Gunsmithing Forum

[T_Widdy]

Where do you folks buy used machines?….besides Facebook


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Equipment auctions, lots of them are online

 

[Dogone]

I bought a Grizzly gunsmith lathe and taper attachment. The used lathe thing is just a big impediment to getting where you want : to work on guns. I also bought a grizzly mill/ drill. If I could only have one tool it would be the mill.

 

[BBob]

If I could only have one tool it would be the mill.

Hard to chamber barrels with a mill. I’d think an aspiring gunsmith might look for a lathe first.

 

[BBob]

I picked up my gunsmith lathe from a gunsmith on one of the shooting forums. Had to drive to go get it. I picked up my mill from a local used machine tool dealer. I picked up my big lathe from a used tool dealer and had it shipped. I picked up a lot of tooling off the Practical Machinist forum. Lots more tooling came from networking with machinist and fabricator friends and word of mouth on local estate sales, local shop closings, older guys selling off their shops, etc….

 

[Arithson]

Following

 

[BBob]

Following

Ya know you can also do that by going to the top of the thread and click on the “Watch” box thingy

 

[gbflyer]

Where do you folks buy used machines?….besides Facebook


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Mine came from a government surplus auction. It was in a prison shop. Very little use.

 

[ODB]

Where do you folks buy used machines?….besides Facebook


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If you have about a quarter million bucks you can buy the late, great, Jerry Fisher's entire shop.

JERRY FISHER'S COMPLETE SHOP FOR SALE for sale

JERRY FISHER'S COMPLETE SHOP FOR SALE for sale online.

www.gunsinternational.com

That includes a George Hoenig duplicator (George is a genius and a very fine gentleman).

It's about as turn-key as turn-key gets - but it ain't cheap.

Baxter

 

[BBob]

It's about as turn-key as turn-key gets - but it ain't cheap.

Just a cool $200K

 

[TaperPin]

Where do you folks buy used machines?….besides Facebook


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There are used equipment brokers around the country that have a lot of used industrial lathes. Every year old guys kick the bucket and their wife or kids don’t know much about how to get rid of it other than Craigslist, fb marketplace, or even eBay. A good deal will have have guys from out of state ready to pounce so it helps to have an idea of what type of machine would work well for you. I’ve seen the most being sold by local businesses on Craigslist as they either go belly up, or upgrade. If a machine is worn out make sure you can afford new headstock bearings - some are ridiculously expensive.

Often just looking locally for years won’t turn up a single good machine, or a bunch will fall out of the sky all at once. If the economy tanks a number of them will pop up as folks try to pay bills and it’s a big toy rarely used.

 

[WYCFM1]

How about good reading material?


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[Slickhill]

Dunlap, Howe, and Davenport all wrote books about gunsmithing and custom gun making. They are interesting and I’ve read all of them plus many others and even duplicated some of the projects.

Just know that much of the information is very outdated. Rifles were expected to shoot 1.5”-2” 3 shot groups back then. Scopes were in their infancy. Bedding compound hadn’t been invented. It was a different time with different expectations.

But know that some of the info can be used to get yourself out of a jam or fix a vintage part or rifle. Maybe useful or you may go your whole career without using any of it depending on what you specialize or are interested in.

For precision machine work building accurate rifles you will probably be better off reading machinist forums or books. Gun parts are still just machined parts and often made to much looser tolerances than some precision parts for other industries.

 

[TaperPin]

How about good reading material?


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Gordy Gritters seems to be at the forefront of education for accuracy gunsmithing, from books, dvds, online classes, in person classes, and if you have the money one-on-one training. All this information can be pieced together from online sources, but it cuts through a bunch of online forum fog and I would have loved having it when figuring out my head from rear end, but you don’t know what you don’t know.

DVDs & Books

gordysprecision.com

 

[longrangelead]

How about good reading material?


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YouTube is a gold mine of useful tidbits. lots of how to videos of guys doing unique things that you may not have thought of on your own.