Gunsmithing Business Tips, Part 3

Many years ago, I made the decision to undertake a career as a gunsmith and as part of that goal I opted to attend an accredited Gunsmith School. A couple of years later, I left school with a degree and began my search for a gunsmith job opening in shops located in my home town. Before graduating, we were asked to create a résumé listing our accomplishments, both from school and previous experience. That was the easy part. Getting hired on as a gunsmith was not. Or at least it seemed that way.

I did get hired on right after graduating and rushed back to my hometown to get started with my new career choice. At that point I felt it would just naturally happen, especially since I had a formal gunsmithing degree in hand now. However, I found that was just the very beginning of the journey. As I began working as a gunsmith, I learned on the fly some things I’d like to pass along to future gunsmiths and shop owners.

While I don’t claim to be an authority on the gunsmithing business, I have walked the walk and have insights to help your career journey. In my book The Business of Gunsmithing; A Practical Strategic Compendium I cover various aspects and core elements of the job one is likely to encounter. The following are additional experiences and observations. First, there’s the difference between what is learned in a formal course compared to what a practicing gunsmith and experienced shop owner knows.

Don’t assume the shop owner immediately knows what you can do or are bringing to the table. You might walk into that shop with exciting ideas about your future as a gunsmith apprentice with a degree that says you are an educated gunsmith and ready for the job. However, the owner is more interested in how to increase the shop’s sales and bottom line.

Since you were professionally trained and have the degree to prove it, you must know absolutely everything there is to know to work on all guns and perform quality work. The owners may be taking into account that your pay will be reflective of how much you’ll increase shop income. Establishing realistic expectations will be your first crossroad and requires some communication.

As anew gunsmith working that first job, your thoughts probably concern how to best set up your new work area, how to get all the machinery you just had access to at gunsmith school, and how you can convince the owner that making these equipment purchases will make him tons of money. At least in your mind it will. In the shop owner’s mind, he is thinking more minimal as far as equipment and tooling.

Mainly because it costs money—hard earned profit from the retail business money and profits your presence is supposed to add. The owner already knows the ins and outs and peaks and valleys of gun, accessory, and ammunition sales and how to manage that pot of money to pay overhead and other bills, for the shop and at home. During the initial hiring process, make sure you discuss and understand what the shop owner’s thoughts, expectations, and goals are with you as the new gunsmith.

This is an important start point as well as periodically throughout your tenure there. If you don’t, you’ll be working in one direction while the owner wants to go somewhere else entirely. Remember, the owner assumes that a trained, papered, and knowledgeable gunsmith is a shop asset that can be utilized beyond the actual gun work itself.

You are now "available" to perform floor sales when gun work is slow, ordering, packaging, stocking, inventory tasks, administering log books, running a cash register, conducting background checks, buying used guns, sweeping the floor, etc. These assumptions can quickly put you in a position of scheduling your gun work around helping run the shop. If the shop is busy, you are busy not doing gun work. Expenses strain this further.

Telling the new boss that you need a lathe, mill, bluing tank set up, a well-made drill press, a surface grinder, etc. will not be easy, mainly because you areanew gunsmith and haven’t built up a reputation with customers yet. That makes new equipment costs a drain on profits. What’s the answer to this dilemma? The only solution is working with your new boss in agreeing on a plan that might not im-

mediately get what you both want. But you can develop a plan where you can be more engaged in your gun repair work, building clientele with your refined "gunsmith persona" and then that increase in profit can increase your pay and/or get you more equipment that you want. Don’t walk in to your new job being inflexible about what you will be doing as you may not be working there for long. Plan on earning experience as you go and helping with non-gunsmith work as needed.

This delves back to those positive "gunsmith persona" skills discussed in the previous article. Just because you have an idea about how you plan on interacting with your customers, providing your skill, and demonstrating your integrity, honesty, and positive attitude doesn’t mean that the shop you just hired into has the same ideas in mind. Sure, you’ll both agree that making money (sales and gunsmithing work) is the end game but how you go about that can be an issue.

It could be that you later learn the shop you are working for is less than honest in their dealings with customers and don’t have any plans on curbing their bad attitude. This may put you in a difficult position, not because you can’t still be an honest and fair-minded gunsmith but because you are nowa part of that shop and, consequently, share in that shop’s persona, good or bad. So, here you are, fresh out of gunsmith school, doing everything right and you land your first job in a less-than-moral environment.

