Tech Topics

In this column, we examine new tools and tooling, tips and techniques, and news items of interest to the gunsmithing community. Tech Topics Kuhnhausen Does it Again We’re often asked how someone interested in gunsmithing can become atop-notch professional. The answer in simple words is: careful study along with hands-on experience—and plenty of both. But there are many obstacles to be overcome.

Nobody has one of every type of firearm to lay their hands on. (Some museums might, but you can’t touch or borrow their exhibits.) For liability reasons, owner’s manuals don’t go beyond field stripping in most cases. No single book goes beyond all owner’s manuals. Few interested parties know an expert gunsmith both willing and able to take on an apprentice for five or six years.

Also, few people can afford to attend a resident gunsmithing school, and correspondence schools don’t always address the most current and popular firearms. Admittedly, the best way to reach the top of the profession is to combine attendance at a resident school with some sort of apprenticeship. But unless the school happens to be in your home state, the cost of attending is usually prohibitive, and, as mentioned, finding an expert practitioner of gunsmithing in a position to "adopt" you is a slim prospect.

Are there alternatives? Certainly. Only slightly less productive from an instructional standpoint would be to find your way into a number of NRA gunsmithing schools, while amassing and studying a library of books on gunsmithing. We speak not of one or two volumes, but enough to fill a substantial library, with room for more to come. The pages you collect do not all have to be hard bound.

Soft-cover military technical manuals remain efficient references and are still available for martial arms dating back to the Civil War. (By the way, any investment made in your library for business purposes is tax deductible.) Still another method of gaining hands-on experience and expert instruction depends on your relationship with your local chief of police or sheriff.

Perhaps he would write a "to whom it may concern" type of letter, naming you as his de partmental armorer consultant and requesting the recipient’s cooperation in furthering your abilities to evaluate law-enforcement firearms. A copy of that letter sent to major manufacturers would allow you to attend their armorer’s schools. The list would include S&W, Remington, Ruger, H&K, Glock, Sig Arms, and Beretta among others. Some of these schools charge "tuition" for attending (also tax deductible for business purposes).

Others don’t. In every case, you would be responsible for your transportation, shelter, and sustenance. (More tax deductions.) They are all, however, very complete, quite intensive, and you will depart proficient at servicing the particular firearm or firearms with which you have worked.

It was at an armorer’s course (a S&W revolver update session) we attended several years ago that we first heard the name "Kuhnhausen." The exact words uttered by the chief instructor were: "If you forget any part of what we’ve tried to teach you here, read Jerry Kuhnhausen’s book." He wasn’t kidding around, either. Jerry’s Shop Manual on Smith & Wesson’s K, Land N Frame Revolvers contains everything—make that everything I & II, by Jerry Kuhnhausen would make a good addition to your bookshelf.

and more—that we tried to soak up at that update session. It was added immediately to our bookshelves, and was subsequently joined by other Kuhn-hausen shop manuals as soon as they were published (Heritage-VSP Publications, Mc Call, ID 83638; available from Brownells).

These included his two-volume work on the M1911, his Gas Operated .30 Caliber US Service Rifles, The M1 Carbine, Remington Shotguns, two manuals on Colt Double Action Revolvers, Mauser M91 through M98 Bolt Action Rifles and another double volume on Colt Single Action Revolvers. Now, Kuhnhausen has done it again; this time with The Ruger Single Action Revolvers which also combines two volumes in one.

If you have any cowboy-action customers, just reading the cover alone of Jerry’s latest will cause both you and your customers to drool: "Covers Old Model and New Model Ruger SA revolver mechanisms; OM transfer bar conversion actions; design history; safety system and action function; bench checks; assembly/disassembly; parts inspection; parts replacement and fitting; checking and adjusting pawl lift and cylinder carry up; action timing and trigger pull; complete repair and mechanical restoration, and accuracy improvement with detailed troubleshooting and custom work sections." That can be translated to: If there’s anything at all you want to know about the New Model Blackhawk, Single Six, Super Blackhawk, Vaquero, Bisley, Bearcat, the Old Army, and out-of-production models—it’s in there.

Just to whet your appetite, you’ll find mechanical rehabilitation of Old-and New-Model revolvers, basic repair work and action tuning, cartridge and chamber data, disassembly/reassembly with pre-disassembly bench checks, tooling required to untorque frames/barrels and barrel removal, page after page of schematics, plus repeated reminders about safety. Section IV of the manual is a seven-page troubleshooting guide.

Section V (Pages 192-246) is dedicated to custom work including caliber conversions and remedies for uncommon frame-related problems. Though you’d be tempted to, and probably will do otherwise, we recommend the first page you read be number 56. It’s a set of rules to work by that will keep you out of trouble and free of encounters with trial lawyers. We look upon Jerry Kuhnhausen’s series of manuals with admiring eyes.

No, they won’t totally resolve the "hands-on" advice given earlier here, but they’ll let you stand beside a master gunsmith who doesn’t mind sharing his knowledge so you will be able to safely and capably provide hands-on attention to the guns most likely to pass through your shop door. New Offerings From Krause Publications Speaking of adding to your gunsmith reference library, a fine place to begin is with J. B. Woods’ newest editions in Gun Digests’ Assembly/Disassembly series.

Each book is dedicated to a single type of firearm and follows Woods’ familiar picture/caption, stepby-step format. How many guns are covered? The revolver volume covers 60 popular wheelguns and 130 variants. In the rimfire rifles volume, there are 62 plinkers and 178 variants; in pistols there are 72 self-loaders plus 250 variants; in shotguns 59 plus 258 variants; and in centerfire rifles, 66 with literally hundreds of variants.

For those unfamiliar with the term, a variant is a gun that takes down and reassembles in the same or very similar manner as the featured firearm. We’re not talking field stripping here, people. Total disassembly has been the target since the earliest days of the Gun Digest series, and that remains so along with helpful reassembly tips. Another entry from Krause is Robert W. D. Ball’s updated Mauser Military Rifles of the World.

This hardcover reference catalogs Mausers from 56 countries; with historical notes explaining the models used by each country; where the model was made; as well as specifications (continued on page 21)

including overall length, weight, barrel length, caliber, rifling, and sights. Over 1,000 full-length photos are augmented by close-ups showing markings and stocks. A special chapter on "Mauser Curiosa" details rifles that can’t be assigned to a specific category or may have been experimental or trial firearms.

In our opinion, Ball’s book combined with Ludwig Olson’s Mauser Bolt Actions, (available from Brown-ells) would represent the ultimate one-two punch on the subject, and should stand side by side on your shelf. The final Krause entry recommended here is a "must have" for reloaders and collectors: Cartridges of the World. As it happens, the book will also prove invaluable to a gunsmith researching a caliber.

They’re all here—wildcats, current, obsolete, proprietary, military, experimental, domestic and foreign, blackpowder, and smokeless—all covered in 18 chapters with diagrams and data. The final chapter concentrates on cartridge identification by measurement, and the information therein is pure gold. Pressure factors, case type, bullet/neck/shoulder/base/rim diameters, rim thickness, case length, cartridge length, twist, and primer are specified.

All this is followed by a 17-page index with over 50 cartridges per page. In scanning the pages and pausing to read several in detail, we got the distinct impression that if a cartridge isn’t in the book it’s never been chambered in a gun. For more information, call Krause Publications at or visit on the web. Have your membership number handy in order to receive your AGA member’s discount. ■ 3. To Give a Gift Membership Enter your name and address above (in Section 1) and your giftee’s name and address below.

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