Fine Gunmaking
The reliable career gunsmiths working today have some things in common. A great deal of experience working on guns is of course a prerequisite, but so is the ability to run a small business like a business and to deal well with clients. The perseverance to survive the many pitfalls of sole-proprietorship is essential to getting beyond the first few years plying the trade. And we all specialize to a certain extent, although some specialties are not as easily defined as others.
David Norin's specialty might be described as "restoration," but "rebuilding old guns" might be closer to the truth. I'm sure this sounds rather vague as a specialty, but those who have the greatest appreciation for Norin's work have projects that require much more than a cosmetic restoration.
Norin was fortunate to discover his calling early in life and started working in a gunshop at age 16. The beginning tasks were simple, but the job carried the promise of a full-time gunsmithing position upon completion of gunsmithing school, which he began in the fall after graduating high school in 1970. Norin completed the associate-degree gunsmithing program at Trinidad State College, in Trinidad, Colorado, in 1972. He went right back to work in the shop where he'd started, and for the next 25 years he worked in a series of gunshops-always as an independent contractor-with the majority of his work in general repairs and refinishing.
In 1994 his business found a home in association with Shrank's Smoke & Gun, in Waukeegan, Illinois, continuing as an independent gunsmith leasing space for his workshop. According to Norin: "I had known Mike Schrank as a friend for many years and we made a handshake deal, an ideal situation for both of us, and I continue there today." He made another change at that time, leaving behind general gunsmithing to concentrate on sophisticated restoration and custom gunmaking. During the previous couple of decades Norin had directed his shop work toward making specialty parts, stockmaking and perfecting and expanding his metal-finishing repertoire. He also had cultivated a clientele that appreciated finer-quality firearms and a high degree of quality gunsmithing.
I first met Norin in 2001 when he became a member of the American Custom Gunmakers Guild (ACGG). Each of the current members gets to view and vote on examples of the applicants' work, and I try to make a point of introducing myself to those whose projects I find particularly pleasing. I clearly remember the high degree of preparation and finishing displayed by Norin's examples. I'm a student of-and stickler for-sophisticated wood and metal finishes, and Norin's work showed all of the colors and detailing that I enjoy.
Since 2001 I've come to know Norin better through visiting with him and seeing quite a few of his projects during the annual Guild show. I also have read, enjoyed and learned from his articles in the ACGG's publication, Gunmaker, the Journal of Custom Gunmaking, of which he's the editor. A recent story titled "Double Gun Lock-up" prompted me to interview him for this column, and it might help explain the vagueness of his specialty.
Norin's background in gun repair plays a large part in the restoration work he does these days. A Franz Jaeger Drilling (16x16x7x57R) was part of the subject matter of his Gunmaker story. It required extensive repair work prior to what we might consider "restoration." Norin wrote: "The work this Drilling was to undergo encompassed making and fitting a new hinge pin, smoking the breech back onto face, refacing the locking bolt and refitting it, making a new [Greener style] cross-bolt and welding and refitting the key-hole in the forend iron for a tighter fit. When rebuilt and tested, the Drilling would then be stocked and the metal completely refinished."
Now if you are even remotely familiar with these repairs, you recognize that any of these individual procedures would be complicated and sophisticated. Added together, especially for a Drilling, they constitute nearly rebuilding the action. Along with making a new stock and complete metal polishing and finishing, this project was closer to rebuilding than restoration. With three barrels, three locks and very complicated stock inletting, in my opinion Drillings are about the most difficult and challenging guns for any type of work.
The detailed description of what Norin did was the part of the story I learned from, but the explanation I particularly enjoyed was more philosophical: "Why go to all this trouble? John's dad used this gun and passed it down to him. John wants it rebuilt, stocked and refinished so that he can pass it down to his grandson in as great a condition as possible, ready for another generation of use. The gun is 80 years old now, well used, but well cared for. It has taken countless head of game and birds. If I do my job well, it should be good for another 80 years."
Norin has a system he offers to clients for rebuilding an entire gun. He splits the project into three phases, each to be accomplished in a few months of a single year, with all to be completed in three years. The first year he evaluates the entire project, makes recommendations and does any repairs needed to get the gun in shooting order. Then the gun returns to the client. The second year he makes a new stock, and the third year he does a complete refinishing of the metalwork.
