Posted on 03/18/2016 9:09:21 AM PDT by w1n1
The American Gunsmithing Institute Story
Here's an excerpt story from Gene Kelly Founder of AGI. ( My Gunsmithing story started after I graduated from Napa High School in 1975. After a year or so of going to college, I was still trying to find out what I wanted to do in life. Being a gunsmith was suggested by my high school welding shop teacher. He knew I had a huge interest in firearms. I decided to go to Lassen College Gunsmithing School, to check out the program. Unfortunately, I found out there was a four year waiting list to get in. I was told by the senior instructor, Master Gunsmith Robert “Bob” Dunlap, that if I was willing to come up that summer and try and challenge the course I might be able to get in for the Fall program.
So I did decided to go to Lassen College Gunsmithing School to check out the program. Unfortunately, I found out that there was a 4-year waiting list to get in. I was told by the senior instructor, master gunsmith Robert "Bob" Dunlap, that if I was willing to come up that summer and challenge the course, I might be able to get in for the fall program – so I did.
I worked from the moment they opened the shop in the morning to when they kicked me out at night. I passed the test and was invited back to start that fall in 1977. I went through the enitre 2.5-year program. After graduating, Bob asked me if I wanted to work for him in his gunsmithing shop, because in addition to teaching, he maintained a full-time gun shop. I learned a lot working there, however my girlfriend and family lived in the San Francisco bay area so I returned home and worked for another shop as a gunsmith.
I became a California deputy game warden for a while and afterward started and operated several successful businesses including a firearms accessories manufacturing company and a security company. During this time I developed an expertise for creating training courses that were taught entirely on video, and found that they were very successful as teaching tools. Read the rest of Gene Kelly story here.
In another life, I’d have much preferred to become a gunsmith. As it is now, I’m a passable hobbyist with a very good set of skills mainly geared towards rebuilding and rehabilitating old military weapons. But I am not an expert accurizer by any stretch.
Baby Bro is a Lassen graduate. Nobody believes him when he says he has a degree in gunsmithing, especially since he’s now doing precision machining because the money’s better. Gunsmithing is like any other artisan work - if you don’t want to work for somebody else, guess who does the federal paperwork, the advertisement, the accounting, the correspondence, the shipping...yep, you’re like any other artist or small businessman. So if you’re contemplating being an indie gunsmith, take the business classes. Or not, and pay the price.
WHO WANTS TO START A GUNSMITHINHG SHOP/SCHOOL WITH ME?
ping
Here’s an old article on mountain folk making their own rifles with hand tools in the Smoky Mountains.
https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=building+a+rifle++Rocky+Magazine+1940
Oops! Wrong URL. Not on Internet any more, but here is another URL: You can buy a copy from Amazon, but here is the scanned text:
https://archive.org/stream/RifleMakingInTheGreatSmokeyMountains/Rifle%20Making%20In%20The%20Great%20Smokey%20Mountains_djvu.txt
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