A Good Resource

[James Wilson Everett]

guys,

A good resource for researching gun building HDTDT (How Did They Do That) is the description of patents that can be searched online.  Actually, not so much the patent description itself, but the description of the prior state of the art.  For instance:

H. Peeler   Boring Gun-Barrels  Patent Number 6088    Feb 6, 1849

"In boring pistol barrels it is customary to employ a twisted drill or auger of the kind represented in Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings.  The great advantage such a tool possesses over any other kind of drills consists in the facility, ease and dispatch with which it performs its operations.  It however is attended with one serious disadvantage – that is to say, it is next to an impossibility to bore a perfectly straight hole with it, for after entered the metal to a depth of about three or four inches it almost invariably deviates from a straight line, .  .  . "

the figure 1 is ( a poor quality from a thumbnail;



A detail from figure 1



My cleaned up version of the pistol barrel drill bit;



Here is a photo of an original muzzle loader pistol barrel drill bit - looks just like the patent figure 1.



Also, just for information, here is a photo of a straight flute pistol barrel drill bit.

[i

The patent goes on to explain the improvement , which is to use what we call a D-drill or gun drill as the patented improvement.  But, now we know how pistol barrels were drilled, at least prior to 1849. 

Just as a note, it is probable that Remington made his gun barrels by starting with a very heavy, drilled pistol barrel, like the description above, and later forged them to bring them out to a longer length, all without the forge welded seam.  Research is ongoing on this one, but a patent search has shown a machine that lengthens the short heavy barrel in a process a lot like making macaroni!!!

Jim

[James Wilson Everett]

Guys,

It is highly likely, not not quite certain, that Remington made his gun barrels in the mid 19th c by drilling a hole through a short, heavy wall blank, then hot forged it to bring the barrel to the proper length.  This process did not involve a forge welded seam.  After Remington introduced this innovation, his barrels were very widely used to the point of greatly reducing the old traditional way of forge welding.  The following is a patent drawing showing an improvement on the Remington process that used power rollers rather than a hammer or trip hammer.  It also used a mandrel to keep the bore hole more open and uniform during the forging.  This is a lot like making macaroni.



An interesting piece of information is this statement in the patent application that shows the improvement over the older process.

" . . .Drill a hole through the whole length of a short cylinder or bar, which was then forced through plates with graduated holes or passed through rollers as used in the old process of rolling iron, but without the use of mandrels until the required length was attained . . . "

This process resulted in our straight walled gun barrels, and the beginning of nose heavy rifles.

Jim

[Jim Kibler]

I wonder how the mandrel was removed from the barrel?  I assume the barrels were rolled out hot and can only imagine how the mandrel would seemingly become locked in place.  

I think that straight sided, nose heavy barrels were around prior to the mid 19th century.

[Dphariss]

Looks like a DOM type process.
Could be why the rifle barrels got so heavy in the early 19th c.
This may also be why in the 1860s the US Gov't was still using iron for Rifle Musket Barrels.

Dan

[James Wilson Everett]

Great comments guys,

Jim,  The hot barrel blank is slipped onto the mandrel through the drilled central hole.  The barrel blank/mandrel is inserted between the two horizontal bars until it contacts the moving rollers.  The rollers pull the barrel blank through making the across the flats or O.D. dimension smaller and the overall length greater.  Meanwhile, the big disk at the back end of the mandrel is stopped and held by the two horizontal bars, so the rollers pull the barrel blank off from the retained mandrel.  See the big disk at the end of the mandrel?

Dan,  The gov't still used iron for their musket barrels because the musket design called for a welded on bolster for the percussion nipple, that big lump at the breech end of the musket barrel.  Welding the bolster using steel material rather than wrought iron was too difficult and was not successful.  The separate drum/nipple arrangement seen so often on percussion sporting guns used a threaded connection, not a weld, so steel (cast steel) material could, and was used for these.  Personally, I have tried to forge weld steel, without success.

Jim

[Acer Saccharum]

I believe that Springfield Armory also used this method.

[Jim Kibler]

Thanks for describing the process.  Makes perfect sense. 

Jim

[James]

This sort of technology never ceases to amaze me. 

[James Wilson Everett]

Guys,

Here is a bit of technology that is a suprise.  It is a bullet swage tool from a patent in 1808, No. 942.  The tool die cuts puck shaped pieces from lead bar which were then rounded by being roughly shaken in a box then polished to smooth the surface.  Hornady swaged balls have nothing on these old timers!

Jim




Thomas Bruff
Letters Patent

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of the same containing a description in the words of the said Thomas Bruff himself of his machine for making ball & shot by pressure.

