My daughter is now 6 weeks old, and since it is likely she'll be a gunsmith I thought I would find out why there aren't more?

There are stockmakers, engravers and checkerers, but I don't think I have every heard of a female metalsmith. Anybody have opinions/insights?

How old does she have to be before she can start her apprenticeship, 10? 12?

Red
PS
I am really not going to pressure her into liking the things that I like, she'll be exposed, if she likes it then I'll back her up, if not then that's fine too.

Dream on, Red. Just about the time when a passion for building things can take hold of a young man, a young woman's passion will turn to to those things that will assure her genetic survival, like looking good and positioning herself to find the right mate, create the right conditions to be a good mother (like creating the right home)and even if she is totally "liberated" and interested in a "career", machine oil and metal shavings don't mix well with elegant nails and eyelashes. I have three daughters, now aged 17, 19 and 21 and I am happy that they know how to shoot a pistol and a rifle. Don't set your sights too high.

quote:

Originally posted by Dago Red:
My daughter is now 6 weeks old, and since it is likely she'll be a gunsmith I thought I would find out why there aren't more?

There are stockmakers, engravers and checkerers, but I don't think I have every heard of a female metalsmith. Anybody have opinions/insights?

How old does she have to be before she can start her apprenticeship, 10? 12?

Red
PS
I am really not going to pressure her into liking the things that I like, she'll be exposed, if she likes it then I'll back her up, if not then that's fine too.

Red, Congrats! I'd forgotten you (the misses) was expecting.

Sharon Dressel is quite the metalsmith from what I hear. If she's not the only then I believe she was the first female member of the ACGG.



I'm a good deal older than my half sister. So it was really fun when she took an interest in shooting. I just answered all her questions, never pressured her and her cuiousity got the best of her. At only 10 she was shooting my .44 and loving it. I think Dirty Harry was her hero, lol.

Red,
Congrats on the baby girl! Anything that you do, she'll want to do too. Time will tell if cutting oil = Chanel #5.

Red, congratulations my friend. That is wonderful. My daughter (22 yrs old now) likes to hunt with me and that is as much as I could hope for and am grateful. The problem is finding a time convenient to both. You have a long wonderful road ahead. Enjoy every moment.

Red, congratulations! I can't say why there aren't more women smiths, but it is a shame. There is a lot to be said for artistic talent and the patience to put it to use, that I think a lot of women posess.

My two daughters (16 and 18) are very different, in almost every way. The oldest will shoot handguns with me all day, but won't hunt with me. The youngest is my, very dedicated, hunting partner. We go together all the time, when she is not in school (and occaisionally when she is supposed to be). She also helps me pick wood for my projects. So a female gunsmith could happen.

Congrats again.

Let me set the stage, I'm teaching a rifle barreling class for the NRA summer gunsmithing seminars down at Trinidad State a few years ago. I look down the class roster and there are 2 women in the class. They had taken the basic machine class the week before. They were there to learn how to rebarrel their husbands rifles. One of the ladies had a hand-me-down lathe from their father, so they want to learn how to use it. One lady not only barreled her husbands rifle, in the next week, I was teaching an octagon barrel class, she took that class as well and fluted the same barrel.

A few years later she was back, with her husband and they took the class together again.

I've got a great wife, some of you know her, but where was this woman when I was looking?

Mark, don't let your wife read that last post post. If she does you might be sitting in that metal shop for a few day's (and nights!)

Dago, congratulations! I've got two and it's been the highlight of my entire life.

Terry

quote:

Red, congratulations! I can't say why there aren't more women smiths, but it is a shame. There is a lot to be said for artistic talent and the patience to put it to use, that I think a lot of women posess.

Not to mention greater manual dexterity - makes them great engravers & wood carvers.......

I recall back in high school ( a long time ago) that one of my female classmates wanted to take some shop classes and was told she couldn' do it. They made her take "Home Economics" instead.

I suspect that the answer to this question lies somewhere in the fact that females are not encouraged at a younger age to study or be interested in mechanical arts or working with their hands or that type of thing. Its not only gunsmithing. How many machinists do you see that are women. Or heavy equipment operators? Or farmers (on their own without a husband). Etc. Etc. If more women were exposed to a lathe or a milling machine in early early high school you might see more women gunsmiths.

I think there are a few very good female checkerers. Does that count?

I kinda let my kids decide what they find meaningful in life. My job is to provide some guidance, and maybe a little nudge here and there.

Here is an example of how it works out:


I have to say that I do have a little girlie-girl so I had to get her a camo outfit (her "hunter clothes" as she call them) and if you'll look carefully you will see I bought her a scuba diving knife off ebay that is PINK. It is her favorite "hunter knife".

Any way, I didn't know what to expect but when I had the deer hung up she wanted to use her hunter knife. What happened after that all I can say is holy crap, she cut up about 80% of the deer! Funnier than heck, we cut the front legs off and I put them over on a different table and when I turned around she had about 5 more pounds of meat cut off the haunches! So she'd cut it off and hand it to me, and we did almost the whole deer that way. The downside was that we had a whole lotta hamburger and not many steaks, but it was sure worth it. About the only thing I put my foot down on was that I got to cut out the tenderloins.

A couple more years and I'll do up a gun in pink camo and there will be another hunter in the family too

Mark

Great looking kid.

If someone you know is looking for a role model, I would suggest looking here: http://www.dressels.com/id177.htm