I received an e-mail (not from Bert223 or any of the other current posters) accusing me of discouraging people who want to become gunsmiths because I "don't want the competition", and that getting into business should be easy because "all you need is an FFL."
First, I have not been an active gunsmith for about 20 years, so I am not worried about competition.
I will let others judge whether I am wrong to point out that you need a heckuva lot more than an FFL. You also need a shop, tools, serious equipment, training and experience. Not to mention knowledge about running a business, local licenses, taxes, bookkeeping, etc., etc.
Do I discourage folks? I hope not, if they are serious. We need more good gunsmiths who know what they are doing and can help us. We don't need tinkerers with a file and a screwdriver who will bugger up guns. We don't need people who chamber rifles with a twist drill. We don't need people who ruin fine shotguns or turn good pistols into junk with big hammers or welding torches. We don't need people who do "trigger jobs" that turn 1911's into machine pistols.
Yes, perhaps I do discourage those folks. Some will say that it is OK if they go into business, because they will learn. But they will learn on someone else's guns, not their own. And they will take in guns they know they won't have the time or ability to work on, and leave them sit for months or years, maybe to become a legal problem when they go out of business.
If you want to become a gunsmith, learn the trade in a school. There are some good ones. Then set up a real shop, not your kitchen table. And have enough capital for at least minimal tooling (lathe, drill press, bench grinders, etc.).
Learn enough about small business that you (or your significant other) can do the necessary paperwork. If keeping books is beyond you, find a good bookkeeper or accountant to handle the heavy work. Make sure you are within the law, and that does NOT mean just an FFL; it means zoning laws, OSHA, insurance, local licensing, security laws for gunshops, etc. Incorporation is almost a necessity; it will help shield you and your family if you really goof up and get sued.
Some people will say that I am unfair, that they started out with the "file and screwdriver" and suceeded. I can't say it can't be done, but I bet it wasn't easy, and I doubt it was a road to riches. And they never say how many mistakes they made while learning.
And yes, getting started, like getting started in any business, means money. You need capital; if you can't save enough, you might have to borrow money. There is nothing wrong with that; companies do it all the time, it is called selling stock.
On the other side of the money business, a good gunsmith can make a good living, but he will probably not become rich. You do have to like the business and like guns. But just "liking guns" does not make a gunsmith, any more than "liking people" makes a surgeon.
Jim
First, I have not been an active gunsmith for about 20 years, so I am not worried about competition.
I will let others judge whether I am wrong to point out that you need a heckuva lot more than an FFL. You also need a shop, tools, serious equipment, training and experience. Not to mention knowledge about running a business, local licenses, taxes, bookkeeping, etc., etc.
Do I discourage folks? I hope not, if they are serious. We need more good gunsmiths who know what they are doing and can help us. We don't need tinkerers with a file and a screwdriver who will bugger up guns. We don't need people who chamber rifles with a twist drill. We don't need people who ruin fine shotguns or turn good pistols into junk with big hammers or welding torches. We don't need people who do "trigger jobs" that turn 1911's into machine pistols.
Yes, perhaps I do discourage those folks. Some will say that it is OK if they go into business, because they will learn. But they will learn on someone else's guns, not their own. And they will take in guns they know they won't have the time or ability to work on, and leave them sit for months or years, maybe to become a legal problem when they go out of business.
If you want to become a gunsmith, learn the trade in a school. There are some good ones. Then set up a real shop, not your kitchen table. And have enough capital for at least minimal tooling (lathe, drill press, bench grinders, etc.).
Learn enough about small business that you (or your significant other) can do the necessary paperwork. If keeping books is beyond you, find a good bookkeeper or accountant to handle the heavy work. Make sure you are within the law, and that does NOT mean just an FFL; it means zoning laws, OSHA, insurance, local licensing, security laws for gunshops, etc. Incorporation is almost a necessity; it will help shield you and your family if you really goof up and get sued.
Some people will say that I am unfair, that they started out with the "file and screwdriver" and suceeded. I can't say it can't be done, but I bet it wasn't easy, and I doubt it was a road to riches. And they never say how many mistakes they made while learning.
And yes, getting started, like getting started in any business, means money. You need capital; if you can't save enough, you might have to borrow money. There is nothing wrong with that; companies do it all the time, it is called selling stock.
On the other side of the money business, a good gunsmith can make a good living, but he will probably not become rich. You do have to like the business and like guns. But just "liking guns" does not make a gunsmith, any more than "liking people" makes a surgeon.
Jim