FIRE ARMS

Manufacture of . This art is divided into two branches, that of the metallic and of the wooden work. The first includes the barrel, the lock, and the mounting, as also the bayonet and ramrod, with military arms. The second comprises the stock, and in fowling pieces, likewise the ramrod. 1. The Barrel. Its interior is called the bore; its diameter, the calibre; the back end, the breech; the front end, the muzzle; and the closing of the back end, the breech pin or plug. The barrel is generally made of iron. Most military musquets and low-priced guns are fashioned out of a long slip of sheet-iron folded together edge-wise round a skewer into a cylinder, are then lapped over at the seam, and welded at a white heat. The most ductile and tenacious soft iron, free from all blemishes, must be selected for this slip. It is frequently welded at the common forge, but a proper air-furnace answers better, not being so apt to burn it. It should be covered with ashes or cinders. The shape of the bore is given by hammering the cylinder upon a steel mandril, in a groove of the anvil. Six inches of the barrel at either end are left open for forming the breech and the muzzle by a subsequent welding operation; the extremity put into the fire being stopped with clay, to prevent the introduction of cinders. For every length of two inches, there are from two to three welding operations, divided into alternating high and low heats; the latter being intended to correct the defects of the former. The breech and muzzle are not welded upon the mandril, but upon the horn of the anvil; the breech being thicker in the metal, is more highly heated, and is made somewhat wider to save labour to the borer. The barrel is finally hammered in the groove of the anvil without the mandril, during which proce it receives a heat every two minutes. In welding, the barrel extends about one-third in length; and for musquets, is eventually left from 3 to 3 1 ⁄ 2 feet long; but for cavalry pistols, only 9 inches. The best iron plates for gun-barrels are those made of stub iron, that is of old horse-shoe nails welded together, and forged into thin bars, or rather narrow ribands. At one time damascus barrels were much in vogue; they were fashioned either as above described, from plates made of bars of iron and steel laid parallel, and welded together, or from ribands of the same damascus stuff coiled into a cylinder at a red heat, and then welded together at the seams. The best modern barrels for fowling pieces are constructed of stub-nail iron in this manner. The slip or fillet is only half an inch broad or sometimes le , and is left thicker at the end which is to form the breech, and thinner at the end which is to form the muzzle, than in the intermediate portion. This fillet being moderately heated to increase its pliancy, is then lapped round the mandril in a spiral direction till a proper length of cylinder is formed; the edges being made to overlap a little in order to give them a better hold in the welding proce . The coil being taken off the mandril and again heated, is struck down vertically with its muzzle end upon the anvil, whereby the spiral junctions are made closer and more uniform. It is now welded at several succe ive heats, hammered by horizontal strokes, called jumping , and brought into proper shape on the mandril. The finer barrels are made of still narrower, stub-iron slips, whence they get the name of wire twist. On the Continent, barrels are made of steel wire, welded together lengthwise, then coiled spirally into a cylinder. Barrels that are to be rifled, require to be made of thicker iron, and that of the very best quality, for they would be spoiled by the least portion of scale upon their inside. Soldiers’ musquets are thickened a little at the muzzle, to give a stout holding to the bayonet. IMG:4147767755307473660_illo0472a.png:Boring bit The barrels thus made are annealed with a gentle heat in a proper furnace, and slowly cooled. They are now ready for the borer, which is an oblong square bit of steel, pre ed in its rotation against the barrel, by a slip of wood applied to one of its flat sides, and held in its place by a ring of metal. The boring bench works horizontally, and has a very shaky appearance, in respect at least of the bit. In some cases, however, it has been attempted to work the barrels and bits at an inclination to the horizon of 30°, in order to facilitate the discharge of the borings. The barrel is held in a slot by only one point, to allow it to humour the movements of the borer, which would otherwise be infallibly broken. The bit, as represented in fig. 395. , has merely its square head inserted into a clamp-chuck of the lathe, and plays freely through the rest of its length. IMG:4147767755307473660_illo0472b.png:Musquet boring bench Fig. 396. represents in plan the boring bench for musquet barrels; f f is the sledge or carriage frame in which the barrel is supported; a is the revolving chuck of the lathe, into which the square end of the bit, fig. . 