Facilities/Capabilities
Welding
Oxy-Acetylene, Tungsten Inert Gas, Tin/Lead soft soldering, Silver brazing.
Machining
Lathe, Vertical milling, Miniature milling, grinding, buffing, polishing, coil and flat spring fabrication.
Finishing
Ultrasonic Cleaning, Bead/Shot blasting, all air brush and baked finishes, wood staining & varnishing, Rust Bluing, Cold Bluing.
Heat Treating
Hardening, annealing, tempering, case hardening.
Inspection & Measurement
Spring force characterization, Borescope inspection of barrels and chambers with photo documentation, Trigger force plotting, photo documentation at 10x magnification.
Rates
Shop Time
$138 an hour
Repair Cost Estimate if Disassembly Required
$45 (credited towards cost of service)
Our Shop
Sanding, Grinding, Buffing
We offer Cerakote and Cold Bluing metal finishing for firearms. With Cerakote finish, you can choose virtually any color in matte or gloss!
Benches
At FIRST we have 7 individual assembly benches for gunsmiths and a single bench specifically designated for grinding and sanding. That way any grit that might mar a finish is kept off the assembly benches.
Cleaning Station
Once guns are disassembled parts are cleaned ultrasonically. They are dried in a convection oven, sprayed or immersed in lubricant and then blown off with compressed air.
Degreasing Station
Prior to any refinishing, all barrels, actions and frames must be thoroughly degreased. They sit in degreasing solvent for timed intervals and then hung to dry. The soaking tank is drained into fuel storage containers every night.
Gas Welding
Torches for small medium and large jobs use butane, propane or oxygen & acetylene. An explosion proof exhaust system removes stray gas and fumes. Primary uses are heating, heat treating metals and case hardening steels.
TIG Welder
For precise welding on steels and other metals Tungsten Inert Gas welding is used. It is especially suited to repairing cracks and broken parts as well as adding metal that has been worn off an old part, giving it new life.
Gunsmithing Lathe
The lathe is an essential tool. It is here that we thread the end of a barrel to add a compensator or suppressor. The lathe is where we ream chambers to change the cartridge the gun fires, shorten barrels, recrown muzzles and accurize rifle receivers and bolts.
Barrel Vise
This is a specialized vise to hold barrels while the action is rotated off with a matching action wrench. It is necessary to separate the barrel from the action any time the barrel is to be put in the lathe.
Press
Many pieces in firearms are pressed together with great force. To disassemble them they must be pressed apart. This device is capable of applying 12 tons of carefully directed force to remove stubborn pins, remove barrels from receivers and mate other parts.
Sand blaster
This is an incredibly efficient way to remove dirt, rust and old finishes. It leaves a uniform, clean, textured surface ready for a fresh finish. Here you see how we’ve equipped ours with it’s own buffer air tank and a vacuum to pull dust from the chamber.
Mill
Many different machining jobs are done in a mill. Here we see a 20 GA shotgun barrel held at an angle in a rotating fixture. Then the mill is used to open ports in the barrel to reduce muzzle flip and recoil. The mill is used to manufacture parts that can no longer be purchased. It is THE proper place to drill and tap a receiver to mount optics. The screw holes can be precisely centered and aligned to 0.001”.
Spray Room
This special room is lined in plastic sheeting, supplied with filtered air and exhausted through a vent fan all designed to keep it dust free. We spray Cerakote here, producing factory quality finishes in the colors of your choice. Behind the door is the oven in which the finishes are cured.
Mixing Bench
Cerakote firearms finishes must be blended with catalyst/hardener in very precise ratios, requiring small measurements sometimes a drop at a time. At this bench bases are mixed to achieve the desired color and then catalyst is added to achieve the desired texture. The mix is then loaded into the spray gun for application.
Feedback
Our clients’ testimonials
Read what our clients are saying
Repaired my SBR project. It wasn’t a good rifle to do the work on but I believe this shop saved my time and investment on this rifle. Gonna go shoot it tomorrow actually and get it ready for deer season. The gunsmiths were very good at relaying the info and what needed to be done. And the work was done at a reasonable rate.
Craig EnglishCEO 
Great smith with even better customer service!
Fritz GebesslerCEO
Excellent quality in milling and Cerakote. We had a wonderful experience with Jed. His customer service and knowledge are wonderful. We learned so much just by talking to him. A fantastic place to customize your gun or shop for some awesome custom Ruger 22s.
Erin ChrislerCEO
Great Gunsmithing place! They gave my WASR-10 AK that cold war look by installing my traditional ak furniture on it. Very professional and friendly people. Reasonably priced service as well. I highly recommend this place for all your gunsmithing needs!
Scott MaltzbergerCEO
Jed was absolutely terrific to work with. Provided fair estimates and over-delivered on my expectations. I came in with the intractable problem of a stripped hex-head due using red Loctite [I should have used blue]. Jed repaired the problem with thoughtful precision. Highly recommended.
S CCEO
I dropped my pistol off on a Saturday to have the rear sight replaced. They had it done the same day and at a great price. The staff is very friendly and knowledgeable, this is now my go to place for gun repair and modification.
BrewmuleCEO
I have been getting jobs done here for two years now, and there's no place else in the St. Louis Area I would rather go. I can always rely on Mr. J and the team here to perform meticulous work and explain why it should be done. I have used a range of gunsmithing services, and I definitely recommend this one for the wide range of work it can perform and the quality and care with which it is carried out. Thanks guys!
Dan SmithCEO
Fantastic gunsmith!! Went above and beyond my expectations! Very thorough at explaining the work that they were gonna perform. Even fairly involved slide mass reduction cuts. He knew exactly what I wanted and made sure through drawings and explanations that I was 100% on board. Excellent job guys!!
Jason VermeirenCEO
Once I found this place I will not take my guns anywhere else! Jed does amazing work and is a great guy to work with! This place is the real deal gunsmith I have been looking for!
Christopher ReyeringCEO
So this team knows their business. Price quoted correctly. Time Quoted correctly. Well informed and helped me with my AR10 platform thank you
Jim BosomworthCEO
I had a broken stock on a very old 20 gauge my grandfather gave to me and they did a great job of repairing it to keep it all original. You can't even tell it was ever broken. Great service! Great craftsmanship!
Josh EmsCEO
Great service and great people. Able to find rare parts and fix my first gun which had not been fired in over 30 years. Prices were even less than I expected and kept me up to date on the progress. Thank you! I will recommend to everyone.
Dan RidgewayCEO
Jed worked on my Winchester 1873 to solve a jamming problem. The job was more complicated than originally thought and Jed stayed with the original estimate. Problem solved...I just put 50 rounds through that rifle as soon as I arrived home from his shop...perfect cycling. Jed did a super job explaining how to avoid that problem. He also gave me some good advice on my Sig P-220. I will be back and I recommend this shop to my friends.
William ZschocheCEO
Just picked up 2 rifles that I had work done on and I am very pleased with the professionalism that was displayed by Jed at First Gunsmithing. He explained everything clear and concisely. I knew what work I needed completed and what the pricing would be. When I picked the rifles up Jed explained and showed me everything that was done and made sure it was all to my satisfaction. I will be bringing work here in the future.
Steven VerityCEO