Besides breaking up the substantial cost over three years, this approach offers several advantages to the client. After repairs, the client has the gun for the rest of the year to shoot. During this time the client's stock wood can be seasoning, and the client can determine proper stock dimensions and decide if he wants any special features. It also allows some time to wring out any unseen potential problems. The new stock is made the second year, and the client gets to shoot with it for several months. With all of the other work accomplished in the first two years, Norin can get right after the metal finishing as a separate project the third year. The gun is at the gunsmith's for a few months each year, and the client has it the rest of the time.
One such project was a Purdey sidelock shotgun. The gun needed a new mainspring, and Norin made one for each lock, preferring to balance two new springs to each other rather than trying to balance a new one with an old one. (Spring making is a nearly lost skill practiced by few gunsmiths. Purdey springs, because they act on the tumbler on one end and the self-opener on the other and require a special roller, are some of the most difficult to manufacture. The new springs require timing to the ejector, self-opener and cocking mechanisms.) Norin also honed the bores and did some ejectorwork. With a thorough evaluation, this completed the first phase.
For the second phase, the gun was stocked with the client's dimensions, and he got to shoot it for the rest of that year and evaluate it. He requested a few changes, which Norin made while he had the gun the third year for the metal finishing. All of the metal was hand-polished, the engraving re-cut and the parts rust blued, charcoal blacked, case colored and nitre blued or bright polished.
Some gunsmiths have difficulty working straight through on one project that requires this much dedication. Some clients have difficulty letting go of their guns for the time needed to accomplish all phases of a complete rebuild, and reasonably so. Norin's three-phase approach helps alleviate the anxieties of the client, who's wondering, Am I ever going to get my gun back? as well as the gunsmith's exasperated sense of, Am I ever going to get that job finished? This Purdey project required something in the neighborhood of 200 bench hours to accomplish.
Another project was a Greener 10-gauge Damascus gun that came in a box with the parts in baggies. It was a family heirloom, and although the rest of the gun was "in sad shape," the barrels were in excellent condition, only needing a light honing. Norin had to make all new springs and "about a dozen screws." He also "blind manufactured" a new locking bolt (the original was missing), welded and repaired the broken upper tang and reworked the Greener side safety. After stockmaking, the bench hours added up to about 450-a huge undertaking to renew the gun.
This three-phase process certainly requires a gunsmith who can stick to a schedule, and Norin is one of the most disciplined I know. He uses a Day-Timer for daily scheduling, breaking the work into morning and afternoon; he keeps a wall calendar with start and finish dates for each project and scheduled time for maintenance, bookkeeping, "open" days for catching up or odd jobs; and he sticks pretty close to his schedule throughout the year. "I can give you a good idea of exactly what I will be working on three months, six months and a year down the road, to the day," he said.
Norin shapes schedules to complete about a dozen "major" projects (the complete rebuilds and some fine custom rifles he creates) and about a dozen "smaller jobs" per year. The smaller jobs include parts or spring making, relaying ribs, rejointing, major stock repairs, partial metal refinishes and the like. And to keep the work flowing, he accepts no general repairs, installing or replacing recoil pads, choke modifications or any other work that might distract from his focus: Getting good solid jobs in and out of the shop. With his nearly 40 years in gunshops, he can do most of the small tasks but reserves the time and experience for larger projects.
Norin has a small but well-appointed shop with a South Bend lathe, Bridgeport milling machine, heat-treating furnace and welding apparatus as well as a menagerie of hand tools. He does virtually every type of appropriate metal finishing in-house.
I asked him what he enjoys most about his work, and he said, "I love the variety, especially English guns. They are all different. I get to work on a Hussey this week, a Purdey or a W&C Scott next, and then it might be a triggerplate gun or a unique single-shot rifle. They are all different, but each shows quality from a time when quality was important to gunmaking."
As for the clients, he said, "I like them! They are so much better educated than they used to be. They know about their guns, know about the wood and metal finishes. They understand the gun terms and know what they want. Many understand small businesses and enjoy working with a guy who runs his own shop."
And I'm sure Norin's task-oriented, scheduled approach makes it a pleasure for the clients as well.
Author's Note: For more information, contact Dave Norin, 847-782-9126, www.davenoringunmaker.com.
