Hello! I got a vz61 barrel left in the white i was planning on bluing. Original i was going to leave the bore and press fit surfaces in the white, but I was wondering if that's not necessary. If I shouldn't blue those parts, then I'm wondering what masking methods I should use to keep those areas clear. Thanks in advance!

Can any gunsmiths here clue me in to why the FNAR/BAR 3 and BLR (all with aluminum receivers) are notoriously hard to get the barrels off of? As far as I know they designs where the bolt locks into the barrel and not the receiver, yet the AR15 doesn’t suffer this same complexity

I have a 10.4" BRN-4, I got it out to shoot for the first time and it's horribly undergassed. With a 3oz buffer weight, it would only cycle 1-2 rounds in a row before a malfunction. Sometimes it was a fail-to-eject, sometimes it would eject but fail to feed. I swapped in a 1.7oz buffer weight and it ran better, 5-6 rounds at a time before malfunctions. The lower I was using has run fine with other uppers previously. The ammo I tried was both PMC X-Tac and Lake City M193.

I emailed Brownells and this was their reply:

It sounds like you are under-gassed and the gas port needs to be opened up slightly. It sounds like it is just on the edge but slightly not enough. I would take it to a local smith and they can open the gas port to the next bit size and it should be all good. I could get you with customer care to see if we could do a return but we wouldn't be able to verify if the next barrel sent out wouldn't have the same issue on your set up. Normally barrels fall into one of two categories from the manufacturer, they are either slightly under-gassed and you can open up to tune your gun or they are over-gassed from the start and you have to compensate with a adjustable gas block or heavier buffers. I think under-gassed is the better option of the two as it doesn't need any new parts just modification of existing ones.

I emailed back asking what the gas port is supposed to be, so I can measure with my pin gauges before I spin up the drill press. However, if someone here already knows the spec, feel free to let me know.

I wanted to get a few second opinions. Is there something else that could be causing enough friction to short-stroke the gun, or is opening up the gas port the correct first move here (even if it gauges in-spec)?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Thinking of getting this vise from HF to start my journey in smithing. I want to start small on personal handguns and move up from there so I figured that this might be a good starting point. What are your thoughts?

I'm no expert on the inner workings of these things, but I can take these down pretty comfortably, just don't know enough to suss out the problem. Long drawn-out story to get to this point, and I can type it all out if necessary, but I think we can start from where I'm at.

I have a FS Hatchet Axe (G17 clone), and the trigger won't reset every time. I tried replacing the trigger housing assembly and the connector (with OEM Bul), and it wouldn't reset at ALL (had to take off the backplate). I'm back to the original housing assembly and connector.

If I cock the gun and do a full single-stroke trigger pull (like finger inside the trigger guard but off the trigger, then just slap the trigger all the way to the rear), the trigger breaks 25%-50% of the time, and the rest of the time, trigger gets all the way to the rear but never breaks, just kinda goes squish.

If I take the trigger to the wall, hesitate for even a moment, and then continue pulling, the trigger breaks >90% of the time.

If I have the trigger at full pull, rack the slide, and let the trigger out to reset (which is kinda squishy but you can mostly tell where it is), it's very touchy about whether or not the trigger will break. If I don't quiiiiiiite let it out enough, it won't break, but if I let it out a hair farther, it'll break.

I have a Compact Hatchet Axe (G19 clone) that is 100% reliable. And MAN do the triggers look identical. I just don't know enough about the nuance of these triggers to figure out what's wrong or how to fix it.

ETA: Shut it down, u/JFB187 diagnosed perfectly!