395. , is inserted; b is the barrel, clamped at its middle to the carriage, and capable of being pre ed onwards against the tapering bit of the borer, by the bent lever c , worked by the left hand of the operative against fulcrum knobs at d , which stand about two inches asunder. Whenever the barrel has been thereby advanced a certain space to the right, the bent end of the lever is shifted against another knob or pin. The borer appears to a stranger to be a very awkward and unsteady mechanism, but its perpetual vibrations do not affect the accuracy of the bore. The opening broach may be of a square or pentagonal form; and either gradually tapered from its thickest part, or of uniform diameter till within two inches of the end, whence it is suddenly tapered to a point. A series of bits may be used for boring a barrel, beginning with the smallest and ending with the largest. But this multiplication of tools becomes unnece ary, by laying against the cutting part of the bit, slips of wood, called spales, of gradually increasing thickne , so that the edge is pre ed by them progre ively further from the axis. The bore is next polished. This is done by a bit with a very smooth edge, which is mounted as above, with a wedge of wood besmeared with a mixture of oil and emery. The inside is finished by working a cylindrical steel file quickly backwards and forwards within it, while it is revolving slowly. In boring, the bit must be well oiled or greased, and the barrel must be kept cool by letting water trickle on it; for the bit, revolving at the rate of 120 or 140 times a minute, generates a great deal of heat. If a flaw be detected in the barrel during the boring, that part is hammered in, and then the bit is employed to turn it out. Many sportsmen are of opinion that a barrel with a bore somewhat narrowed towards the muzzle serves to keep shot better together; and that roughening its inside with pounded gla has a good effect, with the same view. For this purpose, also, fine spiral lines have been made in their interior surface. The justne of its calibre is tried by means of a truly turned cylinder of steel, 3 or 4 inches long, which ought to move without friction, but with uniform contact from end to end of the barrel. Whatever irregularities appear must be immediately removed. The outer surface of the barrel is commonly polished upon a dry grindstone, but it is better finished, and le dangerously to the workman, at a turning lathe with a slide rest. If a stone be used, it should be made to revolve at the mouth of a tunnel of some kind, into which there is a good draught to carry off the ferruginous particles. A piece of moist cloth or leather should be suspended before the orifice. Rifle barrels have parallel grooves of a square or angular form cut within them, each groove being drawn in succe ion. These grooves run spirally, and form each an aliquot part of a revolution from the chamber to the muzzle. Rifles should not be too deeply indented; only so much as to prevent the ball turning round within the barrel. and the spires should be truly parallel, that the ball may glide along with a regular pace. See infra . The Paris i an gun-makers, who are reckoned very expert, draw out the iron for the barrels at hand forges, in fillets only one-ninth of an inch thick, one inch and a half broad, and four feet long. Twenty-five of these ribands are laid upon each other, between two similar ones of double thickne , and the bundle, weighing 60 pounds, bound with wire at two places, serves to make two barrels. The thicker plates are intended to protect the thinner from the violence of the fire in the numerous succe ive heats nece ary to complete the welding, and to form the bundle into a bar two-thirds of an inch broad, by half an inch thick; the direction of the individual plates relatively to the breadth being preserved. This bar folded flat upon itself, is again wrought at the forge, till it is only half an inch broad, and a quarter of an inch thick, while the plates of the primitive ribands are now set perpendicular to the breadth of the narrow fillet; the length of which must be 15 or 16 feet French (16 or 17 English), to form a fowling piece from 28 to 30 inches long. This fillet, heated to a cherry red in succe ive portions, is coiled into as close a spiral as po ible, upon a mandril about two-fifths of an inch in diameter. The mandril has at one end a stout head for drawing it out, by means of the hammer and the grooves of the anvil, previous to every heating. The welding is performed upon a mandril introduced after each heat; the middle of the barrel being first worked, while the fillets are forced back against each other, along the surface of the mandril, to secure their perfect union. The original plates having in the formation of the ultimate long riband become very thin, appear upon the surface of the barrel like threads of a fine screw, with blackish tints to mark the junctions. In making a double-barrelled gun, the two are formed from the same bundle of slips, the coils of the one finished fillet being turned to the right hand, and those of the other to the left. The Damascus barrels forged as above described, from a bundle of steel and iron plates laid alternately together, are twisted at the forge several times, then coiled and welded as usual. Fifteen Paris i an workmen concur in one operation: six at the forge; two at the boring mill; seven at filing, turning, and adjusting; yet all together make only six pairs of barrels per week, which are sold at from 100 to 300 francs the pair, ready for putting into the stock. IMG:4147767755307473660_illo0473a.png:Breechings The breeching is of three kinds: the common; the chamber, plug, or mortar, fig. 397. ; and the patent, fig. 398. The common was formerly used for soldiers’ musquets and inferior pieces. The second is a trifling improvement upon it. In the patent breeching, the screws do not interfere with the touch-hole, and the ignition is quicker in the main chamber. IMG:4147767755307473660_illo0473b.png:Percu ion lock The only locks which it is worth while to describe are those upon the percu ion principle, as flint locks will certainly soon cease to be employed even in military musquets. Forsyth’s lock ( fig. 399. ) was an ingenious contrivance. It has a magazine a , for containing the detonating powder, which revolves round a roller b , whose end is screwed into the breech of the barrel. The priming powder pa es through a small hole in the roller, which leads to a channel in communication with the chamber of