Reader Forum

Corrosion Basics for Gunsmiths I have been an American Gunsmith subscriber for many years. Brian Smith’s "Corrosion Basics for Gunsmiths" (February 2023) was the best article I have ever read in your publications. My role with my company for over 32 years has been to deal with corrosion issues primarily in stainless steels although other base materials are concerns. Thanks for the great article! yourself. Consider purchasing a Kydex press and start making custom holsters and pouches for magazines and equipment.

To add leather holster work to your shop menu, consider enrolling in a leather holster making course or check out the training videos at HolsterSmith.com covering everything from designing to building high quality leather holsters. Offer Training If you have the space, ability, knowhow, and certification to teach classes, then do so. If not, considering a partnership with a local instructor.

New gun owners are seeking information on how to use and care for their new gun while seasoned shooters are looking for ways to make them a better or faster shooter. Offer classes such as a basic firearms cleaning, firearms safety in the home, introduction to shooting, and concealed carry. Open the classes up to the public to bring more people into your shop, and maybe offer the class attendees a discount to anyone who makes a purchase in your shop.

Conduct Appraisals Death, divorce, bankruptcy, estate planning, liquidation, natural or man made disaster, insurance litiga- I’m along-time subscriber. "Corrosion Basics for Gunsmiths" by Brian Smith (February 2023) was very interesting and informative. The fact that some well-known products are potentially harmful set me to wonder if the silicone-impregnated "gun socks" might also harbor a potential surprise? I live in a dry climate and keep my gun-socked long arms in an upstairs interior closet.

Since the metal surfaces are lightly coated with what’s termed as a "longterm storage protectant" there’s no doubt that there is some con- Mark Yaple tion, a collector making a purchase, or an average Joe wanting to sell a used gun are just a few reasons someone may need an accurate, trusted, and certified appraisal of a firearm.

AGI offers a Certified Firearms Appraiser Course (AmericanGunsmith.com/product/certified-firearms-appraiser-course) that will provide you the tools, training, and certification need to become a Certified Firearms Appraiser and how to market your services. There are many ways we can improve our business and further sources of additional income. These area few that most shop owners can implement for their business.

Whenever and however you decide to increase your revenue, good luck and thanks for doing your part in this awesome firearms industry. AG Keep Training Take Care of Employees Take Care of Customers Put Yourself Out There Expand Your Scope Offer Training Conduct Appraisals tact between the silicon and the petroleum distillates (and possibly Teflon) in the oil. So far I’ve seen no problem but wonder about longterm storage and like to know what Mr. Smith thinks about it. S.

Sutton Salmon, ID Author Brian Smith responds. Thank you all for the kind words regarding my article. I am aware of silicone-treated gun sock products but personally have no experience with them aside from one containing a firearm that I purchased. Af-

ter handling the gun sock to get the firearm from the gun shop to my home, the skin on my hands broke out in a rash. Because of that, I tend to avoid silicone impregnated gun socks. Once burned, twice shy and all that. I have read anecdotal experience by others which is generally positive for protecting firearms against corrosion.

The silicone itself is generally inert, but I recall reading of two instances over the past 20 years where the silicone carrier, that is, the "solvent" in which the silicone oil is dispersed, was thought to have caused deterioration to the finish on a gun stock. I’m sorry that I don’t have details on the finishes that were affected. I recommend web searching for reviews for specific silicone-treated gun socks as a guide. Manual Glock Safety? In the February 2023 Reader Forum, L.

Walters wrote in about a Glock Safety Installation asking about options for installing a manual safety on Glock handguns, stating, "A 1911-like thumb safety requires modification of the frame and doing so is best handled by using a jig typically available for $80-$100." I’m a licensed firearms dealer and gunsmith who has one such Glock and I love it. However, I also believe in the arguable benefits of having a manual thumb safety.

I know one such manual safety system as the Cominolli Safety System and would like to offer installation of these as a service for my customers. I’ve tried the email address and phone number for Cominolli Custom but have not been able to get in touch with anyone. It seems their website has been down for several years. Do you have a source for purchasing this template and the parts? By the way, love your magazine. Keep up the great work.

Anthony’s Gunsmith Services You’re correct, Cominolli Custom hasn’t updated their website or contact in several years. However, I was able to speak with Mr. Cominolli directly. He is no longer selling the parts or doing this work but Alex Hamilton at Ten-Ring Precision (TenRing.com, alex@tenring) is. Mr. Cominolli can be reached by phone for technical questions about this at Tarnhelm Supply Co. (Tarnhelm.com, also offers a manual Glock safety, among other modifications for a variety of handgun models.

They sell the parts as a kit or can install it for you. Officer Model Fixes Regarding "Officer Model Fixes" by R. M. Layng (March 2023), maybe it’s me but at the end of the article no exact issue was said to have been the problem. Early on, he wrote that most would say it was the recoil spring. Replacing so many parts, it’s hard to say what was the problem. Normally, I would replace one part at a time to see what would solve the issue.

If it was a customer’s gun, I would replace the most logical part and go on from there, not replace every spring, hammer, and slide stop. It was a good article on overhauling but didn’t seem to address problem solving. Frederick Ludwikowski Clarksville, TN Author R. M. Layng responds. Thank you for the constructive criticism on my article. I’ll do well to keep this in mind for my successive work. Please forgive the mixup.

Reading it again, I see your valid points. (AGS) Madison, AL If I may offer a counterpoint, my background and career are centered on repair machining, R&D, and prototyping. Whenever I do any repairs, doctrine has always been to preventatively replace the inexpensive wear parts like springs as a matter of course. My figuring was, since I had it apart anyways for inspection I might as well just put new parts in to keep her running. I value the feedback. Thanks for reading! AG