Autographed copies of Steven Dodd Hughes' new book, Double Guns and Custom Gunsmithing, are available for $46 postpaid from the author, PO Box 545, Livingston, MT 59047.
David Norin's specialty might be described as "restoration," but "rebuilding old guns" might be closer to the truth. I'm sure this sounds rather vague as a specialty, but those who have the greatest appreciation for Norin's work have projects that require much more than a cosmetic restoration.
Norin was fortunate to discover his calling early in life and started working in a gunshop at age 16. The beginning tasks were simple, but the job carried the promise of a full-time gunsmithing position upon completion of gunsmithing school, which he began in the fall after graduating high school in 1970. Norin completed the associate-degree gunsmithing program at Trinidad State College, in Trinidad, Colorado, in 1972. He went right back to work in the shop where he'd started, and for the next 25 years he worked in a series of gunshops-always as an independent contractor-with the majority of his work in general repairs and refinishing.
In 1994 his business found a home in association with Shrank's Smoke & Gun, in Waukeegan, Illinois, continuing as an independent gunsmith leasing space for his workshop. According to Norin: "I had known Mike Schrank as a friend for many years and we made a handshake deal, an ideal situation for both of us, and I continue there today." He made another change at that time, leaving behind general gunsmithing to concentrate on sophisticated restoration and custom gunmaking. During the previous couple of decades Norin had directed his shop work toward making specialty parts, stockmaking and perfecting and expanding his metal-finishing repertoire. He also had cultivated a clientele that appreciated finer-quality firearms and a high degree of quality gunsmithing.
I first met Norin in 2001 when he became a member of the American Custom Gunmakers Guild (ACGG). Each of the current members gets to view and vote on examples of the applicants' work, and I try to make a point of introducing myself to those whose projects I find particularly pleasing. I clearly remember the high degree of preparation and finishing displayed by Norin's examples. I'm a student of-and stickler for-sophisticated wood and metal finishes, and Norin's work showed all of the colors and detailing that I enjoy.
Since 2001 I've come to know Norin better through visiting with him and seeing quite a few of his projects during the annual Guild show. I also have read, enjoyed and learned from his articles in the ACGG's publication, Gunmaker, the Journal of Custom Gunmaking, of which he's the editor. A recent story titled "Double Gun Lock-up" prompted me to interview him for this column, and it might help explain the vagueness of his specialty.
Norin's background in gun repair plays a large part in the restoration work he does these days. A Franz Jaeger Drilling (16x16x7x57R) was part of the subject matter of his Gunmaker story. It required extensive repair work prior to what we might consider "restoration." Norin wrote: "The work this Drilling was to undergo encompassed making and fitting a new hinge pin, smoking the breech back onto face, refacing the locking bolt and refitting it, making a new [Greener style] cross-bolt and welding and refitting the key-hole in the forend iron for a tighter fit. When rebuilt and tested, the Drilling would then be stocked and the metal completely refinished."
Now if you are even remotely familiar with these repairs, you recognize that any of these individual procedures would be complicated and sophisticated. Added together, especially for a Drilling, they constitute nearly rebuilding the action. Along with making a new stock and complete metal polishing and finishing, this project was closer to rebuilding than restoration. With three barrels, three locks and very complicated stock inletting, in my opinion Drillings are about the most difficult and challenging guns for any type of work.
The detailed description of what Norin did was the part of the story I learned from, but the explanation I particularly enjoyed was more philosophical: "Why go to all this trouble? John's dad used this gun and passed it down to him. John wants it rebuilt, stocked and refinished so that he can pass it down to his grandson in as great a condition as possible, ready for another generation of use. The gun is 80 years old now, well used, but well cared for. It has taken countless head of game and birds. If I do my job well, it should be good for another 80 years."
Norin has a system he offers to clients for rebuilding an entire gun. He splits the project into three phases, each to be accomplished in a few months of a single year, with all to be completed in three years. The first year he evaluates the entire project, makes recommendations and does any repairs needed to get the gun in shooting order. Then the gun returns to the client. The second year he makes a new stock, and the third year he does a complete refinishing of the metalwork.
