GUNSMITHING

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...

Texturing or stippling polymer pistol frames or grips is not new. It’s a great DIY project with very little expense. You can be as creative with texturing...

What's in a pistolsmith's brain? Greg Derr shares some thoughts on the importance of quality files and maintenance, work from the masters of yesteryear and...

Some of the best things in life are small. Take the Colt “Vest Pocket” 1908 auto. A very small pocket pistol built at the turn of the last century...

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...

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.

In September 2019, Springfield Armory raised the bar for micro compact carry pistols with the Hellcat.

Not every tool in the shop cuts, drills, or grinds. One tool I use every day is my camera.

Loving Ruger revolvers doesn’t mean I’m not aware of their minor shortcomings.

Special Assignments Editor Roy Huntington shows how easy it is to upgrade your Springfield Armory Hellcat by changing out the factory trigger for the APEX...

Everyone hates a scratch. A scratch on your car, a tabletop and especially your gun.

It happens to everyone. A slip of the wrist and “bam!” — a buggered screw. I hate to see it when looking at the side plate of a classic S&W Registered...

I tend to forget how creative gunsmiths from before I was born could be. Case in point: A client recently brought me a Colt slide and barrel.

Drop In” should always have an asterisk* next to it. Yes, many parts are marketed as “drop in,” and many do just that.

It was definitely an “I coulda’ had a V-8!” moment complete with the required hand slap to the forehead.

For the custom pistolsmith it’s not always about cosmetics, the pistol has to function and be accurate.

Working on firearms at any time has its risks. We in the craft typically think of an accidental discharge or damage from a faulty cartridge or action.

Most gunsmiths who hang a shingle tend to have very spacious workspaces, room to roam, maybe pace once in a while. Not so for the Military Gunsmith.

Sometimes you just have to get out of your comfort zone. I work on a lot of 1911’s every year. So when I got a call from Mark Mason of Downers Grove,...

Every craftsman has his “go-to” piece of equipment or tool. That bit of “necessary” on the bench or in the toolbox, never loaned to or touched by...