Gear Up for Success
Whether you’re tinkering at the kitchen table or working in a fully equipped machine shop, gunsmithing can seem daunting to beginners. But fear not! With the right tools and a bit of know-how, even a novice can achieve professional-level results. Investing in high-quality tools not only makes your projects easier but also ensures precision and durability, paying dividends in your craft.
#1 - Screwdrivers and Bits
Military surplus firearms are notorious for using a myriad of different tight tolerance slotted screws in their construction, with many of them being frozen in place after 70+ years undisturbed. Tight fitting hollow-ground bits are the key to getting these stubborn screws to move without rounding them out and destroying the slots. My personal favorite and recommendation for a quality set is from Chapman Manufacturing, made right here in the USA! Their bits are specifically designed to fit these screw slots extremely tight ensuring positive contact across the entire slot to maintain torque and keep from climbing out of the slot. And, to prevent rounding out screws from too much torque, the bits are designed to break first instead of the slot. It's much easier to replace a $2.00 bit than a tang screw that hasn't been made in a century or more.
#2 - Penetrating Oil and General Lubricant
If you do happen to come across a screw that won't budge, it's time for the penetrating oil. There's lots to choose from on the market currently, but in my opinion nothing works quite as well as Kroil. It's helped me get frozen barrels pulled off of Arisaka actions with just an overnight soak skipping the blow torch completely. For general lubrication, I prefer to use synthetic SAE 70 motor oil not only for it's viscosity but also for it's rust prevention. There are many different types of general lubricants to choose from but stay away from anything with a vegetable oil base - these have a tendency to gum over time and can wreak havoc on internal components.
#3 - Files
A quality file set is unparalleled for versatility in gunsmithing, from stock making to finishing dovetails and everything in between. At the bare minimum there should be 4 files in your box - half round bastard cut, flat mill fine cut, rat tail fine cut, and triangular fine cut. These will get a majority of situations handled and can always be added to in the future. I prefer to use Grobet USA files, but there's many to choose from. Many manufacturers make a "Tradesman" set that has these 4 files plus a few others at a cheaper price than buying them individually and is a great way to start off building your tool set.
#4 - Lint Free Rags
Shop rags are a must have for every gunsmithing situation you'll encounter from bore cleaning to bluing prep. Lint free rags are a major time saver in all of these situations and help keep your work clean and professional looking. I prefer to use surgical towels over paper towel style rags; since they're cotton I can take them to the laundromat, clean them, and use them again instead of having to buy more. They're also great for applying finishes like BLO to stocks and handguards.
#5 - Vise
A heavy duty vise makes bench work easy in every sense of the term. The biggest factor when selecting which vise you want is to figure out where you're going to put it. If you're working off of your kitchen table, a short 4" swivel vise can be mounted with some C-clamps and removed when it's dinner time. If you have a workbench that you can anchor to, a 8" angle lock style vise can be bolted down for rigidity. Most importantly make sure to keep a few scraps of wood around to place in between the jaws of your vise and your work. It's very easy to scratch and damage finishes as well as bend parts when working in a vise - protecting your work is vital to success!
#6 - Brass Punch Set
It's incredibly easy to damage the finish on collectible firearms and nothing will stand out worse than a big bright scratch! Brass punches help reduce the chances of not only scratching but also marring things out of shape. It's easy to start to wail away on a stuck pin with a steel punch only to realize that now the pin is deformed in place and needs to be drilled out. Brass punches will deform and bend before damaging pins, front sights, and everything else that needs to move. I've turned my own punches from brass rod, but many sets are available from tool houses. A center punch is also invaluable in the shop for staking screws and sights, I highly recommend Starrett brand for their quality and hardness.
#7 - Hammers
There should be two hammers in your box - a non-marring finish and a polished face steel ballpein. For non-marring, raw hide is the traditional choice but combination rubber and plastic face hammers work very well. The polished face ball peen is a little odd for most, but it is a lifesaver when you need it. When you're trying to get metal to move like tapping in dents on magazine tubes, tightening dovetails, or similar you don't want to add more surface damage at all. The polished face won't transfer tool marks; it's the same as an autobody hammer and dolly being used to get dents nice and flat. Make sure you get a hammer with a comfortable weight and handle.
#8 - Cold Blue
Let's face it - cold blue is nowhere near as nice as hot salt bluing but it has its uses. I find that its the best solution for touching up very small areas and getting them even enough to blend in with original finishes. Screw heads really stand out when they've been dressed with a file and a quick pass with some cold blue gets them back in line with traditional bluing. It's also great for blending scratches back in. The key is surface prep - make sure everything is spotless and grease free before applying. Heat also helps it take a much darker color as well. Brownell's Oxpho-Blue is the best solution on the market, hands down.
#9 - Drill Index
There's many different sizes and type of indexes available and it can be difficult to find out which one is good for you and your work. The biggest factor I've found is which type of drill you have at your disposal, as this narrows down which length is going to work best for you. If you only have a hand drill, a screw machine length index is going to perform the best - it's short stubby drills are very rigid and don't have a tendency to wander when used "freehand". If you have a drill press or milling machine, both screw machine and jobber lengths will work great - the machine's rigidity makes accurate holes possible with all lengths of drills. High Speed Steel and Cobalt will both perform great for general work and come in just about every size you can imagine; carbide drills are usually only reserved for drill out broken taps and need a very rigid machine set up to work without snapping. Triumph has been the best brand I've used in recent years for full indexes.
#10 - Taps & Dies
Quality taps and dies are a must have for every shop, its a night and day difference. Most cheap sets are soft or dull leading to extremely poor threads and having to fill your hole back up and start again. Some can also be overly hard snapping off at the first hint of resistance; removing broken taps is one of the worst jobs so avoiding ever having to do it is the best practice. To start off with, think of the general scope of work you're going to be doing. Pin and welds means you'll be messing with muzzle threads like 1/2-28, M14x1 LH or 5/8-24; mounting scopes means you'll be dealing with a lot of the tinier screws like 4-40 through 8-32. With the essential taps and dies in your box to start off with you can add to them when jobs call for it. Guhring, VEGA, and Union Butterfield are some of the best brands I've found over the years as a gunsmith and machinist.
The difference between "Bubba" work and professional work is using quality tools to get quality results. There's lots of examples out there of great ideas that have transferred over to horrible work from falling into the "cheap trap". Taking your time and making the investment into your work will make it not only easier but also more professional. As time goes on, you'll be adding more to your tool box as different jobs come in the door and at some point you might even be making your own tools for things like drilling jigs and the like; building parts kits and doing rewelds will obviously need more tooling down the line. Always keep quality in mind to take your DIY gunsmithing to the professional level.
Do you have any essentials that make every job easier? Leave a comment below for other readers!
