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Advanced and Journeyman Gunsmith Exams (v.

845)

2000-2014 Phoenix State University, All Rights Reserved


Instructions: Answer the questions below to the best of your ability. Some may be below your
level of experience or knowledge, and some above. In order to receive this exam, you have to
have passed the Basic/Gunsmith course exam at PSU, or have submitted equivalent credits or
experience. AT THE ADVANCED LEVEL, MANY QUESTIONS HAVE NO SINGLE
RIGHT ANSWER! Even journeyman gunsmiths have to look some of these up or make a call
or two to get started, so dont get discouraged! At the advanced Master and Journeyman
Gunsmith levels, the ability to research an answer is more important than knowing a right
answer right off the bat. This is where your life experience is important. Use your experience,
your knowledge, the internet, books you have in your shop, and call fellow gun enthusiasts
and gunsmith friends and partners. This is entirely open book at the higher levels. PLEASE
remember to think SAFETY with EVERY question!

The two advanced levels here are dialectic. This means that your answers will be evaluated by
both PSU PhD level Engineers, Armorers and Gunsmiths, as well as practicing Smith Tactical
Gunsmiths. Many Gunsmiths, Engineers, Professors, Instructors and Armorers at other
Universities take these advanced courses to obtain their Advanced/Journeyman Gunsmith
Certificates faster and with less cost than even their own university may offer.

First, your answers will be reviewed by your PSU committee, your advisor, our board of
standards, and Smiths GM of Gunsmithing. Next, remedial comments will be returned to you if
necessary, and a second, shorter set of questions and/or comments sent where needed. Upon
successful submission of those responses, your next Certificate will be mailed from PSU. Please
return this exam to Mail@e-psu.com or Mail@Gunengine.com with a subject of Advanced Exam
Enclosed, OR mail to PSU, 7760 E SR 69, Suite C5-390, Prescott Valley AZ 86314. Toll Free
Fax: 866-857-2594. EMAILED OR FAXED ANSWERS ARE PREFERRED.

Answer these questions at your own pace, and with the degree of completeness you feel reflects
your knowledge and experience in the area, as well as the level of course you are taking. Master
level requires less completeness or detail than Journeyman. Feel free to look up the answers
online or in your library or even calling friends. The point of advanced gunsmithing is not
knowing everything, its the ability to FIND the answers as you go along, because many
problems have unique solutions or underlying causes and most have many correct fixes. Leave
the answer short or blank if you dont have a clue, but it is usually better to at least make a try.
Tip: at the advanced levels, many gunsmiths find market tools either inadequate or unavailable,
and make their own tools/ find their own solutions to interesting problems. This is one of the
most fun and challenging aspects of advanced gunsmithing. On the other hand, so many cheap
tools are now available from China that complex tools are sometimes cheaper to buy than build.
Remember, the ability to research a problem at the advanced levels is more important than the
guy who thinks he knows it all and gets frustrated when a problem is too difficult.
Gunsmithing can be a team sport, and there are many resources on the internet and in your local
community to help with the more difficult questions and problems you will encounter at the

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advanced levels. Most importantly: USE COMMON SENSE. If the answer pops into your
head thats stupid or this is not a big deal IT PROBABLY ISNT, so dont over think
it, and dont sweat the SMALL stuff! Think SAFETY first, that is the first axiom of
gunsmithing. When we are asked to validate a grads transcripts for an insurer, YOUR
INCLUSION OF SAFETY CONSIDERATIONS in your answers demonstrates knowledge,
experience and maturity!

STUCK? HINTS? As an advanced student, please visit the grad site at:
www.PSUGUNSMITH.com at your convenience.

From the Become a gunsmith website:

Q: What does it mean that the advanced courses are dialectic or didactic?
A: In many online universities, a version of the old Socratic method is used, or what researchers
would call "delphi" or "dialectic," and sometimes "didactic." This simply means, at the Gunsmith
level, you receive a course email or download with a brief exam at the end. At the advanced
levels (Master Gunsmith and Journeyman Gunsmith), the ability to research and find answers is
more important. The format is an email or download with questions, and online website, in the
advanced courses. You research and return the answers, with the help of a private grad-only
website, and are given feedback. This back and forth "questioning" format is often called
dialectic, because it hearkens back to the old Socratic method, yet also is very suited to modern
online university teaching formats. Our background and interrogation courses get even deeper
into dialectic, as refutational cross examination is key to interviewing.

As an advanced gunsmith grad, please also dont forget to access the FFL site if youd like to go
that route, at www.SHOWFFL.com with uid (lc): vips and pw: 823693.

