A tour of the S&W factory

In Mar. 99, I was privileged to go thru the S&W factory on tour. I called several days in advance and found they only gave tours on Tuesday and Thursday. My bro in law and I drove to Springfield from Lancaster and Leominster for the tour.

Started at 9AM and we had to leave at 1. We had finished the main factory by then, privileged to meet several notables to include, I believe, Roy Jinks, in the hallway.

All in all a very interesting tour. Would I do it again, yes. If they are still doing it.
 
Interesting link. I enjoyed that. Thanks for posting.

I realize that everyone makes mistakes now and then, but this stood out to me, "...direct aerial booming attack."
 
A couple of comments based on the last time I went on a tour (2012).
You'll notice that there is no photo of the final assembly area. It's not only fenced off, but it has green sheeting on the fence you can't even look in. They told us it was an AFT rule post 9/11. I remember that when I went back in 1980 or so the area was fenced off, but you could look in.

Also, sometime in 2010 or 2011 they changed how the final assembly is done. It used to be that a fitter put all of the components together and was responsible for building the gun. Now, it's an assembly line, with each fitter putting on a small number of parts then passing the gun on to the next person.

They pretty much stopped doing tours, at least group tours, in 2012. They still seem to do tours for individuals now and then.

They've also stopped allowing customers to drop guns off at the guard shack for repair. Which used to be very convenient.
 
bdGreen said:
One of the things I found a little disturbing while touring the factory was an open sandwich sitting on a milling machine.
Click to expand...
OSHA finds that disturbing too. Food in an industrial area is not allowed and will bring a hefty fine.


bdGreen said:
They work twelve hour shifts and eat on the fly.
Click to expand...
This is why unions were started here. Of course, S&W might be a great place to work and the employees may be happy with this arrangement. Still, if I were working 12 hour shifts, I'd want a place to take a break now and then.
 
Thanks for posting this. Oh, and congratulations on your book "101 Classic Firearms." I was fortunate enough to buy a signed copy and found it extremely informative. People often try to buy firearms books for me but they are almost always nothing more than coffee table type books with pretty pictures and captions such as, "The gun that won the West!" Not your book. Lots of great information (had not idea Gaston Glock was such a tough old bird!). Thanks again, m.
 
bdGreen said:
One of the things I found a little disturbing while touring the factory was an open sandwich sitting on a milling machine. Granted it was safe from spraying oils and such, but, there it sat.
Now, I have been in corporate business all of my life and this, right there, would be a big no no.
I asked if they allowed eating at the work stations. The response was "yes, they don't take a lunch break". They work twelve hour shifts and eat on the fly. At the time they were running 24/7 and were not able to fill all the orders.
Now that is some going concern... Build all you can, sell all you build. What a country!:D

bdGreen
Click to expand...

Are they allowed to take other types of breaks? :rolleyes:
 
I did the S&W tour in the 80s and indeed, security was strict. I remember that had massive forges which, I think, they used for punching out revolver frames.
 
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