Off the wall shop question

[wvmtnman]

I know that this is a tall order, but does anyone have pictures or drawings of what a typical, original gun building shop would have looked like?  I am not looking for the style at Williamsburg but more of what a small town shop would have looked like.
    Within the next couple years I plan on building a seperate gun shop.  I would like to arrange it to look similar to an original builders shop. 
   Basically looking typical size of building, if most used hand hewn logs or board siding, floor plans,  type of vise, if a black smith shop was attached, etc. 
   I plan on running electric to it and having it set up for modern conviences, but just sort of give it that "look" of being authenic, to the untrained eye.
     It's not something that I am going to be able to complete all at once, but would like to know what I am attempting to recreate.
                                                                         Brian
                                                           

[little joe]

 Visit  Old Dominion Forge web site and click on tour the shop. Nice and worked in daily-weekly. L.Joe

[JTR]

Brian,
The original Nicolas Hawk gunshop was just moved and restored a couple of years ago!
I don't have any pictures with me, but hopefully some of the KRA guys will step in with some info.

John

[Dphariss]

See Kauffman's "The Pennsylvania-Kentucky Rifle".
The Gunsmith  chapter.
Dan

[Blacksmoke]

Several years ago I had the privilege of being hosted and doing "show & tell"  with the cased  "Masterpiece rifle" at the reconstructed N. Hawk shop on the Henry museum grounds in central PA.    The host was KRA pres. Tim Lubenenski.  I have added a photo of the shop and from the outside you can see how small it is.  I cannot imagine anyone building rifles in such a small area!                         Hugh Toenjes

[okieboy]

 Agree with you H.T. and that shop looks about twice as large as Hersal House's first shop.
 There are some good pictures of shops in Jerry Noble's books; some of them appear to be part of the barn, but more interesting is that at some of the shops, space eating processes like the boring bench and the rifling bench are outside.

[Dphariss]

In a shop this small my first question would be to ask where the forge was.
Looks like the N. Hawk shop may have had a separate shop for the forge and this structure was used for stocking and such work.
The shop floor plan in Kauffman is from the Moravian archives and is 19x26 feet with a separate forge room with no windows but two doors. "The gun stock workshop has 3 windows, one in each exterior wall as would be expected and had no exterior doors entry was though the forge room. But the N Hawk shop was from a later era.

Dan

[Eric Krewson]

There is a complete gun builders shop at the Museum of Appalachia in Norris Tn.

Not much of a picture but you get the idea.

[J. Talbert]

I've got some pics of the Vogler shop at Old Salem.  It's a combination, shop in front, forge in the back.
I'll have to search the files to see if I can find the pictures.

Jeff

[David Veith]

It seams to me Sander Village in northwest Ohio has or had a gun shop It has been years since I have been there.
David

[Majorjoel]

Brian, I don't know where you are in West Virginia but there exists a very fine shop in your home state belonging to the Carper family of gunsmiths. I have been watching this thread and hopeing that Johnny would comment here. Give me a private message and we shall talk........Joel

[wvmtnman]

Thanks for all the responses.  They have been helpful.  After looking at the tools in the museum pic and looking at the size of that log gun shop, makes you wonder about room, but I guess most of the work which required larger tools was done somewhere else. 
     I had no idea that there was a shop in WV.  I would be very interested in finding out more about it.
                                                                      Thanks, Brian

[Rootsy]

It seams to me Sander Village in northwest Ohio has or had a gun shop It has been years since I have been there.
David

Sauder Village no longer has a gun shop, unfortunately.  There are a few 19th century half stock percussion rifles scattered about the various buildings though.

[Pete G.]

Dixie Gun Works has a complete shop that has been picked up and moved and now resides in the far end of the car museum.

[Dr. Tim-Boone]

Take a look at these houses and how they are constructed. Curt Lyles has one. They are terrific. If I were building a shop I would get a kit from these folks.....

http://stonemill.com/FloorPlan.asp?id=2

[Daryl]

Brian,
The original Nicolas Hawk gunshop was just moved and restored a couple of years ago!
I don't have any pictures with me, but hopefully some of the KRA guys will step in with some info.

John

This is the 'place' with Frank House out in front. Taylor and I were there on invitation to a 'pig-BQ'.  Lots of fun all round and had a great time talking to Don Getz outside this shop, jest a settin' own a bench.  Loved it.






No forge so assume it was probably in a separate building as Dan noted.  This building is barely long enough (if long enough)  to run the rifling machine with a 4' barrel.

[Dave Dolliver]

My shop is 24'x36' with a lean-to shed on the back for outside storage.  I don't care how big you make it, your operation will soon fill it and you'll look for more room!

Dave Dolliver

[JTR]

Cool pictures Daryl, and thanks for posting them!
Maybe someday I can get a picture of my 2 N Hawk guns laying on that workbench! Although I've heard that none of the stuff in the interior is original to the shop, a picture like that would be cool to have none the less!!
John