Trade Secrets

[Capt. Fred]

Jerry, my post wasn't meant as criticism at all. In fact I meant it as a compliment. Sometimes I worry about your delicate psyche :grin: ( That's meant as a joke) I was referring to your p.s. in your previous post that you do keep some things to yourself because you make part of your living teaching those secrets. I say bravo! You and Mike and anybody else that wants to, has every right to charge for teaching the knowledge and skills that took you so long to master. Believe me, if I had the time and money I'd be thrilled to hand some of it to you guys for lessons in just a tiny percentage of what you folks know.

Even just ten years ago, I have no idea how I would have gone about learning how to do all of this stuff without the internet and folks like yourself and Mike, and Jim Kibler, and Roy Stroh, and Colin, and Keith, and Chris, and Allen, and on, and on, and on. All willing to share stuff with absolute strangers all over the world. It really is a miraculous time we all are living in when you think about it and I say a huge thanks to anybody that is willing to share any amount of what they know. :thumbsup:

 

[hoochiepapa]

Amen!! :thumbsup: :hatsoff: :bow:

 

[Mike Brooks]

Mike Brooks.
You forgot to mention all the books you bought.
I have bought over $20,000.00 in books on gunbuilding and antique gunbooks.

Boy, that's a fact Jerry, and it's a never ending investment, always something new in print.

 

[jerrywh]

Frankly Fred. If you can't share stuff it isn’t any fun. I learn stuff often from new guys who just have good ideas about new techniques. I learned a real good trick from a guy who only built one gun before the other day. I have a sort of motto [ even a 12 year old knows something I don't know.] sometimes it's downright embarrassing.

 

[hoochiepapa]

Jerry, that is beautiful!!

 

[BillinOregon]

Jerry: That is indeed breathtaking. Doesn't mean I wouldn't love the chance to watch you work though.

:wink:

 

[Rolfkt]

Jerry, thank you for showing us. I hope we get to see rest of the gun when it is finished. It's allways awe inspirering to see a masters work.

Best regards
ROlf

 

[hoochiepapa]

Rolf, I hope you are looking in the mirror when you say that, you have great talent.

 

[gonzomann]

I just bought a copy of "Manual of Traditional Wood Carving" online for ten bucks on Jerry's recommendation. (thanks for the tip Jerry, I am confident the book will be well worth it!) I am a beginning builder who has one rifle under my belt and another on the bench. I have gotten tremendous amounts of useful and free information :bow: from this board and others. I have also spent hundreds on books and will spent hundreds more I am sure. I will be attending a 9 day class at the NMLRA gunsmithing seminar this June that will cost me a bundle but I'm sure will be worth every penny I have been saving for it the past couple of years.

My point here I guess is I have received lots of invaluable information from those who are gracious enough to share, but if you are really passionate about something you have to sacrifice some lesser things and pursue it with great zeal!

 

[Birddog6]

Having read all of the posts on this thread & doing allot of thinking on it, I can't think of any "trade secrets" that I have ever held back. I have never considered the procedures I have learned or discovered building rifles to be secrets. And I cannot think of ever withholding info. from anyone that has asked me about building. No, I have not documented any of the procedures or made a list, etc. but I am an open book to people asking me build questions & have always freely given this info out to those that ask. Just guessing, I probably get 5-6 emails a day & have for years, from people asking how I would approach this or that. I have always done my best to answer the best I could on what I have experience on, and for questions I cannot answer, find people that can answer them correctly.
There could be times I may fail to give every tiny detail of something, simply because I don't realize I did a small procedure or detail, I just automatically do it having built quite a dozens rifles.
And as previously stated by several, I also find it frustrating when a question is asked on here & I & others respond to how I/they would approach it, & then someone with basically no experience at all, gets on here & insinuates that we don't know what the H we are doing, simply because they assembled one rifle, or they somehow managed to stumbled thru building a kit, and thus are now experts & passing out info from their vast building experiences.. :shake:

So it makes me & allot of the older builders think........ Why Bother....... :idunno: It is much easier to just go to the work bench & work on a rifle for someone & not deal with it.

