Hi all! So, I'm still working out all the details (dealing with ATF, they are behind because of the gov shutdown) and figuring out what machine I'll be purchasing (currently a TYKMA is probably going to win). My questions are more about the firearm engraving/marking itself. I've been trying to Google Ninja this for months, but really having some issues finding a lot of information on it.
1. a) Do you have customers bring entire firearms to you, or do you make them disassemble the firearms, before bringing the part in?
---I always requested they bring as little of the gun as possible.
b) Are you charging to disassemble if you do bring in complete firearms?
---N/A, they disassemble, but you can upcharge a bit if they don't (harder to clamp whole guns)
c) How do you handle part management of firearms you do have to disassemble? I would think boxes of parts would take up a lot of space in a safe.
---Ditto
d) I know the firearms I own, inside-and-out... but there are thousands that I've never handled. How do you go about training yourself on smithing a firearm you've never had to disassemble before?
---Ditto again
2. a) How much care do you put into cleaning the firearm before engraving/marking? Are you using an auto-cleaner?
---Wipe with a rag or paper towel if needed
b) If the firearm comes in quite dirty, do you charge more for cleaning? What if the cleaning costs are normally just included in the rest of the costs?
---See 2. a) 
-- never had a 'dirty' firearm show up, most owners keep 'em clean
3. I imagine every coating/finish is going to engrave differently, even between lot numbers of the same item. So, how do you determine your settings on a firearm/coating/finish that you've never engraved before? Same goes for the stocks and grips; they are all manufactured out of different types of plastic. When working on expensive items, mistakes can be pricey.
---In MY house, plastics and woods get done with a C02, NOT a fiber. For grips, inform the customer you'll be removing a grip and test engraving on the back side. My test engraving is whatever year it is in 1/8" bold Arial, whether it goes good or not so good, at least it looks like it was supposed to be there
4. a) Protecting the engraving afterwards... Lets say you just finished a Glock17 deep engraving. Now that you have this nice raw metal exposed and the colored coating giving it a great contrast, how are you protecting that raw metal? I assume that the firearm will rust pretty quickly, without some kind of coating. But doing something like Cerakote would just dull the engraving you just did, not to mention the need for at least two more machines and a lot more space.
---I have bare and engraved steel stuff that's been kicking around here for years that's not the least bit rusty. The engraving on a cleaned and oiled gun will likely never rust, other than say dropping it in a mud puddle or something... Rubbing a little gun oil in the engraving is all YOU need to do, up the customer for anything further.
---Cerakote- if you're going there, find someone local who does Cerakote and let them do it. You'll not have the hassle, and their customers will likely soon be YOUR customers 
b) How about on a blued firearm? Do you burn through the bluing and coat everything afterwards with something? Do you just strip the whole gun, engrave, and then re-blue the firearm?
---Engraving blued items is no problem, but don't ever rub the surface with anything the least bit abrasive. No steel wool, no magic erasers, no scotchbrite, ANY of those will lighten the bluing. Re-bluing is supposed to be cake but what if the customer doesn't want the engraving blued? Treat it gentle
c) How about those rare items? Take for instance a service used Colt 1911 from the early 1900s? How about a M1 from the 1800s? The customer probably doesn't want to reblue them or coat them in a new fancy Cerakote. How do you protect these old firearms?
---If you get comfortable engraving people's Glock's, no reason to not engrave rare stuff. I recently diamond engraved a 130-something year old pocket watch... If you DO, do so with a warning to the customer, you're only human, and even if you're doing everything right, what if the power goes out halfway thru an engraving.... 
5. a) Most firearm engraving I would assume will be custom. Everyone wants something different, hence them wanting the engraving to begin with. Do you charge a designing fee? I assume this would be done on an hourly basis.
---Actually you'll likely find most engraving won't be so custom, usually just text. If they want graphics, you'll have to do some time estimating, which comes with practice. Nice thing about prepping graphics, you can learn to do it in your spare time, just google something, anything YOU might like to engrave, and prep it. Practice...
b) Even if the customer brings in their own designs, they will generally need to be changed to work with lasering. Is this a different charge than a total design job? ie: different cost p/hr
---Ditto, time estimating needed. Some graphics you'll get will be good to go vector art-- on a good day
Thank you for any help, in advance! I'm quite nervous about this possible business endeavor and am quite trigger shy to make the big purchase. Note: I recently closed a side business I had, due to inability to make a profit worth the work. This is why I'm so nervous... Thank again!
Firearm Engraving Questions
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Originally Posted by Daniel Perry
