GonneSmythe of WmBrg

In 9th grade, when we were learning about American History, seriously, for the first time, we had a movie. Now you younger faithful readers (both of you) movies at school came on a big real, 16mm film, and with a Highly Skilled Audio Visual geek specially trained to screen it. Not on some videotape and TV monstrosity.

Anyway, I will be eternally grateful to Mr Rattan for showing this movie one class period.

The Gunsmith of Williamsburg

It it's 59 minutes of Wallace Gusler, in 1969, making a rifle in a 1769 style, in a shop with 18th Century appointments. Every tool except the files and hacksaw blades were made by Gusler. It follows him making a Kentucky Rifle, starting at the forge turning an iron bar into a barrel, to boring/reaming and rifling (on a cool spiral gadget). Every part is filed, and for an hour of forge work, maybe 40 hours of filing follow. He makes the intricate flintlock. He has to cast his own brass fittings for the trigger guard, patch box, buttstock, and other parts, and then THOSE are filed. After that, the stock is made out of a big piece of maple. It's a fancy gun, so fine detail work is evident, including decorative carving on the stock, and engraving on the metal furniture.

One of the neater things? If you apply nitric acid (aka aqua fortis) to maple, then bring a heat source close (like red hot iron) the wood will darken and redden attractively, and look better after linseed oil is applied.

The whole movie impacted SO many later hobbies of mine. The woodworking with old handtools, blacksmithing, historical re-enactments, and now shooting. It took me years to realize its far reaching impact. And of course I've visited Colonial Williamsburg many times, and own a copy of the movie on tape.

If could have any other life, it would not be a bad thing to come back as a 18th Century gunsmith like Mr. Gusler or others that have worked in the Gunsmith Shop.

In the picture you see the spiralling rifling cutting machine: