GUNSMITHING

Revolvers or wheelguns need balance. By that, I mean their cylinders need to turn true and smooth. One area that can get out of balance is the ejector rod,...

After finally finding a newer TC Encore in .308, I snapped it up, looking forward to testing it in my backyard range. I scoped it with a Crimson Trace rifle...

Let’s just say it and get it out of the way. I think too many people underrate Charter Arms and Rock Island revolvers. They are what they are: relatively...

All guns have some sort of pin. Roll pins, taper pins, polished pins etc. And at one time or another, the pins need to come out. It’s how they come out...

You experienced shooters and professional tinkerers out there likely already know many of the uses for this stuff, but for those youngsters reading this,...

A personal talent that goes hand in hand with bullet casting is being a first-class scrounger — of shootable lead alloys. I know because I’ve been a...

First, you have to have the greatest general-purpose gun vise ever invented — the Real Avid Master Gun Vise. If you don’t have one, go get one. I’ll...

The High Power makes a comeback. John M. Browning never got to see it completed- dying before the design work was completed in 1927 and production in 1935.

“Fit” is key for the efficient use of a firearm; it’s much more important than people realize. The pistol’s dimensions and shape must match your...

Feed ramps on a firearm are critical to proper function, “no feed no fire” they say. It’s also the first thing that the inexperienced shooter looks at...

The trigger on your revolver is difficult to press, requiring more force than it should to complete the firing cycle. But, only on two or three of the...

I’ve been an OTIS Technology cleaning system fan for as long as I can remember. The innovative breech-to-muzzle cable systems made us all reconsider the...

I’ve got lots of “gunsmith” screwdriver sets. If you piled them up, I’m confident they’d generate their own gravitational field. But 98 percent of...

A Tacticool Gold Cup. The thirst for tactical guns can never be quenched these days. I got a project in from Jess Hancock of Wichita Guns for a custom...

I wrote about some experimenting I did with a S&W Model 10. I fired groups with the stock muzzle chamfer, then put an accurate 11-degree chamfer and fired...

Let’s just focus on iron sights, no pun intended. Included in this category are night sights, fiber optics and gold beads etc.

Jigs are my life. Like many gunsmiths, jigs are a must-have, particularly for repetitive work. They save time and build consistency. Not every process has a...

One of the best methods of metalworking is grinding. Not with a Dremel or bench grinder but with a surface grinder. A surface grinder removes precise...

I wanna be a gunsmith. No, not professionally; I have plenty to do here, and my work will be on my guns for my use. But how? I work full-time and have a...

I spend a lot of time smoothing and polishing each part and spring to reduce friction before even considering the obvious sear and hammer or sear and...

There is the creative and innovative part of pistolsmithing. Modifying or creating parts to fit a need, adding features that never existed, or just plain...

Wayne Novak designed the most influential — and most copied — fixed rear sight ever put on a handgun. Named the LoMount, it has appeared on factory...

Custom gunsmiths are working overtime to create cool retro guns. The trend has been going on for a few years. It seems that gun owners are looking more to...

Branding or signing work started in the ’40s with gunsmiths like Jesse Harpe in Florida who engraved his name on the 1911-barrel bushing.

The Infante Ultrasonic Gun Cleaner impressed with its quick work of carbon on an AR bolt carrier group and in revitalizing my gummed up .22 pistol. The...

In this issue's Vantage Point column, we discuss the great AR pistol brace conspiracy. What's the real motivation behind Uncle Spendy's desire to ban them?...

What's the “funny three-tined spring thingy” in the 1911 grip? That’s the sear spring, so hang onto your seat and here we go for a simple explanation...

The process of bluing firearms may have changed a bit in the last 300 years but the appeal to shooters has not.

Once in a while it’s good to try new things, a challenge. I usually try to work on something new with my son Nick, who was recently selected as an...

Consult this list from the American Pistolsmiths Guild to find the top 25 gunsmiths in the United States.