This machine is erected on a wooden horse or bench a plank of strong hardwood at least 5 inches wide and 4 feet long is fastened firmly to the log horse or bench by the screws, then grooves of hard wood are set on it for the rack and lead bar to slide in, one side of the groove opposite to the lead bar is made to slide side-ways about half an inch for the purpose of admitting the lead bar, and then is pushed in place - about the middle of the plank are 2 strong iron bars in an upright position firmly secured by screws or rivets between them a strong iron lever works on a pivot about 6 inches above the board at the end of the lever at a proper distance to move the rack the breadth of the ball or square shot, is a ratchet moving on a screw, and by its flat point pressing against the notch of the rack at each elevation of the lever pushes it one breadth of the ball or shot towards the die and carries with it the lead bar which is held by the screw clamp at the end of the rack.  The bar is thus conducted to a steel plate secured on pillars having 2 rows of square holes pierced in it just the size you wish to have your ball or shot in the square state they are just their breadth apart leaving a solid piece of the steel plate between them exactly their own size and opposite each hole in the adjoining row is a solid part of the plate.  There is a steel die secured to the lever exactly over the holes and exactly the size and form of the holes over which in making small shot a weight is to be set just heavy enough to push the die through the lead.  The bar is raised up by a wheel 18 or so inches diameter working vertically and having teeth 3 inches long and half inch deep rising gradually and a sudden fall at their extremity by which the bar is suddenly let down and the shot pressed through the plate by the die.  After the shot are formed into squares they are put into a vessel for rounding them, that vessel is made of a flat plate of thick cast iron ground smooth on the inside, the plate is at least 20 inches long and 8 wide having a half circular cover of sheet iron and a division in the middle forming 2 apartments.  This vessel is set on pivots at the middle and supported by pillars in which the pivots work and the shot are put into each apartment at dies on each end.  Under one end of the plate is a wheel about 18 inches diameter working vertically and having teeth 3 inches long and about an inch high.  They slope gradually up and fall suddenly at the extremity by which meads the shot are sudden thrown up and let down against the thick iron plate on bottom which presses, the most prominent parts into the main body and pushes it out till they become perfectly round.  They are then carried to the finishing machine which is a cylinder of  iron, brass or copper about 20 inches long 8 wide and polished inside it works on an iron axis on iron pillars has a cog wheel attached to the axis the teeth of which correspond with the teeth of the wheel by which it is moved.  This wheel is about 18 inches diameter, has teeth of a common size, turning toward the cylinder and is put in motion by a winch or handle and the shot being pressed against the smooth sides of the cylinder as it turns are made smooth and finished.  Ball are made by water, wind, or horses

Thomas Bruff

[Topknot]

JAMES, very interesting posts. I am an american history buff and really enjoy reading this kind of material. Got any more?

                                                                                      topknot

[Dphariss]

Great comments guys,

Jim,  The hot barrel blank is slipped onto the mandrel through the drilled central hole.  The barrel blank/mandrel is inserted between the two horizontal bars until it contacts the moving rollers.  The rollers pull the barrel blank through making the across the flats or O.D. dimension smaller and the overall length greater.  Meanwhile, the big disk at the back end of the mandrel is stopped and held by the two horizontal bars, so the rollers pull the barrel blank off from the retained mandrel.  See the big disk at the end of the mandrel?

Dan,  The gov't still used iron for their musket barrels because the musket design called for a welded on bolster for the percussion nipple, that big lump at the breech end of the musket barrel.  Welding the bolster using steel material rather than wrought iron was too difficult and was not successful.  The separate drum/nipple arrangement seen so often on percussion sporting guns used a threaded connection, not a weld, so steel (cast steel) material could, and was used for these.  Personally, I have tried to forge weld steel, without success.

Jim

The iron of the time was more reliable than the steel of the time for gun barrels.
Even some modern steel is inferior to good iron for round barrel barrels.
Controlling the alloy was the problem at the time. Contaminants in steel, be they lead or sulfur or several other metals can greatly alter its properties.  "Best" iron was not the inclusion riddled stuff found in wagon tires and trade gun barrels. It was pretty good material and obviously was adequate for the purpose.

Dan

[James Wilson Everett]

Tim,

Thanks for your response, these old patent records can give us a lot of information on forgotten gun making processes.  The bad news is this:

The X-Patents are all the patents issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office from July 1790 (when the first U.S. patent was issued), to July 1836. The actual number is unknown, but the best estimate is 9,957. The records were burned in a fire, in December 1836, while in temporary storage. No copies or rosters were maintained by the government at the time, leaving only the inventors’ copies to reconstruct the collection.

This leaves us with only a few recoverable records in the period of greatest interest for those of us wishing to reproduce 18th c guns.  The US patent office has the titles, but no details.  For instance;  Patent X594, Dec 31, 1804, "Machine for Boring Gun Barrels" - this is one of the burned records.

Just a note: some of the very earliest patents where we still have the records, these were signed by none other than G. Washington!

Jim

[David R. Pennington]

Thanks Jim for another fascinating post. Picture worth a thousand words. Thanks for the clarification on how the mandrel was withdrawn. I agree about the forge welding iron verses modern steel. I learned to forge weld with steel and recently I tried welding an axe up with a piece of old wrought strap and a piece of old plow point for bit. I thought I was dreaming!I couldn't believe how much easier the iron welded. Looked like a grilled cheese sandwich with the steel squirting out between the iron.