the gun. The pan for holding the priming is placed immediately over the little hole in the roller. There is a steel punch c , in the magazine, whose under end stands above the pan, ready to ignite the priming when struck upon the top by the cock d , whenever the trigger is drawn. The punch immediately after being driven down into the pan is raised by the action of a spiral spring. For each explosion, the magazine must be turned so far round as to let fall a portion of the percu ion powder into the pan; after which it is turned back, and the steel punch recovers its proper position for striking another blow into the pan. IMG:4147767755307473660_illo0474a.png:Percu ion lock The invention of the copper percu ion cap was another great improvement upon the detonating plan. Fig. 400. represents the ordinary percu ion lock, which is happily divested of three awkward projections upon the flint lock, namely, the hammer, hammer spring, and the pan. Nothing now appears upon the plate of the lock, but the cock or striking hammer, which inflicts the proper blow upon the percu ion cap. It is concave, with a small metallic ring or border, called a shield or fence, for the purpose of enclosing the cap, as it were, and preventing its splinters doing injury to the sportsman, as also protecting against the line of flame which may i ue from the touch-hole in the cap nipple. This is screwed into the patent breech, and is perforated with a small hole. IMG:4147767755307473660_illo0474b.png:Sommerville The safety lock of Dr. Somerville is a truly humane invention. Its e ential feature is a slide stop or catch, placed under the trigger A , fig. 401. It is pulled forward into a notch in the trigger, by means of a spring B , upon the front of the guard, which is worked by a key C , pre ing upon the spring when the piece is discharged. In another safety plan there is a small movable curved piece of iron, A , which rises through an opening B , in the lock-plate C , and prevents the cock from reaching the nipple, as represented in the figure, until it is drawn back within the plate of the lock when the piece is fired. To fire this gun, two different points must be pre ed at the same time. If by accident the key which works the safety be touched, nothing happens, because the trigger is not drawn; and the trigger touched alone can produce no effect, because it is locked. The pre ure must be applied to the trigger and the key at the same instant, otherwise the lock will not work. The French musquet is longer than the British, in the proportion of 44·72 inches to 42; but the French bayonet is 15 inches, whereas the British is 17. | Eng. Dimensions. | Fr. Dimensions. | | Diameter of the bore | 0 | ·75 in. | 0 | ·69. in. | | Diameter of the ball | 0 | ·676 | 0 | ·65 | | Weight of the ball in oz. | 1 | ·06 | 0 | ·958 | | Weight of the firelock and bayonet in libs. | 12 | ·25 | 10 | ·980 | | Length of the barrel and bayonet | 59 | ·00 | 59 | ·72 | IMG:4147767755307473660_illo0475a.png:de Berenger Within these few years a great many contrivances have been brought forward, and several have been patented for fire arms. The first I shall notice is that of Charles Random, Baron de Berenger. Fig. 402. shows the lock and breech of a fowling piece, with a sliding protector on one of the improved plans; a is the hammer, b the nipple of the touch-hole, c a bent lever, turning upon a pin, fixed into the lock-plate at d . The upper end of this bent lever stands partly under the nose of the hammer, and while in that situation stops it from striking the nipple. A slider g f h , connected with the under part of the gun-stock, is attached to the tail of the bent lever at i ; and when the piece is brought to the shoulder for firing, the hand of the sportsman pre ing against the bent part of the slider at g , forces this back, and thereby moves the end of the lever c forwards from under the nose of the cock or hammer, as shown by the dotted lines. The trigger being now drawn, the piece will be discharged; and on removing the hand from the end g , of the slider f , the spring at h acting against the guard, will force the slider forward, and the lever into the position first described. IMG:4147767755307473660_illo0475b.png:Redford Mr. Redford, gun-maker of Birmingham, proposes a modification of the lock for small fire-arms, in which the application of pre ure to the sear spring for discharging the piece is made by means of a plug, depre ed by the thumb, instead of the force of the finger exerted against the trigger. Fig. 403. represents a fowling piece partly in section. The sear spring is shown at a . It is not here connected with the trigger as in other locks; but is attached by a double-jointed piece to a lever b , which turns upon a fulcrum pin in its centre. At the reverse end of this lever an arm extends forwards, like that of an ordinary sear spring, upon which arm the lower end of the plug c is intended to bear; and when this plug is depre ed by the thumb bearing upon it, that end of the lever b will be forced downwards, and the reverse end will be raised, so as to draw up the end of the sear spring, and set off the piece. For the sake of protection, the head of the plug c is covered by a movable cap d , forming part of a slider e , which moves to and fro in a groove in the stock, behind the breech end of the barrel; this slider e is acted upon by the trigger through levers, which might be attached to the other side of the lock-plate; but are not shown in this figure to avoid confusion. When the piece is brought to the shoulder for firing, the fore-finger must be applied as usual to the trigger, but merely for the purpose of drawing back the slider e , and uncovering the head of the plug; when this is done, the thumb is to be pre ed upon the head of the