Can you make it work? Should you stay or leave immediately with the possibility of not landing another gunsmithing job in a reasonable amount of time? These are important questions that only you can answer. Depending on just how bad the shop is run could negatively impact your long-term future, even if you are fair and honest. You’ll have to decide if staying for the experience and short-term convenience is worth the cost.

If the shop is not customer friendly, your repair traffic will lesson and that will put you in a situation where gun work will take a backseat to floor sales, forcing you to leave anyway. However, leaving immediately may protect your integrity and persona but limit your experience, especially if anew work option isn’t forthcoming. Personal experience tells me to weigh just how bad the reputation of the shop is in the community first. If really bad, look elsewhere soonest.

If not horrible, this will be a challenge to developing your reputation as a developing gunsmith. The goal will be to project to your customers that you do have integrity regardless of the shop’s reputation. Being mindful of your persona, be careful of presenting the shop as a "bad guy" as it can end your work there. Instead, lead by example. A positive, responsible persona without painting the shop in a bad light will be your best bet.

Get your positive, good things in when you can and back away from the negative stuff. This type of scenario is the sort of thing gunsmith school can’t teach. Another area to consider as anew gunsmith hire is your work area and environment inside the shop. While things will necessarily change, do some pre-planning before your official first day. One of the shops I worked in had my work area in the back of the store. That was great, at first.

As the owner increasingly relied on me more for daily shop operations (something you should expect) I began wearing a hole in the carpet between my workspace and the retail area. It also became a security issue as there were times I came out from the back and had customers standing in the shop looking over the display cases. There are simple fixes for some of this (a bell or alarm system on the door to notify when someone comes in, for one) but that situation wasn’t sustainable.

I was able to convince the owner to allow me to build a free-standing wall with a large window opening in the front of the shop just past

the front entry door. I then set my shop area up so that I could work at my bench and still see the retail floor area. Consider safety risks if something goes wrong during a repair. It’s usually a bad idea to test function firearms with live ammunition indoors, but believe me, it might be necessary sometimes. Also, consider a repair job involving a broken but loaded firearm that can’t be cleared. For example, I’ve used a "shooting tank" behind the shop for this.

What if this occurred while working alone with customers in the shop? Even if it isn’t for intentional test firing, have a bullet stop area in the shop to use as needed. Hazardous materials in the shop are another concern. Do you have countermeasures in place, such as the correct types of fire extinguishers, an eye washing station setup to use if you can’t see, and MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheets) for all products being used in the shop readily available?

These things are sometimes forgotten when the excitement of starting your new career begins. Another area I like to acknowledge, mainly due to my being 6’ 8", is how user friendly the workspace is. I have to build height into every machine tool I use or risk hunching over all day long. Set up your grinders and belt sanders so as to have clear view of the project while standing erect. You need to be keenly alert as to what you are doing and watching closely so as not to remove too much material.

For me, a free standing drill press (overall height) is too short and I have found myself conducting drilling and milling operations while on my knees just so I could get visually closer to the work. Consider how your cleaning station will be set up and what safety measures you have in place. Most cleaning solvents are flammable and some product inevitably splashes out over time, increasing the possibility of afire if not kept clean. You need to use this area without being hunched over. Flooring is another concern.

A concrete floor is easier to clean but what if you drop a $5,000 gun on it? I recommend floor padding that can prevent a broken wooden stock after dropping from any angle from about work bench height. Inexpensive floor padding or even rolls of carpet remnants stacked can provide excellent gun dropping protection. It’s also more comfortable to stand on all day. Another important area to consider is your parts inventory, storage, and identification. It’s easy to become "parts overwhelmed".

Organization takes time but it is well spent. Throwing excess parts in a cigar box thinking that one day you will sort them out is nothing more than kidding yourself and the more time spent neglecting it makes it further out of control. Go in thinking you will at least identify each part by firearm, part name, and potential cost, then label it and place in a baggie for storage.

From there, I’ll inventory that baggie-filled box when completely full by logging its contents in a Microsoft Word document (or other word processor file) by manufacturer name and model. I’ll title it "Parts Box #1" with the list of inventoried contents below, then go to Box #2, and so on as needed. Doing this organizes inventory for immediate search as needed. This prevents buying parts that you already have on hand and makes them available to find and sell or use as needed.

