What Are The Best Beginner Gunsmithing Tools?

by James L

Editors Note: Please welcome back Benjamin from Primary Arms. Primary Arms is a great source for firearms parts and optics. Their ACSS reticles are top of the line, and I urge you to check them out!

Few enthusiasts begin their journey into the world of firearms at the gunsmithing level. Most beginners will purchase off-the-rack semi-auto rifles with fully assembled upper receivers and factory manufactured lowers. Others will buy a fully assembled pistol ready to accept a loaded magazine and a day of enjoyable shooting at the range.

However, after repeated takedowns, cleanings, and reassemblies, you will undoubtedly discover you’ve gained a comfortable knowledge of how your rifles and pistols operate. Plus a knowledge of all the working parts and pieces that make your firearm perform the way it does. Once you’ve reached this step, your next logical move will be to perform upgrades and modifications to your guns to improve their performance.

At this stage, what you’ve done without realizing it is moving into the world of gunsmithing. While you may have accumulated a few tools to help you ease the frustration of making modifications to your guns, there are a few essential gunsmith tools you’ll want to have on your workbench should you choose to make a move to becoming a gunsmith.

Not the Average Screwdriver

While your standard toolbox in the garage may have an assorted set of screwdrivers, when building your firearm from the ground up, these average screwdrivers might mess up the screw head of a rifle or pistol. Even worse, a stripped-out screw can possibly create a situation where the firearm doesn’t work correctly from the beginning.

Most of the standard gun screws used today require screwdrivers with special bits that apply more torque to the screw without gouging a path in the screw head or slipping off and marring the finish of your gun. While you may initially think having a set of gunsmithing screwdrivers is an unnecessary expenditure when you have a complete set of standard screwdrivers in your toolbox, it will be worth the price in the long run.

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Ask any beginning gunsmith who has torqued a gun screw with a standard screwdriver and ended up blemishing the gun’s finish so bad it resulted in a five-hundred-dollar, hot re-bluing session. For a little under two hundred and sixty dollars – less when on sale – Brownells offers a complete Master Kit of fixed-blade gunsmithing screwdrivers in a lacquered wooden block to
hold all the drivers and non-skid feet to keep it in place on your workbench.

In addition to the gunsmith screwdrivers, Brownells includes three “Anti-Cam” Phillips’s head drivers and a properly radiused bit shaping stone to form the necessary bits to a precise fit when working with a specialty screw. Yes, having a set of gunsmithing screwdrivers is a pricey initial investment, but you’ll be glad you ultimately gave in and purchased this set of gunsmith screwdrivers from Brownells.

Roll Pin Punch Set

Although not as expensive a purchase as your set of gunsmithing screwdrivers, having a roll pin punch set is equally as important. For a little over twenty dollars, Wheeler Engineering offers a complete roll pin punch set that will help ensure you won’t damage the pins or mar the finish of your firearm when used correctly. From the smallest size of 1/16th inch to a much larger 5/16th inch punch pin, Wheeler Engineering includes a nine-piece set of hardened tool-steel punches.

Each size punch has a contoured hemispherical tip that helps prevent damage to the pin when being tapped in and aids in keeping the device in the position where it needs to be during insertion. Wheeler Engineering also packages all these punches in fitted slots of nylon construction that can be rolled up and stowed away on the shelf of your workbench, taking very little space, and keeping all the punches where you need them between building sessions. This twenty-dollar investment from Wheeler Engineering will provide you many years of roll-pin- punch performance and should be considered an integral part of your gunsmith equipment.

Let the Hammer Down

As any shade-tree mechanic will tell you, Murphy’s Law usually requires a few solid raps of a hammer to make things work correctly. Yes, it is true you’ll frequently need a hammer as a gunsmith; a regular hammer from the local hardware store will do more harm to the finish of your rifle or pistol and pieces of your firearm than good. Wheeler Engineering manufactures a perfect set of gunsmith hammers for less than forty dollars that will ultimately become excellent additions to your gunsmith tool kit.

With a Wheeler Engineering gunsmith hammer set, you can choose from multiple selections of hammerheads depending on the gunsmithing work. In this kit, Wheeler Engineering offers a selection of steel heads for metal pins and surfaces, brass and plastic for surface pins or finishes when quality esthetics are essential, and even rubber for low recoil work when working with wood stocks and forend.

If you’re struggling to extract a stubborn, larger pin, Wheeler Engineering also includes a more oversized hammer when a little more force is involved and a smaller one for the more delicate, precise control in close quarters or tight spots. When the time comes to let the hammer down, do it with a set of gunsmith hammers from Wheeler Engineering.

File Those Edges

Even if you’re beginning your gunsmithing journey, having a proper set of gunsmith files and understanding when to apply them will help you accomplish almost everything. Whether it’s from rough shaping grips to smoothing out metal burrs and even breaking the sharpest or finest edges having the correct gunsmith file makes the difference between perfect or average.

Although there are several more expensive gunsmith file kits on the market today, the folks at Wheeler Engineering again hit the sweet spot when it comes to tools for the avid gunsmith. For under sixty dollars, Wheeler Engineering offers a set of eighteen different files, perfect for the beginning gunsmith and able to handle almost ninety percent of the work a new gunsmith will initially attempt.

Vise and Clamps

If you’ve visited Wheeler Engineering and stocked up on all the tools you think you’ll need for your first gunsmithing session, you’ll probably need a few bench vises and clamps to hold the gun in place while you work. Rather than individually purchase a host of clamps and vises to get the job done, perhaps you should consider the Master Gun Vise from Real Avid. The Master Gun Vice is the first actual bench vise built explicitly for guns and gun tools.

Real Avid offers a bench solution that gives you all the holding properties you’ll ever need during a gunsmithing session and is priced competitively at just under three hundred dollars. It doesn’t matter if you’re customizing, repairing, or simply deep cleaning a gun; this Master Gun Vise from Real Avid can handle all your holding requirements. With the Master Gun Vise, Real Avid features reversible jaw plates, a leveling knob with six different adjustments and allows you to reorient the gun to any position without removing it from the vise.

Once you have all the essential tools and a quality bench vise, you’re now ready to begin your first gunsmithing build that will offer considerably less frustration and, ultimately, a more pleasurable gunsmithing experience.