When the Federal armories were established at Springfield and Harpers Ferry, gun making was an art in which only a few persons had the training and skills needed to make a complete weapon. The armories attracted workmen skilled in the many crafts that comprised the gunsmith’s trade: stock making, lock making, barrel making, blacksmithing, forging, and filing. Each part, from the stock to the smallest screw, was laboriously made by hand. Consequently, no two pieces were identical. Each musket was unique; each depended on the skills of a craftsman to make it work.

The ERA OF HAND WORK exhibit area, cases 59, & 60

The highest level of skill in the manufacture of arms was reserved to the gun maker, the person who could make all parts of the weapon: lock, stock, and barrel. Skill was also needed by the workers at Springfield Armory who specialized in the manufacture of individual parts of muskets, such as this M1795. Each part of the weapon was hand crafted and finished to fit.

U.S. Musket Model 1795 Type I Springfield Armory Flintlock .69       SPAR3351

In this series of photographs, a gunsmith handcrafts a flintlock. Although the details of design of military and civilian arms differ, the technique of manufacture was essentially the same.

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PRIDE OF CRAFTSMANSHIP

Hand Tools

The tools displayed here are a tangible part of the history of Springfield Armory. Each was used here, and some of them, dating from the 1820s and 1840s, were in constant use until the Armory closed in 1968.

Pickup Tongs           SPAR8217

Pickup Tongs           SPAR8216

Like the weapons them selves, many of the tools used at the Armory were made there by the workers who used them. Some of these tools, like the shears, were in continuous use for almost a century. Above are two pairs of barrel tongs. Left to right are: Shears, Bevel Square, Two Files, Two Hammers, Chisel, Brace, File, Hacksaw.

Shears          SPAR5458

Bevel Square SPAR5429

File               SPAR5457

File               SPAR5460

Hammer       SPAR5452

Hammer       SPAR5456

Chisel           SPAR5451

Brace Bit      SPAR5453

File               SPAR5498

Hacksaw      SPAR5459

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