For anyone interested, four classes are being offered at Iowa Valley College this August; Engraving, Introduction to Double Shotgun Gunsmithing, Single Shot Falling Block Rifle Metalsmithing, and Trunk Case Restoration and Re-lining.. Call Beth at the College or follow this link Mastercraftsman Flyer2020(38827)

Dennis,is Trinidad out for good? Shame.

Joe,
Good to hear from you. My days at Trinidad are pretty much over.It is just too much for me, getting ready, making the trip, two weeks of class, getting back and putting all my stuff away. I greatly enjoyed my 14 years in Trinidad and all the friends I met there, like yourself. I do teach a one week class along the same lines in Grinnell Iowa in August. Drop by if you're in the area!
Dennis

These classes are taught by the country's top craftsmen and we are lucky to have them freely share their decades of experience and knowledge !!! Both my wife and I will be attending classes this year.

Hi,

I am thinking signing up. I am not a gunsmith, but rather a hobbyist with a keen interest in double guns and a great appreciation for the people who built them. Would this class be appropriate for me?

Thanks,

Scott

Sounds lie it would be a perfect fit for you. I've taken this class 7-8 times and I'm planning on it again.

Dennis - now the plague is upon us - will this be online!

Rick Hill

I contacted Beth at the college and as of now the classes are still a go. They will make the final call on July 1.

Regards,

Scott

As an update: The College's web site is not very useful, so call them, 541 236 0513. But the College is closed now due to the virus, so all I can tell you is check with them later. I have spoken with them, and as far as is known now, the classes are on, but...

If they decided to do some sort of online video course, I bet there would be lots of interest

That's always a nice thought but making them interrupts the teaching process, they are difficult to market and make any money and there is simply no substitute for being there and seeing or better yet, doing it!
I can't imagine a better teacher of double gun work than Dennis Potter. If this had been available earlier in my career I would have been in his class.
Jack Rowe's video with Potterfield has a world of information but Jack mumbles in his brummie, Potterfield asks the wrong questions and it all is as if they are in a hurry.

What I was imagining was an online live class, but I suspect you are right, Steven, that it would be a logistical disaster. That said, if the course was recorded, even unedited, I would pay to watch.

While it certainly would have shortcomings, this does seem to be the day and age for online classes. A college would probably already have online class capabilities and probably a media or similar school with a few students that would polish up the presentation as a graded assignment. There are students graduating around now with ivy league degrees by taking online classes.

That's exactly what I was thinking. Watching by kids do live classes made me think it could be done even for something like this. The practical side would be tough though

If you have never attended a "individual student project" seminar like Dennis' or mine you really can't fathom how much goes on in different locations. It would require a constantly moving camera/tripod set-up, or several semi-fixed locations. In my shop I have three different student work stations in the corners of one room with the rust bluing set-up in the other corner. My workbench, used for demos is in another room with another student work station.
Hand-held video camera wouldn't cut it, too herky-jerky. It is quite a challenge to get still photos of any given operation.

Why don't you simply take the course? They are tremendously rewarding! Students learn a lot doing there own project plus accomplish a task beyond their previous capabilities. Also tons more watching the other student's projects progress.

I attended a week long Seminar in the 1980s with muzzleloader gurus John Bivins, Wallace Gusler, Lynton McKenzie, Gary Brumfield and Hershel House (names i don't imagine many remember, all noted craftsmen). I ran on the enthusiasm and knowledge I gained for the next two years!! I traveled from Oregon to Kentucky to attend. Sold my Old Town canoe to pay for it~~

When I saw the original ad in Rifle Magazine I thought, "That would be nice" When the second ad came out in Muzzle Blasts I realized that I HAD To Attend.

I think it's a tough call, at this time, for some hosts and many potential students to commit to an in person class. It's no secret that the entire summer event season is cancelled or in question. Depending on the dates, waiting till July to sign up for one of these Iowa Valley classes could make it difficult for some to plan. I just got a refund and did a hotel cancellation for an event in mid July that I had hoped would've worked out. Odd times, probably unnecessarily so, for sure.

John Bivins, Wallace Gusler, Lynton McKenzie, Gary Brumfield and Hershel House! That is one hell of a line up, Steve.

As Dennis said, the website is not very helpful. I did, however, discover that their Facebook page seems to be updated with descriptions of the classes.

Here's the link:
https://www.facebook.com/iowavalleygrinnell/


Edit reason: removed portion that was no longer relevant.

Merle Haggard's "Working Man Blues" come to mind. I don't have nine kids, so for me the song would start like this: 'It's a big job just getting by with [five] kids and a wife."

Which is to say, I would truly love to attend one of these courses. One day I hope to. But family and work make it a long shot. Maybe in a few years, when the kids are a little older...

Good luck Woodreaux, I'm hoping that Dennis and I are still around "in a few years". Maybe still teaching?!? Each year I think about calling it quits? if my Sept class gets cancelled this year, who knows?

John Bivins and Lynton McKenzie are gone, Brumfield pushing 75, Gusler and House are pushing 80...

P.S. I'm a Big Merle Haggard fan and kick myself for never seeing him perform.
"I turned 21 in prison doin' life without parole...No one could steer me right, but Momma tried, Momma tried."

I was only lucky enough to catch Merle live once, at the Fillmore auditorium here in Denver, a pretty darn small venue. If you can believe it, Merle was the opener not the headliner, that was Bob Dylan.

I will agree with the above posters having taken a class from Dennis several times in the past, nothing beats in person learning, especially for hands on type of work. Dennis has a wealth of knowledge on a multitude of subjects. Not many like him to be found.

I've been a fan of Merle since Mama Tried first came across the radio waves to my old blue Ford Ranger. I was 16, as I recall. I wore out every Merle Haggard song I could find after that, and I finally saw him live at the Ryman Theater in Nashville, sometime around 2007 I believe.

Yes, the masters eventually quit playing... and teaching. I'll have to think seriously about whether I can get away for a course. Hopefully sometime before we're all drinking that free bubble up and eating that rainbow stew.

A hundred percent true, the value of hands on is lost.

I'm not necessarily thinking live, but a decent, better yet well captured recording has the huge advantage of replay. But, that's not a new concept, there are many how videos, some better than others.

Sometimes, just a home camcorder set on a tripod is better than nothing. I've mention on other posts watching a video of fellow, now passed on, explain how he made modern damascus barrels and walked through a Holland and Holland commission that didn't quite work out.

I had the chance to attend a woodworking class by a fellow at the top of a specialty that was privately arranged. The fellow did the classes very infrequently then stopped all together, but years later he put out a dvd that is a nice compliment and refresher to the class.

Only thoughts. Some video are like some writings, not quite there, but the next best thing?

I've always been a Dylan fan but also had the good luck to see him together with Merle Haggard in the early 90's. Dylan could hardly be bothered , bur Merle was wonderful. As an addition, anyone here who likes this music needs to see Ken Burn's recent series on the history of country music.

craigd, it sounds like you're suggesting that seeing Merle live, e.g., is a unique experience, not to be confused with watching old concerts on youtube, much less listening to bootlegged recordings.... but also that there's lots of enjoyment to be had from watching the old shows, or even just listening to the songs.

I'm inclined to agree. And I'm sure glad Merle et al put songs to tape before they hung it all up.

I'm under no delusion that one can become a master by watching videos no matter how good they (videos or student) are. But if someone made a master-class gunsmithing video series, I would watch it over and over. And I would do the best that I could to put the knowledge to good use in my shop.

In fact, I've learned all manner of things from video. I even learn from online videos in my professional area of expertise, which is also a hands-on, 'see one, do one, teach one' kind of field.

Nothing can replace time at the bench or table or workshop or wherever the work gets done, but it definitely can supplement it.


All that said, Steven, what are the dates and other information for the course you are teaching in September? Like I said, one of these days....

I’m going to go a bit off in left field, but I’m more a classic rock fan. Just last night, one of my kids, they’re all adults now, was fiddling with the TV and put YouTube on with some forgettable group and song. I searched up ‘The Weight’ from the last waltz. Hadn’t heard it in a while, but good stuff from some folks that’re long gone. I can remember watching that movie at a small college hall when it first came out.

The Last Waltz is off in left field?

Not in my world, I would hate to think of the number of Thanksgiving days I have spent watching it. I have it on DVD and must have seen it at least a hundred times. A great movie but check out the full recordings of the night which are much longer. Love, Love, Love those guys.

Yup, Butterfield, Morrison, heck even Dylan did some timeless performances, though Clapton could’ve put a bit more of a stamp on it. The fellow that shined to me was Helm.

Keeping with the gun theme, a couple years back I was watching the movie ‘Shooter’ and unexpectedly the star shows up at a backwoods gunsmith’s shop. Well how about that, the old coot talking paper patched bullets was Levon Helm, must have been filmed just months before he passed on.

There are a bunch of Jack Rowe segments done in Trinidad you can find on the Brownell's site. They may be on youtube. There are a bunch that Brownell's haven't put together yet. Maybe if enough of us asked they would get them out there.

The September Stockmaking is full up, if I can get by without cancelling. Fellows coming from WA, OR, GA and PA. the great student from PA is quite experienced, one of my all-time best students returning for his third time for advanced work. Karl from OR for his second time as well.

Metal Finishing & Rust Bluing scheduled for June is in question.
I have a committed student in MT coming back, a maybe from the west coast and a "wants to" returning student from CT. Thinking about postponing it until August, but even that is a maybe????????