Need help with College assignment on Gunsmithing

Johnny Dollar told me to try this site out. To all Gunsmiths on the forum I could use some help, as a middle aged man I have gone back to school and have to do an I-Search paper for English class and I chose gunsmithing unfortunately there aren’t that many around wear I live. I am Waiting on a call back from the guy down the road he’s the best around and most of the shops use him. I have a list of questions if you would not mind answering them along with your personal observations or any other information you think might be pertanant. I thought I was done writing reports when I retired from the Marine Corps I guess it’s the price you pay for trying to better yourself and open new job possibilities. Glad I invested in the GI Bill no way would I be able to do this without it. Here are the questions, If you want to you can send it directly back in a PM. Thanks
1. How did you get into gunsmithing?
2. Did you go to a trade school, study with a gunsmith or are you self-taught?
3. Do you need a special certificate to be a gunsmith?
4. Since you are dealing with firearms are there special federal licenses you have to have, to work on, store, and if you have to ship them?
5. What does it cost to get started in this business?
6. What specialty tools do you really need?
7. Is there a lot of competition or do you find other gun smiths willing to help each other out?
8. With the shows now on TV about gun manufacturers have you noticed an increase in business?
9. Do you get many requests for custom builds or complete reworks on current firearms?
10. Have you watched any of the shows on TV and do you think they do the gun industry justice or harm?
11. What happens in the unlikely event you make a mistake when working on a client’s firearm?
12. What are some of the strangest things you have seen people do to their firearms or have been requested to do to one?
13. How do you handle a problem customer?
14. Is the income sufficient for someone to do this job as a career or do you think they would have to have another form of income?
15. Do you find gunsmithing rewarding or does it get overwhelming?
16. Are you required to have a specialty insurance policy?
17. What kind of restrictions do you face with the Gov’t, state and federal along with the business aspect?
18. Is there anything else you would add to this and what kind of advice would you give to someone thinking about getting into this field?

Re: Need help?

I read your list of questions/requests, several of them are objective and easily answered through a simple search. You'll do much better on forums, and life in general, to do your own homework.

That said, I'll answer a couple from the perspective of a machinist as they're synonymous to this extent-

8) tv sucks and is inaccurate
10) tv sucks and is inaccurate
13) Depends- raise their price, no-bid, give them the finger.
18) Gunsmithing appears to be as much artisan as precision, starting later in life you will have much catching up to do.

3) no certification is required by law. Certificates are available but most are not widely recognized. Some are mail order crap, others are from reptuable schools.

4) Yes, Review the BATFE websight for more information.

5, 6) gunsmithing can be highly specialized, the start up costs vary depending on how focused the business is.
Simple clean and replace parts in the back of someone elses gun shop is very different from building custom target rifles.

8, 10) Reality TV shows atempt to create drama where there is none. Much of what you see is hype or out right fiction. Like most trades, gun work is about doing things slowly, carefully and correctly.

13) No such thing. If they are a problem, they are no longer a customer.

14) Depends on how well you want to live

#14--It is like most other trades or professions; in the beginning, you are still learning the trade and trying to let people know you are there and trying to build a good reputation. Lawyers marry teachers to carry them through the low income/startup phase of building their practices. Once you have been in the business for a while and had your name in the marketplace and have demonstrated you can do the job, you tend to get more customers than you can handle and then you start raising your prices until you get the amount of work you can handle. If you are in a good area, you can make a decent living; but until you become an employer, you aren't going to get rich.