To gunsmith or not to gunsmith...that is the question.

[DoubleTapDrew]

Go for it man. Like they say, do what you like and you'll never have to work a day in your life. Ive seen your work on this forum and it's very impressive. And since this is sorta "extra money" you aren't putting your personal savings at risk for capital investments like most startups. It's worth a shot IMO.

 

[orygun]

I spent three months at the first of the year being a stay at home Grandpa. If I had been in the position to not "have" to go back to work, I surely would have stayed at home, being Grandpa and playing with cars.

If I was in your position, I would do the stay at home Dad/gunsmith thingie.

The kids will benefit even more than you will.

 

[RVTECH]

You have an enthusiastic thumbs up from me. Having been self employed before (welding shop at home) I certainly understand the advantages and I was 'Mr. Mom' to my daughter while my then wife went back to work. I spent many nights into the wee hours of the morning getting caught up after mom came home and took over. I am planning a similar course of action as you but without the advantages you have described other than already having most of the equipment needed except a mill. A major concern for me though is how to continue to work and accomplish all this at the same time. I am considering leaving my full-time job for something part time and I can put one of my skill sets to use immediately to pick up the remainder as it is in fairly high demand in the area where I live. Unfortunately the 'smithing and related schooling will have to be worked in but adversity seems to be a way of life for me. Anyway good luck with your adventure!

 

[borrowedsig]

First off let me say a big thank you for adopting, its a huge challenge and i fully respect you for taking in kids and making their lives better .

About a year ago i had the chance (after being fired from my dead end job of 2 years) to start building cars with my father. I jumped at the chance and we are staying busy and even though i barely make ends meet at my house and my dad doesnt make a killing off me i still wouldnt have it any other way for a number of reasons.
i have the freedom to spend time with my daughter and show her all the things that i missed growing up.
I have the freedom to set my schedule however i like to make time for all the field trips and holidays so i get to spend all that special time with my wife and daughter.
I get to spend time with my dad and develop a relationship with him that i never had before and i get to help around the house since my mother has cancer and i get to spend alot of time with her as well.
Honestly if you have nothing to lose by staying at home and you think you can make a go of it the questions you have to ask yourself is why not?
List the reasons that would possibly keep you from succeeding or what have you and then go from there.
Things can happen very suddenly and unexpectedly and you will feel much better if you make a decision that lands you more time with the kids and family before something like that happens.
If the retraining and such is somthing you can do at a later date then why not try the gunsmithing thing and if it doesnt work out then go retrain.

On the mill aspect, we have a bridgeport knock off that we have been using for years that we picked up for like 1500 bucks and it only runs 220 and it has tons of power and has machined almost all our car parts. I cant imagine you needing anything more than that unless your doing production parts and then you would need a CNC type, but thats a whole nuther can of worms lol.

Either way good luck and if you need any more advice feel free to ask, its one of my free services

Matt

 

[PlayboyPenguin]

borrowedsig, I would love to know more about that milling machine.

 

[borrowedsig]

Ill get you some pics and some specs. My dad just ran the power over to 220 and ran it i believe. Ill talk to him and get the specifics today.

Matt

 

[AMT]

First off let me say a big thank you for adopting, its a huge challenge and i fully respect you for taking in kids and making their lives better .

About a year ago i had the chance (after being fired from my dead end job of 2 years) to start building cars with my father. I jumped at the chance and we are staying busy and even though i barely make ends meet at my house and my dad doesnt make a killing off me i still wouldnt have it any other way for a number of reasons.
i have the freedom to spend time with my daughter and show her all the things that i missed growing up.
I have the freedom to set my schedule however i like to make time for all the field trips and holidays so i get to spend all that special time with my wife and daughter.
I get to spend time with my dad and develop a relationship with him that i never had before and i get to help around the house since my mother has cancer and i get to spend alot of time with her as well.
Honestly if you have nothing to lose by staying at home and you think you can make a go of it the questions you have to ask yourself is why not?
List the reasons that would possibly keep you from succeeding or what have you and then go from there.
Things can happen very suddenly and unexpectedly and you will feel much better if you make a decision that lands you more time with the kids and family before something like that happens.
If the retraining and such is somthing you can do at a later date then why not try the gunsmithing thing and if it doesnt work out then go retrain.