I recently picked this up through an auction and I'm having a hell of a time racking it it's very stiff and cumbersome I've cleaned it it doesn't seem to affect racking it back and forth it's extremely difficult also reassembling it from the breakdown is extremely stiff as well it seems to load from the magazine tube just fine all else on it seems to be working functionally the hammers sits back everything works the trigger is great it's just really hard to rack and assemble and disassemble any suggestions

Could anyone give any advice on what troubleshooting I could preform to fix this issue. This M76 Zastava is having issues cycling rounds due to a possible issue with recoil spring being slightly out of line when place in the proper position of where its normally place this spring gives alot of resistance and is catching and when placed more inline is seems to operate smoothly. I was wondering if possibly a M77 recoil spring replacement due to the unavailability of parts for this.

https://reddit.com/link/1id48px/video/w329xwm9xzfe1/player

Hello I just watched Marks video on boiling rust , can I use mineral oil instead of kerosene? And will the boiling hurt the heat treatment? Looking to remove rust on a Winchester 94 properly thanks

Alright y’all, I refuse to be the guy posting two mangled screws after attempting to perform surgery.

Bought a used gun, that came with the optic included. Turns out the optic was included because the seller rounded one screw, and broke a bit off in the second. I was told nothing and discovered this when I went to pick the gun up from my FFL.

I’m thinking just going straight to cutting slots in both screws, and sacrificing the optic if need-be.

Any other tips or tricks I should look into? I’ve never had to extract such a small stripped screw.

Also not aware of any reputable gunsmiths in my area, so I’m on my own with this one.

In theory, could I add a tommygun forend grip on a wooden mini-14 stock? I got the inspiration from the John Dillinger gangs modified Winchester 1907 rifle ad was wondering if I could do something similar.

So I have acquired a late war PP, it’s somewhat rough as ~80-85 percent of the original finish has been worn off into the white but the Waffenmarks and the manufacturers marks are still clearly visible. If I were to make this as a refinishing project, what would be the best way to finish the pistol? I have read that they hot blued the parts during the war but I would like to have more experienced opinions on the matter as to how to proceed.

I appreciate your time and answers.

Got a shockwave 590s display model so I used some aluminum black to touch up some scratches. One side was fine but the other side looks like this now. Did I leave it too long? Can I sand it down with fine grit and reapply? Looking for the best way to get it back to how it was. Thanks!

I've got a TWL Large Frame pre-built with their parts recently and the slide isn't coming off naturally as OEM would.

As I hold down the slide lock lever and pull the slide back to release and push it seems to hang up on either the guide rod in front or the trigger bar "cruciform" in the back. The only way it "slides off" is when I depress the trigger in this position and it just slides right off. Now it's not a big deal it comes off this way but can it pose any issue in any way and if it does how to fix? Haven't shot it yet. Thanks.

https://imgur.com/a/pqsRUtT

Questions to everybody out there. I am researching for FFL and gunsmithing information, I eventually want to go for a type 07 license and class 02 SOT, and I wanted some opinions on 3D-printing:

1. What are your views on 3D printing firearm parts regarding gunsmithing? Is it durable enough to last, should it be done, is it a gunsmith's role to do it? Glock frames, stocks, magazines, etc.

2. What are your views on 3D printed accessories for firearms? Scope mounts, holsters, sights, anything else that exists.

3. Assuming it is durable enough and no other major issues, is there a market or role for gunsmiths and 3D printing together? Is there a way to do business selling printed accessories or parts? If so, what would be in place as far as regulations, serial numbers, restrictions, etc.

I am looking to chamber/thread my first rifle, so there is a fair chance that I will destroy my first attempt. I have been eyeing Outlier Barrels, but I also want a fast 22 barrel (and Outlier does not offer 224 barrels).

Can anyone recommend a source for budget barrels? I am mostly looking for a .224, but if you can suggest low cost options, I would be interested to know about them.

How should I remove part of the front sight to put this barrel band on, the pin is siezed and not budging and I am not sure if the front sight is brazed on like the k98s

Got this arisaka rifle from my uncle to clean up and fix and that explains all the issues I've had with the bolt

I am trying to find specifications like these, but for the Beretta 686. I cannot find them online and was wondering if there is an available source for them or if this is something the manufacturers don't publish.