Hi all,

Well Im writing this from Austria, I travelled all the way from South Africa to learn gunmaking. Gunschool starts next year in September, but Im here a year early to get into the swing of things, and learn some German. I'm hoping I can land a job with one of the master gunmakers here before school starts...I'll be a glorified turn-screw-hander-over if I have to, I'm more than willing to start at the bottom.

As my dream is to start my own gunmaking business one day Id love to see some pictures of your workshops, whether you're a professional setup or a weekend warrior, feel free to share. Oh and wish me luck over the next couple of days I'm going to be knocking on some doors to score a job!

German shops will look very neat and tidy. My shop is a mass of parts and projects all laying on top of one another, waiting for work to be done. I never lose parts either. Most people will say that your shop should be very clean and neat.

You kick ass Matabele.
It's really great to see somebody willing to spill some sweat to accomplish your goals.
Please keep in touch. I do some gun work, but you will pass my skill level in short order once you get going.
Good luck to you sir.

Good luck. I am not a gunsmith but I will be happy to share a picture of the H&H rifle building bench taken while they were creating my single shot rifle. Just look past the rifle.

quote:

Originally posted by Grenadier:
Good luck. I am not a gunsmith but I will be happy to share a picture of the H&H rifle building bench taken while they were creating my single shot rifle. Just look past the rifle.

I can see two bottles of Birthwood Casey Tru-Oil(or is it stock brown?). That kinda shocks me!

Thanks for the words of encouragement gents, its appreciated! I will certainly keep you in the loop Frank, and Grenadier its pictures of your rifle that made me consider getting into this profession. What a beautiful gun! Nice to see a working bench too. Auf wiedersehen!

quote:

Originally posted by JBrown:
I can see two bottles of Birthwood Casey Tru-Oil(or is it stock brown?). That kinda shocks me!

I noticed the same thing. Who would have thought.

I'd be fascinated to know more about the process a foreigner goes through to get into a gunsmithing program in Austria. How many schools are there? How long is training? What is it like? I know this isn't your original topic, but I've wondered about this for years.

quote:

JBrown: I can see two bottles of Birthwood Casey Tru-Oil

Can't argue with success, wears many hats.

quote:

Originally posted by JBrown:
I can see two bottles of Birthwood Casey Tru-Oil(or is it stock brown?). That kinda shocks me!

Front Birchwood Casey bottle says Stock Sheen the rear says Gun Stock WAX.

No doubt various labeled concoctions are mixed to create the witches brew in the unlabeled bottles.

You have to understand that it was SHOCKING to see that they are using some stuff that we can buy at Walmart.

BTW, the quart can to the right looks like something that you would buy at Ace Hardware.

Just not the stuff you would think they are using as the basis for their "witches brew"

Also, in your clearer pick it looks like they have 4 bottles of various Birchwood Casey's stuff on the bench.

That's probably more bottles of the sheen and wax. I had never noticed it in the photo before. I've always been a fan of the stock wax and use it on all my firearms including the rifle in the photo.

As to the witches brew, they probably have more than one proprietary brew for various tasks. I wonder how old some of those recipes are.

Hi Ryan, as far as I know there is only one gunsmithing school in Austria, based in Ferlach, which is near the south of Austria almost on the border. Its a 4 year course and is practically centred, you have to build your own single shot rifle as part of the requirements, which you get the option of buying from the school at cost price when you qualify. At the Ferlach school there is another 5 year course focusing on Weapons manufacture and design, but this is more theoretical focusing on computer modelling and modern manufacturing techniques. Target market for these graduates is mainly military and large corporations specialising in mass production etc. With regards to enrolling as far as I know, and I could be wrong, you have to be an Austrian citizen or EU citizen (or rights to those passports through family etc) to qualify to enter the school in Ferlach. Its a govt school and therefore funded by the govt and so tuition is actually free but the classes are small and you have to give yourself at least a year to secure a place, 2014 intake is already booked up.

Im sure I remember reading about a formal school in Switzerland, although I have not done any research into the entry requirements, or how big the school is etc.

Not a gunsmith, but have made a few stocks. Never found a need for binoculars (to the left of the plastic bin of grit paper strips) though.

I cropped it out of the picture but there is a large window above the workbench and the gunsmith is a few stories up. Maybe the gunsmith is a bird watcher and the binoculars are for viewing lovely English birds.

A nice window over the work area to provide natural lighting is is probably a good thing.

So, where are all the other workshop photos?