Plus, they’re already bagged and labeled to go when you need. Finances and Management Let’s talk about shop finances for a bit. Even if you work as the gunsmith for a shop, it makes good sense to track all shop funds spent and how much income the gunsmithing shop area is bringing in. You will have to do this if/when you run your own business anyway, so you might as well begin that process early on. Track each part purchased

for repairs, any postage and sales tax spent, and where it was purchased from. Yes, the shop owner is going to be tracking this for business and tax purposes. Why the redundancy? Keeping your own set of financial books can help you and the owner see how much money gunsmithing is netting. You’ll need to know this to gauge how you’re doing and so that you can explain in detail your effect on the bottom line.

This can rightly justify adding anew tool or machine, how much time you should be spending on gunsmith tasks versus the retail area, or to ask for a raise. If you don’t track this, you are leaving it up to the owner to tell you that they believe it costs too much or that you are under performing. Don’t be afraid to track what the shop does even though that information is already reported in the overall financial records.

The next time you need to discuss your time in the gunsmithing repair area compared to time spent on the sales floor, or need to add a tool or something to your shop, you can show why it will be good for the owner, not just you. Run your area as if it were your own so that you learn early on how to do it if/when you have your own shop. Now let’s discuss time management. This will be at the core of your new career.

Spending some time looking for ways of managing your time better will directly benefit your bottom line. When working for a gun shop as the gunsmith, time can be an issue when trying to turn out quality repairs and craftsmanship. As a gunsmith, you will want ample time to inspect, function test, diagnose firearm issues, order parts, and repair tasks. Once repaired, additional time may be needed for test firing. Having a range at or near your shop is a tremendous time saver.

If not, you’ll have to schedule time for any needed live fire testing. And there will be cases where you need to make more than two trips to ensure it is working or was repaired properly. In addition to the time needed above, you may be spending a great deal of time on the sales floor while in-between repairs or awaiting parts to arrive. All of this takes up time during your day. More importantly, you need time to ensure that you are doing your work correctly and to the best of your ability.

Every gunsmith is different when it comes to the time they personally need to carry out repairs. When starting out, repairs take much longer. I like taking time before I even get started on a repair to check the owner’s manual for any clues as to why it is not working properly along with the method of taking it down for cleaning. Then I check if others have had the same issue to speed up my inspection time.

If you are going back and forth from your work area and retail sales floor, you will quickly see an eight-hour day slips by too fast to truly and effectively carry out your gunsmithing work. The biggest risk here is not only less than desirable work, the pressures of rushing repairs can become a major liability issue, especially if you overlook something and the customer (or person next to them at the range) gets hurt or worse.

The problem with your time management plans are the inability to specifically request the allotted time that you may need from the boss due to each repair job being different. Some jobs are predictable, such as recoil pads, deep cleaning jobs, scope mounting and bore sighting jobs, and the like, so you can schedule time more accurately.

However, refinishing a stock (the entire process), bedding or pillar bedding a stock, making parts that are no longer available, going through semi-automatic firearms with all kinds of jamming or ejecting issues, to name just a few, can be difficult to estimate specific time allotments. Add that to range trips, final troubleshooting, and then finding even more needs to be done on the firearm to make it right, and you quickly start spending more time gunsmithing than on the sales floor.

This is something that the owner may not like because this seeps into profit margins as your need for repair time compared to sales increases. You know going in that the goal is to make money and the owner of the shop counts on that happening. Again, communication with the owner coupled with your intake, output, and profit margins will be your strongest voice towards getting the time you need to spend on repair work.

You don’t want to produce sub-par repairs, skip steps, or let a dangerous condition go out the door because you didn’t have the time to address it. Throw in the pressure from the customer wanting their repaired gun back soon and you will find yourself hurrying your work. Keep in mind that as you become more familiar with guns, how they work based on make and model, and the time you need taking them down and reassembling them, time management will get easier to formulate, allowing your work product to get better.

Be patient, take the needed time, and work with the owner to make this is mutually understood. The shop doesn’t want a liability issue either so that is your main point when balancing your workload. I could probably go on about the nuances of the job but I believe that I have covered the most problematic issues for you to think about when you enter the field as a gunsmith. When first starting out, this information will be foreign to you and you more than likely will not fully understand it all.

In time, you will see these things crop up. Having a resource like this can definitely help you embrace these circumstances. Between this article series and my book, I think you can ramp up your knowledge of what lies ahead in your chosen path to become a working gunsmith. Give it your all and you will be amazed by what you can do. AG