A clean and well laid out work bench makes the work go easy.
A garage may be convenient, but it is also drafty, humid, open to observation, and not secure. Many garages are also cluttered even before you move your gunsmithing stuff in.
You should store your guns in a lockable container. For the cost of one gun, you can protect many. (Photo courtesy Remington Arms Co.)
Even a small and inexpensive safe is better than none at all. And in some jurisdictions, it may be legally and insurance-wise a necessary investment. (photo courtesy Remington Arms Co.)
Some things make life much easier. To remove a frozen screw without a screw jack is a big hassle. With it, the job is easy. If the screw resists the jack, then off to the drill press.
Buy good measuring tools and treat them properly. Store them in your tool chest and do not set heavy things down on them.
A couple of generations ago, if you wanted to be a gunsmith, the first thing you would have to do is make the tools of gunsmithing. Anything that wasn't a standard machine-shop tool was something you would have to make. Most gunsmiths still do the basic things, like grinding their own screwdrivers, but hardly anyone fabricates their own fixtures. Why would they? Unless it is a one-of-a-kind job, or no one has thought of it before, the hours of design and fabrication, testing and altering take up a lot more time than just buying the right tool. And the business has gotten so big that some shops only make the tools to do gunsmithing, having given up gunsmithing entirely.
If you wanted to find just the right tool for each job, you could send off for the catalog of every manufacturer of gunsmithing equipment and pore through them. You'd end up with a file about a foot thick, and you would still not cover them all. Instead of all that hassle, send off for the Brownells catalog. It will be the best five bucks you've spent in a long time, maybe ever. Not only will there be more goodies in it than you can afford without winning the lottery, but you can order them all from one place.
Brownells has been at it for a while, as the current catalog (in 2000) is the 52nd. In James V. Howe's “The Modern Gunsmith” (first edition 1934, last updated in 1954, and anything but modern now) Brownells is listed as a source of supplies. The list is not long, but they are at the top. As an aside, Howe was published by Funk & Wag-nail's, and I'd wager a very nice shotgun that it has been years since there was anything to do with firearms in their title list. The late Bob Brownell started offering other makers' tools and supplies right after World War II, and put together a catalog to list the goodies.
You can spend many an interesting evening just flipping through the latest catalog, and find something on every other page that may make you think “I never knew you needed something like that!” Once you have your list narrowed down, you can call, write or e-mail and expect your parts on your doorstep within a few days.
If you've ordered something, and the complete instructions just aren't clear enough, phone Brownells and ask for the experts. On hand will be experienced professional gunsmiths who have the best job in the world. They get to play with all the toys so they can explain anything you need to know. All of them have worked in gunshops or gunsmithing shops before they got the neat job of working with fellow gunsmiths and playing with the toys.
Tools and parts are grouped by their use or type of firearm, so you don't have to flip through the whole thing to find each entry for a particular application. Each entry includes a clear photograph of the part or tool, so you can see exactly what you are getting.
Recently Brownells expanded their offerings, and the catalog, greatly. They now offer factory parts for 17 different manufacturers. How I wish they had started back when I was working on guns for a living! Often, the price of a job was not dictated by the price of the part, but the price of the shipping and handling, or the minimum order limit from a manufacturer. Now, if you need a particular screw, pin or part for a shotgun, you can add it to your regular order from Brownells. What, you don't make regular orders from Brownells? Just wait.
If you can't find it in Brownells, you'll probably have to make it yourself. If you do make a useful gadget, Brownells may want to carry it. Brownells is Christmas catalog for gunsmiths and shooters. It costs less than a movie ticket and delivers much more enjoyment than many “Blockbusters” do.
CHAPTER 4 Shotgun Types and Their Maintenance
Once it has been manufactured, every shotgun seems to spend the rest of its existence as a magnet for dirt, dust, rust, powder residue and clumsy relatives. Even sitting quietly in a locked cabinet or safe, a shotgun will collect dust. Handling your shotgun, you place water and oils from your hands and face onto the stock, forearm and steel. Taking your shotgun out into the woods, or to the gun club, exposes it to changes in temperature and humidity. Sunlight warms it and the AC in your car cools it. Rain, snow, fog and dew all conspire to get your shotgun wet. Shooting your shotgun deposits plastic and lead in the bore, powder residue in the chamber and action, and more sweat and skin oils on the wood and steel.
Do not skimp on a cleaning rod. You can get by with a rifle rod and an adapter, but a shotgun rod is better for use in shotguns.
It is false economy to be sparing in your use of cleaning solvents and oil. Get the best and use them as needed. These small bottles represent a multi-year supply of solvent and oil even when used excessively.
All of these things can be cleaned off at no harm to your shotgun. But if neglected, shotguns will rust. Rust can be cleaned off your shotgun, but at a cost. The three levels of rust are: spotting, cleaned off with little or no evidence of its existence: flaking, which can be cleaned off but leaves bare spots where the bluing has been removed; and pitting, which when removed leaves as its evidence steel that is destroyed.
Regular inspection and cleaning of your shotgun will prevent rust. If for some reason your shotgun does rust, the rust can be removed. Rust works the same way on all shotguns, as a chemical reaction between water and the steel, creating oxidized steel. How to clean your shotgun depends on what type it is.
Rust is the enemy, and your hands can cause it. The salt and oils in your skin can strip bluing off, as they have on this shotgun.
Shotguns come in a variety of action types. The most common ones are single-shot, doubles, pumps and semi-autos. For a while there was a