plug, and will thus discharge the piece. A spring bearing against the lever of the slider e , will, when the finger is withdrawn from the trigger, send the slider forward again, and cover the head of the plug, as shown. It is with pleasure I again advert to the humane ingenuity of the Rev. John Somerville, of Currie. In April, 1835, he obtained a patent for a further invention to prevent the accidental discharge of fire arms. It consists in hindering the hammer from reaching the nipple of a percu ion lock, or the flint reaching the steel of an ordinary one, by the interposition of movable safety studs or pins, which protrude from under the false breech before the hammers of the locks, and prevent them from descending to strike. These safety studs or pins are moved out of the way by the pre ure of the right hand of the person using the gun only when in the act of firing, that is, when the force of the right hand and arm is exerted to pre the butt end of the stock of the gun against the shoulder while the aim is taken and the trigger pulled. In carrying the gun at rest, the proper parts of the thumb or hand do not come over Mr. Somerville’s movable buttons or studs. IMG:4147767755307473660_illo0476a.png:Somerville Fig. 404. is a side view of part of a double percu ion gun; and fig. 405. is a top or plan view, which will serve to explain these improvements, and show one, out of many, methods of carrying them into effect. A is the stock of the gun; B the barrels; C the breech; D the nipples; E the false breech, on the under side of which the levers which work the safety studs or pins are placed; F is the shield of the false breech; G , triggers; H the lock-plate; and I the hammers: all of which are constructed as usual: a a are the safety studs or pins, which protrude before the shield F , and work through guide pieces on the under side of the false breech. The button piece is placed in the position for the thumb of the right hand to act upon it; but when the pre ure of the ball of the right thumb is to produce the movement of the safety studs, it must be placed in or near the position K ; and when the heel of the right hand is to effect the movements of the safety studs, the button piece must be placed at L , or nearly so. In these last two positions, the lever (which is acted upon by the button piece to work the safety studs through a slide) would require to be of a different shape and differently mounted. When the hammers are down upon the nipples after discharging the gun, the ends of the safety pins pre against the inner sides of the hammers. When this invention is adapted to single-barrelled guns, only one pin, a , one lever and button piece will be required. IMG:4147767755307473660_illo0476b.png:Richards Mr. Richards, gun-maker, Birmingham, patented, in March, 1836, a modification of the copper cap for holding the percu ion powder, as represented fig. 406. ; in which the powder is removed from the top of the cap, and brought nearer the mouth; a being the top, b the sides, and c the position of the priming. The dotted lines show the direction of the explosion, whereby it is seen that the metal case is opened or distended only in a small degree, and not likely to burst to pieces, as in the common caps, the space between a and c being occupied by a piece of any kind of hard metal d , soldered or otherwise fastened in the cap. George Lovell, Esq., director of the Royal Manufactory of Arms at Enfield, has recently made a great improvement upon the priming chamber. He forms it into a vertical double cone, joined in the middle by the common apex; the base of the upper cone being in contact with the percu ion cap, presents the most extensive surface to the fulminate upon the one hand, while the base of the under one being in a line with the interior surface of the barrel, presents the largest surface to the gunpowder charge, upon the other. In the old nipple the apex of the cone being at its top, afforded very injudiciously the minimum surface to the exploding force. Guns, Rifling of the Barrels. —The outside of rifle barrels is, in general, octagonal. After the barrel is bored, and rendered truly cylindrical, it is fixed upon the rifling machine. This instrument is formed upon a square plank of wood 7 feet long, to which is fitted a tube about an inch in diameter, with spiral grooves deeply cut internally through its whole length; and to this a circular plate is attached, about 5 inches diameter, accurately divided in concentric circles, into from 5 to 16 equal parts, and supported by two rings made fast to the plank, in which rings it revolves. An arm connected with the dividing graduated plate, and pierced with holes, through which a pin is pa ed, regulates the change of the tube in giving the desired number of grooves to the barrel. An iron rod, with a movable handle at the one end, and a steel cutter in the other, pa es through the above rifling tube. This rod is covered with a core of lead one foot long. The barrel is firmly fixed by two rings on the plank, standing in a straight line on the tube. The rod is now drawn repeatedly through the barrel, from end to end, until the cutter has formed one groove of the proper depth. The pin is then shifted to another hole in the dividing plate, and the operation of grooving is repeated till the whole number of riflings is completed. The barrel is next taken out of the machine, and finished. This is done by casting upon the end of a small iron rod a core of lead, which, when besmeared with a mixture of fine emery and oil, is drawn, for a considerable time, by the workmen, from the one end of the barrel to the other, till the inner surface has become finely polished. The best degree of spirality is found to be from a quarter to half a revolution in a length of three feet.