This is just one page from Owen Sanders ledger. Owen was a gunsmith in Warren Arkansas in the 1920's. I thought you all would enjoy seeing part of it. He kept a very detailed account of his business. Look closely in 1923 his average income was $1.84 a day for 20 days. Then in 1924 he made a killin at$2.60 a day.



[ 10-23-2002, 06:17: Message edited by: Bear Claw ]

The wages haven't changed all that much.......

Thanks for that. Neat stuff.

In about 1941 my Dad had some work done by Wayne Vickery. The work included the fitting and chambering of a new Remington barrel, installing a receiver sight and altering the bolt handle on the 93 mauser cost a total of 25.00 including parts! Regards, Bill.

I gunsmith full time however I have a retirement check to support me. If I had to rely only on profits from my business I would have gone out of business long ago. I do make a small profit but not near enough to pay a mortgage and buy groceries not to mention overhead and purchasing equipment and tooling.

I think my weak point is not being able to be short and to the point with customers so I can get back to work. But I feel like I owe them a little bit of my time, after all they are doing business with me. One strategy I use is I'm only open to the public in the afternoons so if I'm covered up with counter work I will at least get a half day of work done in the mornings. But still dealing with the public eats up a big part of my productive time. I once asked a gunsmithing instructor how he dealt with this problem when he was in business. He laughed and said it's like being a baker, you bake all night and sell all day.

Seriously though, the average gunsmith starting out is probably paying rent for the building, utilites, taxes, licenseing, advertisement, payments on major equipment, insurance, salary, car payment, house payment, groceries....................................................how in the world they make a good enough profit to keep their head above water is beyond me.

I have plenty of work to do, in fact I have to screen a lot out. My fees are in the upper levels. It must be I'm getting to be such an old geezer that I'm just too slow. One thing I refuse to change is the job has to be 100 percent right no matter how long it takes.

Gentlemen

This explains why soo many has picked up this trade

Many is noth even worth the title "gunsmith", but clown smith

Cheers

/ JOHAN

Can any of you financial types translate his wages to todays dollars?

http://www.westegg.com/inflation/

What cost $2 in 1920 would cost $19.74 in 2001.

The CPI data this calculator is based on is generally considered to "cheat" in favor of reporting less price inflation than actually exists.