Or a cute neighbor girl.
Don

Used backwards the binocs are an excellent magnifying glass.
My question is why is anyone surprised that there are Birchwood Casey or possible acetone or paint thinner from the local hardware store. Where do you think a gunsmith gets supplies?

quote:

I can see two bottles of Birthwood Casey..

...and I can also see a toilet roll in the right of the image,
think its the cheap rough stuff,
...or should we see an ultra gentle cashmere quilted 3 ply individual wipe 'Royal Warrant" boutique brand?...

quote:

Originally posted by Grenadier:
Good luck. I am not a gunsmith but I will be happy to share a picture of the H&H rifle building bench taken while they were creating my single shot rifle. Just look past the rifle.

Nice bench and a beautiful rifle in the making. Congrats.

Terry

I can answer the question about the rough commercial TP, it is wonderful for buffing a finish.

Hi guys,

Here some pics of some workshops:

One from William & Son of London:


Some from Watson Brothers, also of London:









Have a look here for a 360 degree tour of Hartmann & Weiss's workshop in Hamburg:

http://www.hartmannandweiss.com/en/workshop.php

All are fantastic in my opinion!!

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Grenadier:
I cropped it out of the picture but there is a large window above the workbench and the gunsmith is a few stories up. Maybe the gunsmith is a bird watcher and the binoculars are for viewing lovely English birds.

The window probably explains it. If my bench had a window with a view, birds or girls, I'd probably have binoculars handy, too.
Have to laugh at the last picture in the series from Matabele. If I wore a white lab coat, I'd look like the guy in the far left of the last picture two minutes after I started inletting. Don't know what it is, but as soon as I open the inletting black, it seems like the stuff jumps out on me.

Here is my work bench I made in 1961. It was made portable using bolts and hauled to Trinidad, Co. for gunsmith school. I had an apartment size of 20ft X 20ft which was a round metal building used for a POW camp in Trinidad. I could do lots of work at night on this bench. It was about 6ft long and 16in. deep made out of oak.

All these pictures prove one thing-it's MY bench and I know exactly where I put it. If YOU move it THEN I have to hunt for it.

I wonder how much time was spent straightening up before taking the pictures. A picture of my shop would look like the aftermath of a bunch of pissed-off police serving a search warrant. The photos of the Watson Bros bench looks more like it.

I know that some folks keep things neat & tidy. I wish I was one of them. It just isn't to be.

You can really tell by the jackets who has seniority on the benches.

Adam

quote:

Originally posted by M Pursell:
I wonder how much time was spent straightening up before taking the pictures. A picture of my shop would look like the aftermath of a bunch of pissed-off police serving a search warrant. The photos of the Watson Bros bench looks more like it.

I know that some folks keep things neat & tidy. I wish I was one of them. It just isn't to be.

Pics! Pics!

My Dad´s gunshop....

mine currently looks like.......
moving boxes

Gonna see if I can get a few more pics.

G&H: 1973



1976

Here is a corner of mine that I cleaned up for the photo shoot.

quote:

Originally posted by DuaneinND:
Used backwards the binocs are an excellent magnifying glass.
My question is why is anyone surprised that there are Birchwood Casey or possible acetone or paint thinner from the local hardware store. Where do you think a gunsmith gets supplies?

I agree about the binos being used as a magnifying glass, but I wonder why the lenses are not covered. It seems they would be useless in no time sitting on the bench like that.

As far as the gunsmithing supplies. I would think they would use something a bit more exclusive. I used Birtchwood Casey stuff but I wouldn't think many top gunbuilders would, much less top builders on the other side of the pond.

It would be like going to an Formula 1 garage in Germany and seeing them using Sears Craftsman tools.

Next time i loose something in mine, i,ll post a pic here so one of you can spot it for me.jc

quote:

Originally posted by JBrown:
As far as the gunsmithing supplies. I would think they would use something a bit more exclusive. I used Birtchwood Casey stuff but I wouldn't think many top gunbuilders would, much less top builders on the other side of the pond.

It would be like going to an Formula 1 garage in Germany and seeing them using Sears Craftsman tools.

What do you use for stock wax?

Personally, I was glad the other day when I enlarged the picture and saw they were using Birchwood Casey Stock Wax. I have used it on firearms for years, including on the single shot rifle in the picture. It's good to know that I am re-applying Stock Wax over Stock Wax and that I don't have to find some Formula 1 concoction to treat the wood the same way H&H had treated it.