garand.  In its day, it was the most comprehensive & meticulous Gunsmithing book available by an acclaimed master gunsmith. Whay ever you do, be skeptical of Youtube gunsmithing. Some of those guys on there should stay in the basements.   Moving foward, be ready to probably screw up some of your own guns before you practice on others. Tools and machines is another issue all together. I'd be utterly lost without them. Good Luck

Edited December 6, 2020 by xtriggerman

[Grayfox54]

I'm no gunsmith by any means. But I am a fairly good hobbyist. Pick a project and have at it. Learn as you go and be prepared to make mistakes. Sometimes costly mistakes. Good tools are a must and they ain't cheap. You can find most anything you need at Brownell's.

You Tube does have some good videos, but as Xtriggerman said, some are total crap. So take 'em with a grain of salt. Above all, go slow and easy. Test fit often. Its easy to take metal off, but its awful hard to put it back if you take too much. 

I do mostly handgun work and that is generally S&W revolvers and 1911s. two books I highly recommend are Jerry Kuhnhausen's The Colt .45 Automatic and Smith & Wesson revolvers. He also has several other books on various firearms. 

With time and patience you can do some very good work with just simple hand tools. This is my DIY pride and joy. A custom S&W .45 Colt snubbie. I started with a bare nekkid frame and the barrel was originally a 6" .45 acp barrel. So I had to cut both ends. But bear in mind that when I built this I had access to a lathe at work and have since retired and can't use it anymore. You gotta learn to work with what ya got.

[DaveTN]

There are many options if you just want to be a hobbyist, but don’t have access to mills, lathes, etc.

Brownells, among others, has a ton of videos on YouTube that will take you through selecting parts, and building your own AR.

If you want to do trigger jobs on S&W Revolvers, and have basic mechanical skills, Jerry Miculek’s S&W TRIGGER JOB – DVD is outstanding.

If you want to pursue it as a career or home business, you would need to go to school or serve an apprenticeship somewhere. If you want to take in work at your home; you would need an FFL. (That’s pretty much a deal breaker for those of us that can do the work)

[Quavodus]

I used to see articles in Shotgun News with Russ Potterfield. I don't know if he has videos or not. He was very knowledgable. A friend of mine is a graduate of Colorado Gunsmithing School. 

[xtriggerman]

15 hours ago, Quavodus said:

I used to see articles in Shotgun News with Russ Potterfield. I don't know if he has videos or not. He was very knowledgable. A friend of mine is a graduate of Colorado Gunsmithing School. 

 Most of Potterfield's articles were decent but when he did the AK magazine conversion on an SKS, boy, did he butcher the hell out of that poor SKS receiver!  Now since its not proper to knock anothers gun work without hands on knowledge of the work, Here's what I wrote up on how to do that conversion.  I sincerely hope it saved the destruction of good SKS receivers. The Potterfield mod-ed guns will have huge amounts of metal removed from the mag well rails weakening the right side of the recoil shoulder by a serious amount.

The Machinist's guide to SKS / AK magazine conversion w/ BHO. (sksboards.com)

[Quavodus]

He did a major alteration on a Mosin Nagant. I never saw the completed project but, he completely reworked the magazine, so it didn't stick below the stock and repositioned the bolt handle too.