This week we are covering the gunsmith’s top five tools needed for gun repair. These are must have items for any gunsmith.

#1 - Vise

Gunsmiths need to be able to securely hold a gun to work on it. You should invest in a vise that you trust to hold that $10,000 shotgun checked into your shop.

Good quality vises will typically have a longer nut. This creates more surface area for the screw to go into and prevents loosening from vibration and impact.

It also needs to be a smooth jaw vise with lead or leather vise jaws.

I prefer to use a Wilton vise. But I have many other smaller and specialty vises for other uses.

#2 - Brass Hammer

A brass hammer is key to being able to remove pins and parts without damaging the gun.

Brass hammers better transfer energy to steel parts. And brass is softer than steel and bluing which makes it less likely to scratch or dent the gun.

I prefer to use a brass hammer with one side as plastic. It’s nice to have the plastic side for getting sights started and for plastic roll pins.

I would recommend a 16 ounce. However, you can get anything from 8 ounces to 2 pounds.

#3 - Screwdriver Set

Get a screwdriver set with as many tips as possible. I don’t even think my 89 piece screwdriver set can cover all the screws I find in the guns. But, if I need a tip I don’t have, I just grind down a tip to fit.

Be sure to get hollow ground tips. These completely fill the slot of the screw which allows torque to transfer evenly, preventing damage to the screw head.

In my experience, the 89 piece Wheeler set is the most cost-effective and quality option.

#4 - Punch Set

A high-quality steel punch set is necessary for a gunsmith to remove pins and sights.

Get a set with the highest hardness possible. Anything soft won’t transfer all of the energy and can cause the punch to break or slip and damage the gun.

When using a punch set, make sure to use the brass hammer. This completely transfers the energy to the tool and thus to the part. If you use a steel hammer, it will bounce off the punch and fail to transfer energy.

Make sure you invest in a good punch set. I’ve seen a low quality punch fail to remove a pin, and a good quality punch do the job easily. So far, I’ve only found one quality punch set for gunsmithing work and it’s made by Starrett.

#5 - Files

Gunsmithing is mostly hitting stuff (hence the hammer and the punch set) and accurately removing material. Metal files will be your best friend. Gunsmiths should invest in the finest files they can afford.

My favorite is a 6 inch bastard file.

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Gunsmith's Top 5: Tools for Repair