Besides breaking up the substantial cost over three years, this approach offers several advantages to the client. After repairs, the client has the gun for the rest of the year to shoot. During this time the client's stock wood can be seasoning, and the client can determine proper stock dimensions and decide if he wants any special features. It also allows some time to wring out any unseen potential problems. The new stock is made the second year, and the client gets to shoot with it for several months. With all of the other work accomplished in the first two years, Norin can get right after the metal finishing as a separate project the third year. The gun is at the gunsmith's for a few months each year, and the client has it the rest of the time.
One such project was a Purdey sidelock shotgun. The gun needed a new mainspring, and Norin made one for each lock, preferring to balance two new springs to each other rather than trying to balance a new one with an old one. (Spring making is a nearly lost skill practiced by few gunsmiths. Purdey springs, because they act on the tumbler on one end and the self-opener on the other and require a special roller, are some of the most difficult to manufacture. The new springs require timing to the ejector, self-opener and cocking mechanisms.) Norin also honed the bores and did some ejectorwork. With a thorough evaluation, this completed the first phase.
For the second phase, the gun was stocked with the client's dimensions, and he got to shoot it for the rest of that year and evaluate it. He requested a few changes, which Norin made while he had the gun the third year for the metal finishing. All of the metal was hand-polished, the engraving re-cut and the parts rust blued, charcoal blacked, case colored and nitre blued or bright polished.
Some gunsmiths have difficulty working straight through on one project that requires this much dedication. Some clients have difficulty letting go of their guns for the time needed to accomplish all phases of a complete rebuild, and reasonably so. Norin's three-phase approach helps alleviate the anxieties of the client, who's wondering, Am I ever going to get my gun back? as well as the gunsmith's exasperated sense of, Am I ever going to get that job finished? This Purdey project required something in the neighborhood of 200 bench hours to accomplish.
Another project was a Greener 10-gauge Damascus gun that came in a box with the parts in baggies. It was a family heirloom, and although the rest of the gun was "in sad shape," the barrels were in excellent condition, only needing a light honing. Norin had to make all new springs and "about a dozen screws." He also "blind manufactured" a new locking bolt (the original was missing), welded and repaired the broken upper tang and reworked the Greener side safety. After stockmaking, the bench hours added up to about 450-a huge undertaking to renew the gun.
This three-phase process certainly requires a gunsmith who can stick to a schedule, and Norin is one of the most disciplined I know. He uses a Day-Timer for daily scheduling, breaking the work into morning and afternoon; he keeps a wall calendar with start and finish dates for each project and scheduled time for maintenance, bookkeeping, "open" days for catching up or odd jobs; and he sticks pretty close to his schedule throughout the year. "I can give you a good idea of exactly what I will be working on three months, six months and a year down the road, to the day," he said.
Norin shapes schedules to complete about a dozen "major" projects (the complete rebuilds and some fine custom rifles he creates) and about a dozen "smaller jobs" per year. The smaller jobs include parts or spring making, relaying ribs, rejointing, major stock repairs, partial metal refinishes and the like. And to keep the work flowing, he accepts no general repairs, installing or replacing recoil pads, choke modifications or any other work that might distract from his focus: Getting good solid jobs in and out of the shop. With his nearly 40 years in gunshops, he can do most of the small tasks but reserves the time and experience for larger projects.
Norin has a small but well-appointed shop with a South Bend lathe, Bridgeport milling machine, heat-treating furnace and welding apparatus as well as a menagerie of hand tools. He does virtually every type of appropriate metal finishing in-house.
I asked him what he enjoys most about his work, and he said, "I love the variety, especially English guns. They are all different. I get to work on a Hussey this week, a Purdey or a W&C Scott next, and then it might be a triggerplate gun or a unique single-shot rifle. They are all different, but each shows quality from a time when quality was important to gunmaking."
As for the clients, he said, "I like them! They are so much better educated than they used to be. They know about their guns, know about the wood and metal finishes. They understand the gun terms and know what they want. Many understand small businesses and enjoy working with a guy who runs his own shop."
And I'm sure Norin's task-oriented, scheduled approach makes it a pleasure for the clients as well.
Author's Note: For more information, contact Dave Norin, 847-782-9126, www.davenoringunmaker.com.
Autographed copies of Steven Dodd Hughes' new book, Double Guns and Custom Gunsmithing, are available for $46 postpaid from the author, PO Box 545, Livingston, MT 59047.
- By: Steven Dodd Hughes