I feel this why allot of experienced builders are posting less & less on here. It is not to withhold anything, it is simply because when your advice is offered, it is often not considered or given any merit, it is basically just ignored.

I am not trying to step on may toes, I am trying to wake some people up. Stop & look at the Posts & who are posting....... and you will see the experienced guys are not posting..... there is a reason for this......... and it is not because they are all dead ! :slap:

Keith Lisle

 

[hoochiepapa]

Glad to see you back, Keith! I for one am grateful :bow: for your input. I have learned a lot here.

 

[jerrywh]

Amen to Keith a super good builder.

 

[paulvallandigham]

Keith makes a serious point, here. The very fine, experienced builders here often don't get the respect their comments deserve. I can't imagine how long it would take me to go back through the posts and list all the good ideas I have learned from these members on this forum. All the books I have purchased, and all the work I have done in the past pale to what I have learned here.

I am glad to see Keith back, and encourage other older members to stick with us. The foolish posters come and go, but those who understand the treasury of knowledge that is here stay, and appreciate you all the more. I know I spend a lot of time drafting a question before I post it here, so I don't waste anyone's time. :thumbsup: :hatsoff: :hatsoff:

 

[Mike Brooks]

So it makes me & allot of the older builders think........ Why Bother....... It is much

easier to just go to the work bench & work on a rifle for someone & not deal with it.

I feel this why allot of experienced builders are posting less & less on here. It is not to withhold anything, it is simply because when your advice is offered, it is often not considered or given any merit, it is basically just ignored.

Ditto :thumbsup: I don't post much info on the building forum anymore. I feel that the "new experts" of the past year probably have the situation well in hand. :wink:

 

[FishDFly]

If only I had the talent of those who have talent, I do envy you and thanks for sharing your work.

 

[matt denison]

"...because when your advice is offered, it is often not considered or given any merit, it is basically just ignored."

I read every word that you print on here. Some others too. You post pictures of your fixtures, shop tools and etc. that I find very interesting and helpful. I'm not cruising the forum to help someone so much as to see some the ideas offered by you and a couple of others here.

Some of the incredible .. , um :bull: that is offered is entertaining, sometimes annoying. But not the advice from you and Zonie and Jerry and a few others. :bow: For instance I have the stuff to make one of you rivet making devices and the first time I feel I can take the time I'm a'gonna' make one.

 

[Zonie]

I know for a fact that for every one of the "new experts" that tend to ruffle feathers around here there are dozens of others who don't comment and are very grateful for the knowledge that the real experts pass on to us.

They quietly read and learn from the information given.

It is to these people that I post what little I know about building guns.

This is no different than teaching a subject in school.

There are always a few who argue just to hear themselves talk and to sound important to their friends.

There are always a few who are sitting there thinking about next Fridays party or thinking about Jennifer's newly expanding attributes.

To the professional, they are not worth dwelling on.
It is the rest of our members: Those truly wanting to learn, that the whole effort should be made.

I would suggest to the all of you truly knowledgeable folks that you remember what I've said and give freely of your knowledge. There are many who truly appreciate your efforts.
This includes me. :hatsoff:

 

[Mike Brooks]

I would suggest to the all of you truly knowledgeable folks that you remember what I've said and give freely of your knowledge. There are many who truly appreciate your efforts.

How true. I've learned loads of new stuff from all of the experienced builders here. :thumbsup:

 

[TARL01]

Zonie - "What little you know about building guns?!!!" This is one of those "You have more knowledge in your little finger than I have in my whole body" type of things. And yes, I do know the basics. I am one of those guys that reads all the posts on building that are on here and quietly hopes that I can contribute something someday to help to pay back all the help I have received just reading on here.
I say - THANKS to ALL the masters on here and ask you all to please continue to give the great tips and advise you all always have.
Woody

 

[ryzman]

it would be a shame if the skills and techniques of you masters were lost. it is so important to pass on your abilities to us new guys to keep the LR alive and well, well into the future.
i dont know about the rest of you new guys, but i am a sponge when it comes to learning the trade of rifle building. i can not get enough and really hope you masters have it in you to continue to share all that you can.

Jennifer's newly expanding attributes