With the guidance of top gunsmith Patrick Sweeney, beginners, as well as serious enthusiasts, are able to diagnose handgun problems--for once they're the experts, deciding whether to do their own work or leave it up to the professionals. Profusely illustrated step-by-step instructions are presented for do-it-yourself minor repairs and major upgrades, from the how-tos of diagnosing malfunctions in both revolver and semi-automatic pistols to what corrective steps can be taken to solve them. Sweeney provides a complete look at repairs and upgrades: setting up an efficient and organized workplace, what gunsmithing tools are needed to complete projects, and a thorough series of mini-projects--teaching professional tool-use techniques. Plus, there are chapters on cleaning, polishing and minor repairs, welding and metal joining, recoil reduction, and refinishing. And new to this edition, gunsmithing tips are included for polymer-framed pistols.

Working on your own guns can be both fun and economical, and in this all-new fourth edition of Gunsmithing Pistols & Revolvers, certified master gunsmith and best-selling gun writer Patrick Sweeney shows you how to avoid costly repairs and improve your handgun's performance.

The popularity of cowboy action shooting has greatly expanded, and so has this indispensable guide to the guns used in the sport. This updated second edition guides collectors, cowboy action shooters, hobbyists and Old West re-enactors through repairing and improving Old West firearms. New additions include 125 high-resolution diagrams and illustrations, five new handgun models, four new long gun models, and an expanded and illustrated glossary.The book offers expanded coverage of the first edition's featured guns (over 40 original and replica models), as well as updated gunsmithing tips and advice. The step-by-step, detailed illustrations demonstrate to both amateur and advanced gunsmiths how to repair and upgrade Old West firearms. This valuable knowledge is passed along to readers by a working professional with years of experience and a great reputation for quality custom gunsmithing work.·

One of America's foremost experts on gunsmithing, Bryce Towsley is back again to provide even more projects for anyone interested in building, customizing, fixing, or maintaining firearms. Gunsmith Towsley offers detailed explanations and includes color illustrations for just about every aspect of gun modification, builds, and repair. Featured tutorials include: how to customize a GLOCK handgun build a 1911 handgun or an AR-15 rifle from parts how to do spray on gun coatings turning a Mosin-Nagant into a tactical rifle building a precision or hunting rifle from scratch and much more This extensive information is important to anybody interested in firearms care, modification, repair, or improvement. It takes the reader from easy-to-do, “kitchen table” projects through advanced techniques. There is something in these pages for anybody interested in working on firearms, and Towsley’s writing style is easy to read and understand and the humor will make you laugh while you learn. “Gunsmithing is a great hobby. It brings satisfaction that few others can achieve. There is the pride in fixing something that is broken and in feeling the artistic achievement when you modify a firearm to make it better.”—Bryce M. Towsley

“The story of Smith & Wesson handguns and their evolution is one of the hallowed tales of American firearms’ history,” according to the firearms writer Jim Casada. Anyone who collects Smith & Wessons or is simply interested in their backstory will cherish this book. Though originally published in 1945, more than half a century ago, Smith & Wesson Hand Guns remains the source for Smith & Wesson enthusiasts. It is an authoritative reference and has remained, for over five decades, the cornerstone upon which Smith & Wesson research rests. This work is foundational, supported by sixty-three detailed illustrations showing the handguns, the unique hammer mechanism, and facsimile reproductions of vintage advertising copy. The first twenty-four chapters of the book, which tell the story of Smith and Wesson and the development of Smith & Wesson handguns, are very informative. After the reader becomes familiar with Smith and Wesson’s history together, as well as their creation of a business, illustrations exhibiting Smith & Wesson handguns will show rather than tell of their magnificence. Finally, descriptions of different caliber guns are given, where readers will gain invaluable information regarding Smith & Wesson handguns. For any Smith & Wesson enthusiast or collector, this work is impossible to put down.

Offers a complete reference for the handgun owner, covers all repairing and rebuilding procedures.

Keep busy with projects for all levels of competence, from kitchen table through home workshop, all the way to the academic. Step-by-step tutorials on building from kits and a resource directory make the grade.