ATTACH EXTRA PAGES AS NEEDED, HANDWRITING IS FINE AS LONG AS WE


CAN READ IT! You can email, fax, or mail this to us at your convenience:

1. Cowboy shooters like to take the 12 pound triggers of their Ruger Vaqueros down closer to 7
or 8. About how many coils of the factory spring would need to be removed to achieve this 3 to 4
pound reduction?

2. Is this a legitimate way to reduce trigger pull?

3. What other methods can/should be considered? What else should you do any time you cut a
spring?

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4. What is the average or preferred trigger pull range for:

a. A Tactical Shotgun__________
b. A 1911 Target Pistol__________
c. A Glock______________
d. A Double action revolver uncocked_________
e. A revolver cocked on single action___________
f. An Olympic .22 target rifle with a set feature________
g. A Weatherby .270 out of the box__________
h. An average hunting rifle___________
i. A military AR?______________
j. A sniper rifle with a bull barrel?__________________

A customer has all 10 of these guns above, and wants them all set to the same trigger pull. What
do you tell him, and what do you set them at?

5. Many factors need to be considered in trigger pull requests, from safety to intended use,
experience of the shooter, etc. Two of the many factors that should go into your diagnosis of
trigger pull requests are weight of the gun and travel of the trigger. Why is this?

6. A customer complains his gun is consistently shooting low and to the left. What should you
ask him, and what are your private thoughts on the matter?

7. If a gun has no internal or external hammer, what causes the primer to fire when the trigger is
pulled?

8. A gun has some milled and some cast components, what is the difference between those parts
and what do you think of them?

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9. What does sintered mean?

10. A customer wants you to put expensive custom grips on his 1911. Unfortunately, the model
he brings in has a right hand ambi safety release that pivots the primary left release. There is no
channel in the custom plastic, faux ivory, ivory or wood grips he brings you for this feature.
What tool would you use, and what would the process be to install the new grips, or would you
even try?

11. A nervous customer brings in a Glock 24 and says hes worried about a possible catastrophic
explosion, which hes heard happens with Glocks sometimes. What would you want to inspect,
and what would you be looking for? Is there anything you can do to lessen the chances of
problems if he insists on you doing something, even if you find nothing wrong? What advice can
you give him? What might have caused his concern in the design trade offs of the Glock? What
are the casing bulge tolerances of .40 in general after firing any pistol?

12. A customer tells you hes heard the HK USP has felt recoil of nearly 10 times less than a
comparable .45. Does this really have anything to do with the ability of the gun to handle plus P
loads?

13. What is a slamfire and what causes it? How can you prevent it?

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14. What are the best gun springs made of today? Where can you get excellent replacement
springs? How do you know its time to replace a spring? How can you or your customer extend
its life? Why can replacing springs cause more problems than it solves?

15. Why is the Taurus 24/7 Pro called a second chance gun, when the original 24/7 was not?
What is the technical difference in the firing mechanism?

16. How can a Glock, DAK, LEM, USA Action or other DAO decock with each cycle, yet still
have a relatively light pull between 6 and 8 pounds? Shouldnt the decock return the pull to 12
pounds plus just like a revolver that is not cocked since both are called double action?

17. A customer complains that his HK or XD with Nitride or Extreme Duty finishes shows
significant wear just from carrying it beneath clothing without even firing it. Is this normal or a
defect? Is there a possible warranty claim here?

18. Savage, and soon Marlin, will offer hunting rifle triggers for their lightweight field 30-06s
that can significantly reduce trigger pull, down to the 2.5 pound range. Why is this? Why are
rifle pulls so much lighter in general than pistol pulls?

19. A small, thin customer brings in his new 300 Weatherby Elk rifle. He asks about putting on a
limb saver recoil pad. What do you advise?

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20. A customer dropped his pistol and is now afraid to fire it. What should you check?

21. A customer is about to buy a used Para 1911 and brings it to you for an inspection. What
should go into your evaluation of its condition? What format should your report to him take?

22. How can you tell if a gun advertised as unfired really is, especially since even new guns
are usually fired at least once at the factory?

23. What are NY1, NY2 and Miami pistol conversions? Do they have anything to do with either
the spring shape or the actual tension? Do they offer any value to the everyday defense pistol?

24. What is detonation out of battery?

25. If you repair a gun, log it in and out, and a customers family member comes to pick it up,
are you allowed to give it to them? Does the original customer have to pass another background
check to pick up his own gun once youve repaired it? If youre not an FFL, is there any liability

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for you regardless of what you do? Would your insurance cover you if you are sued due to your
actions rather than the quality of your work?

