Odd price for gunsmithing

Low pricing for gunsmithing why???

Over the last year I have look at what some gunsmith are charging for there work.
I have seen hourly rate as low as $20.00 per hour why work at this low rate?

FYI most are from 70 to 150 per hour

See prices like this how do they stay in Business or are they doing the work need to do??

Detailed Cleaning - Completely stripping your firearm, cleaning all parts,
checking for wear or broken parts, and making suggestions of services needed to put it in A-1 condition. Price is based on the complexity of the firearm.
$25.00 to $35.00

There are two ways to look at this. Charge $150 per hour. Twiddle thumbs all day-no money. Charge $20 per hour. Make $160. Kenny

I don't know of anyone charging $150 per hour for gunsmith services. Most charge around $40 to $50 for hand work, $60 to $75 for man and machine.

Virtually anyone can field strip a firearm and perform a detailed cleaning. Therefore any charge over $20 per hour would drive away business, rather than attract it.

I have built around 30 firearms from kits, but do not consider myself a gunsmith. I want to be a gunsmith. Personally I feel that anyone in the business that doesn't use a lathe and milling machine as part of their daily duties is just an assembly man. That's what I consider myself.

Installation and chambering/headspacing of barrels, custom stock work starting with blank pieces of wood, reblueing and custom parts manufacturing require a skill set worth at least the prices I posted as averages.

It's one thing to perform grunt work, quite another to be an artisan. I think anyone interested in this as a career should want to be the latter.

While I got out of the business years ago, if it was detail cleaning for $25 or so, I would use sonic or hot tank cleaning. Dis-assembly can be quick and dirty with multiple items in process at one time. The true time is in checking for wear and assembly with function check ect. I used to charge additional for function check as you had to clean again after firing to confirm it was truly safe to fire (fired cases can tell you a lot)

Just me

Rsal

SmithSolar said:

Over the last year I have look at what some gunsmith are charging for there work.
I have seen hourly rate as low as $20.00 per hour why work at this low rate?

FYI most are from 70 to 150 per hour

See prices like this how do they stay in Business or are they doing the work need to do??

Detailed Cleaning - Completely stripping your firearm, cleaning all parts,
checking for wear or broken parts, and making suggestions of services needed to put it in A-1 condition. Price is based on the complexity of the firearm.
$25.00 to $35.00

Click to expand...

FYI there are gunsmiths and thers are -Gun Smiths-. Early on, had a "gunsmith" drill and tap for scopemounts. Things wouldn't line up with the scope so I took off the Weaver style mounts, maybe a burr.............7 HOLES. SEVEN HOLES!!!!

Thus began my education.

To say you are a dentist, you have to prove it in school.

To be a "gunsmith" you have to be able to pay some one to paint a sign, fill out some paper work and charge to do "work". BS helps.

Them there are -Gun Smiths- who can do more on a drill press than some do on a mill. And they don't have to use a drill press because the bought good equipment and do good work.

Rant over.

And what others said.

Frank Wells could charge a little more................

I like at the job of cleaning to do a good job will take around 1 hour plus oiling time
To check out the firearm for wear, dimension, trigger pull and report will take at less 1/2-hour. This is know 1 1/2 hours

I know some will pull a cover spray cleaner and oil and put the cover back in about 10 min and just talk to the gun owner and call good.

Who do you want working on your firearm?

Dave