On the mill aspect, we have a bridgeport knock off that we have been using for years that we picked up for like 1500 bucks and it only runs 220 and it has tons of power and has machined almost all our car parts. I cant imagine you needing anything more than that unless your doing production parts and then you would need a CNC type, but thats a whole nuther can of worms lol.

Either way good luck and if you need any more advice feel free to ask, its one of my free services

Matt

Excellent points and something else to consider.... My wife asks me (quite often) "How important is that? If you were to go to the store to pick up a loaf of bread and a gallon of milk, and you were in an accident and die, what do you think your kids are going to remember about you? Do you want your kids to remember you as a work-a-holic, or do you want them to remember the "good times"?

A lot of the things that I think are important, and need to be taken care of, really aren't.

My 2 cents, I agree with Borrowed, if you have the means and opportunity to stay home, do it. Whether you work from home or not, they will always remember being with you. And as hinted before, they might even take an interest in what you are doing.

Good luck!

 

[borrowedsig]

Ok PP here are the pics of the mill when we first got it.













It came with a automatic feed on the table for the left/right which is awesome and a real convenience when your slotting alot or what have you.
My dad says he payed $1050 for it and it would have been about 750 to ship it from california where he bought it, however my wife and i went down in my dodge and picked it and our industrial bandsaw up and hauled them back in our dodge 2500 diesel and had a nice anniversary for much cheaper.
He also said there is a place in Auburn? that sells used pieces like that. You might just do a google search because i know there are alot of places going out of business that are selling alot of stuff cheap right now.
He said he spent $90 on a converter box to run it 220 and wired it all in himself and it wasnt hard at all. If you want help or pics just let me know. If you live anywhere near me i could come help you out if you need it too .

As for what it can do...

Steering box bracket milled out of flat aluminum.

Down to really small stuff like a wiring cap for a firewall.

If you buy a mill like this i (almost) guarantee you can build this with it lol.

If you have more questions feel free to ask

Matt

 

[DoubleTapDrew]

Make sure to check out craigslist too. One of our shops sold some very good machining equipment that we didn't use much anymore on there a year or so ago for pennies on the dollar. A lot of the OEMs are opting to just replace parts rather than rebuild them.

 

[datguy]

PlayboyPenguin, I have a lot of useful info on local machine tools, getting them moved into your shop, options for getting a 3 phase machine running on single phase, a really nice, inexpensive DRO option, etc. I have a milling machine in my shop (I do custom auto upholstery) that you can check out. I am rather certain I can help you save a heap of money.

I recently did what you are considering. It's a bit shaky sometimes as far as cash flow goes for me, but I love it and wouldn't trade it for the world!

 

[PlayboyPenguin]

PlayboyPenguin, I have a lot of useful info on local machine tools, getting them moved into your shop, options for getting a 3 phase machine running on single phase, a really nice, inexpensive DRO option, etc. I have a milling machine in my shop (I do custom auto upholstery) that you can check out. I am rather certain I can help you save a heap of money.

I recently did what you are considering. It's a bit shaky sometimes as far as cash flow goes for me, but I love it and wouldn't trade it for the world!

I am grateful for all the help I can get from anyone. I know what I am doing when it comes to the actual aesthetics of refinishing, but getting all the tools set up will be the hard part. I will be doing it in phases over the next couple years. the first phase will need to be very organized so that I do not waste money or time. I will only have $5k-$6k to spend on the first stage.

 

[RW-Ore]

Go for it P.P.

 

[Sabertooth]

Here's from an old has been. Has been a mountian climber, has been quarter mile car builder and racer, has been off road car builder and driver, has been a Jet boat owner and driver, has been custom car builder, has been target rifle and pistol shooter, has been Fireman (19 years), and I still have my bucket list to go. TRY IT!!!. You will never regret trying. You will regret not trying it.
Farmer and always will be a farmer. Told me I was going to be a farmer when I was in high school and I would have told you to bug off. Tryed it liked it.
The rest was fun. Regrets? Hell no! Just not enough time to get to the bottom of my bucket list.

 

[OcelotZ3]

To gunsmith or not to gunsmith...that is the question.

But then you'd have to deal with gun owner customers...

 

[Joe Link]

I vote you go for it man. You only live once.