26. Can you have a serialed lower delivered directly to you if youre a non-FFL gunsmith,
assuming there are no other working parts being shipped?

27. Why do the best gunsmiths drill screwholes slightly under the minor size of the screw tap
(say .009 or so) before using the tap?

28. If baking lacquer makes too dull a finish, how should it be brought to a tough, bright shine?
Is there any additional step needed other than buffing? What is the biggest caution other than
safety regarding quality?

29. Other than 100% buffing, what other method is used to remove pits and scratches from a
barrel prior to blueing?

30. You have to lightly grind a receiver but dont have a grinder. Can you do it with your drill
press? How? Any concerns in doing this?

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31. Re-crowning a barrel with shallow rifling often causes chatter. How can you prevent this, and
what usually causes it?

32. If you cant find an action wrench for a rifle with a flat bottomed action, such as a Mauser,
how can you work on the action?

33. How do you remove a grip screw caught in its bushing (assuming they are both outside the
gun) without drilling or destroying either piece?

34. A gun is caught in a fire in a safe and is unharmed, but has plastic from storage cases melted
all throughout the action and parts, including molded to the gun and plastic grips. How do you
save the gun, or is it possible, without ruining or replacing any parts or spending weeks on the
project?

35. You are asked to re-barrel a Chinese M1 or M14 clone, or decide to do so to create your own
new and better clone. The old barrel is mil spec, but for some reason the new barrel, which is GI,
wont attach to the gas cylinder, because the lock ring doesnt appear to thread properly. What is
wrong, and what can you do about it?

36. A Browning BAR Mark II is brought in with an operating handle that wont move any more,
or at least not with great difficulty. The owner told you that he just cleaned it, it shot 3 shots just

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fine, then started to bind up. What do you think might have happened? Is this a factory defect or
caused by the owner?

37. True or False: Lightening a firing pin OR using smaller primers OR cleaning a gun can all
cure slam fires?

38. Comment on this statement: A beginning gunsmith really only needs good hand tools and a
very good drill press with a compound table. As you advance, you can still do almost everything
with hand tools and attachments, probably adding a grinder and sander as you progress, as well
as dremels and other power hand tools and drill press attachments. The very advanced shop you
see in pictures that includes two or three precision Lathes, milling machines (both horizontal and
vertical), drill sharpener, engraving machines and lasers, saws including band/table, shapers, tool
and cutting grinders, blueing stations, etc. usually means that a lot of the machines go unused,
because the art of making precision tools has been replaced to a large extent by the low cost of
Chinese tools that are cheaper to buy and toss than make yourself. Keep your comment
technical, not political!

39. What is the difference between a jig and a fixture? Which would you use for jewelling a
bolt?

40. What common tool can make the first tiny punch guide hole/ impression precisely where you
want it?

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41. Joe won a bid on a large project for a dozen choke tube jobs using Clymer tube reamers, but
does not yet have a lathe. Reaming by hand would kill him and take forever, using the Clymer
with an impact wrench modification is too powerful and dangerous, and most electric drills and
drill presses do not have the power to drive the cutting, even with gallons of oil and a proper
fixture/mod. Does he have to turn down the job, or is there another tool that he hasnt thought of
yet that fits somewhere between the impact wrench and electric drill, but doesnt cost as much as
a lathe, and works just as well?

42. Comment: Inletting, forming and drilling fine Turkish Walnut is very difficult. Ive heard
that if you oil the area around the cut it will make for a very professional result with no splinters
or chips or even tiny imperfections. However, as I think about it, oiling a wood cutting surface
would make the tool slip and make the job almost impossible. Id NEVER use oil to avoid
splinters for this reason.

43. A customer lodged a lead bullet in a barrel by using the wrong caliber. He then tried to pound
it out using an aluminum cleaning rod from the muzzle end and broke a second piece of
aluminum and part of the rod off in the barrel, jamming it into the rifling and distorting the bullet
even more, making it impossible to apply the usual fix: tapping the bullet out with a strong,
close-fitting steel, brass tipped rod toward the action. How would you fix this without damaging
the barrel or leaving pieces of metal in the grooves?

44. When would a gunsmith use TIG welding, and what other common solder and weld
techniques are used more often than TIG? How is GTAW related to TIG?

45. True or False: You can VERY lightly stretch test a newly made or repaired spring before
quenching or tempering, as long as you dont stretch it to its fully intended or even normal
travel limits.

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