THE GUN SHOP
Leesburg, FL
If you look to the right when you first enter Gordon Schorer’s store, you might wonder if you were in a gun shop or a museum. The antique barber shop chair and operational “candy cane” poles are signs that something about this place is different. Look around more, and you will realize there is a lot different about this place. “I just like restoring older things”, says Gordon, “anyone can destroy things and do so quickly, but it’s much harder and more time consuming to restore them”. You might think of guns as instruments of protection and of course, they can kill as well, but Gordon’s hobby is bringing things back to life. “It keeps me sane. I’ve even had guns pointed at me from time to time and I need this to help me stay connected”.
The things he restores are wide in variety, but they all have one purpose: to revive and help us remember a simpler time when things were not so impersonal and complex as today, when your neighbors were your friends too. So as you wander through his facility, you will run into restored Coca-Cola machines, a Gulf Oil gas pump, a popcorn machine, a hand crank ice shaver, pinball machine and much (much) more, most of them in working condition! A special photo album of some his work and objects of interest is below.
Mr. Schorer’s son, also Gordon, thinks he’s crazy and for the most part doesn’t see the value. But time will tell if one day we find son Gordon searching for a memory chip to restore one of those antique Smart Phones, or rebuild a car that actually ran on gasoline and rolled on wheels along paths they used to call “highways”. Will he spend $500/gallon to find the gasoline – that’s the real question!
Gordon has certified instructors who conduct classes for gun owners to option their concealed weapon license, as well as firearms training class. In his classroom is a modern big screen TV, but don’t be fooled as you listen and sit in one of his variety of restored theater chairs, some padded, some not, all original. Be careful not to trip over the carousel horse!
So now who does the paint work? Gordon works with Andrew Michael, a former paint store rep and person whose opinion he values highly. Even though their knowledge bases clash occasionally, Gordon and Andrew always work out a system to get the job done. “Andrew is like Platinum to me, not gold”.
Both gentlemen do paint work, but Andrew tends to gravitate towards the larger items, like the Good Humor Ice Cream truck. Gordon, however, was the one who painted the 1985 military humvee with correct camouflage pattern. Andrew and Gordon are working together on the latest project, the restor-ation of a 1969 Checker Marathon Cab.
Before Gordon knew about Ben’s Paint Supply, he was using what most of us do – the local guy. Some of his work still has paint from the “D” word on it (not Ditzler), but today everything is painted with his in-house Matthews Lo-VOC Satin mixing system. The local guy “did him wrong”, and enter Dave Simons, our industrial paint rep. With Dave, Gordon experienced appreciation for his business and care to make sure he had the materials and advice he needed. “I’m not a large customer, but Dave cares about what I think and gets me what I need, sometimes even on weekends! Dave takes care of me.” Gordon always buys ahead, hates to run out, and Dave helps him accomplish that goal.
Gordon is also a big fan of 3M products. “They are the best, and I always want to be using the best. You can count on 3M technology to be at the forefront of quality”. A recent project called for the use of 3M Panel Bond Adhesive, not for a vehicle as its marketed use, but used in a creative way to bring the ice shaver back into working condition. This unconventional use has led to the shouting of “PANEL BOND!!!” whenever something needs to be fixed.
Gordon’s store also features a built-in gun range with plenty of paper targets for sale (I liked the zombies), but even if you’re not into guns, stop in just to marvel at what is on display. When you’re done, purchase a Good Humor ice cream bar, carefully frozen at the original -25 degrees!