[James Wilson Everett]

Guys,

Here is another old patent for boring of gun barrels, the patent is dated 1814, number 2064, but the inventor claims that he has been using the design beginning in 1799.  The document is signed by James Monroe.

Lest we think that the old timers were unsophisticated, this patent includes a boring bit with a replaceable pilot guide, replaceable square cutter bits, a stepped boring bit, and a hollow bore reamer.  This stuff is almost state of the art machining today!  None of these tools was used to bore a barrel from a solid rod, they all were used to follow an existing hole.  So the barrel blank was either previously forged as a tube, or drilled and forged to length.  Also the patent includes a rack that is geared to the cutter so the bit advances through the barrel bore at a definite fixed rate as the bit is turned.  The patent states that the bit rotates at about 1 rev/sec, rather slow to be sure.

The actual document is really difficult to read, so I have only included one of its pages as an example.  The text is my best effort in reading the old script.






To all to whom these Presents shall cover, greeting
I certify that the annexed are two copies of the petition specification on both of invention, drawings and reference to workings of an improvement in boring Musket, Pistol & Rifle Barrels, by an auger, either the spiral groove or twisted same auger for which Daniel Pettibone obtained a patent the 12th Day of February 1814.

To the honorable James Monroe Esq. Secretary of State of the United States of America.  The petition of Daniel Pettibone now of Philadelphia edge-tool maker humbly showeth.  The he did invent construct and apply to use in the year 1799 a new and useful improvement in the manner of boring musket, pistol, or rifle barrels by means of peculiar constructed auger or bitts called the spiral groove or twisted screw auger or bit (side specification).  A model of the auger and a partial description of his improvement were filed or deposited in the Office of State (where in this city) in the months of January and August in the year above mentioned.
Your petitioner is therefore desirous of obtaining an exclusion proper in his said invention and humbly prays that Daniel Pettibone duly executed according to law may be granted basis for his said invention as in duty bound will ever pray, your most obedient.

Daniel Pettibone
Philadelphia
31 March 1812

Specification.  To all persons to whom these presents shall come – Daniel Pettibone edge tool maker sends greeting.  Be it known that I Daniel Pettibone did invent and apply to me in the year 1799 a new improvement in the manner of boring musket, pistol, or rifle barrels by an auger (called the spiral groove or twisted screw auger).  The invention of the spiral groove or twisted screw auger for the purpose of boring musket, pistol, or rifle barrels consists in the manner of making it; or in the particular form or construction of the same; as also the mode of application.
First – These augers I make of the best cast or other good stub welded to a handle or shank of good iron or steel.  Then they are forged, hammered & twisted in a similar manner to the common or screw auger, used by carpenters for boring wood, excepting the plate is left thicker before it is twisted.  The differences in the form of this improved auger forms the common screw auger and for boring wood are that the points or cutters are next to the shank; and that the auger is less twisted for boring iron than for boring wood.  The shank of the auger is long enough to put through the barrel and fasten to the socket of the machine that moves or turns the auger.  The auger revolves about once per second and the points or cutters are pressed against the iron that is to be bored from the inside of the barrel: By the force application of one or more endless screws that revolve in a rack or cogs attached to the carriage on which the barrels are fastened.  These endless screws revolve very slowly so as to give time for the augers to cut all that is required.  My further improvement is the placing of the barrels perpendicularly.  The improved auger can be well applied if the barrels are placed horizontally.  The size of the shank of the augers are about one eight of an inch less than the screw or cutters.

I consider it of much consequence to file or make the points of the cutters flat in the front so as to give chips a proper direction into the grooves.  I make use of several different sizes to bore a barrel: the shank of the second auger for about four or five inches from the cutters is just as large as the cutters of the first – and the shank of the third the same size as the cutters of the second, xc. xc. xc. 
Secondly – For convenience of repairs I put a piece of cast or other good steel about one eight of an inch square through the shank ext to the twisted part to form points or cutters.
Thirdly – I have also made augers by forging and turning very smoothly in a latter a bolt or pin of good steel – six or seven inches long – It was then welded to a shank at one end And with in one or two inches of the other I put through a piece of steel to form points or cutters.  This piece of steel is secured in its place by a small screw entering the end or side of the bolt or pin. – and from the points or cutters. – spiral grooves are cut to the end.
Fourth – In some instances I cause the barrel to revolve instead of the auger for the purpose of boring more straight and true.  I frequently repair the points or cutters of the twisted augers with a steel punch or set, by heating the auger to a red heat and temper it again.
Fifth -  I sometimes make these bolts and or pins hollow in form the cutters or points to the end. – So that the chips may pass off internally; instead of passing off in the spiral grooves on the outside.  I also make bolts/pins, or hollow cylinders that screw together some what like the joints of a common flute or clarinet that when screwed together the cutters or points are fastened I its place – chips or fareings pass off internally or externally as circumstances may require.

The advantages of the five articles.
Article Firstly – The screw auger is more easily made & kept in repair than any other; and will bore the straightest without injury to the barrel; and of an excellent size alliber.
Art. Secondly – By putting movable cutters to the screw auger or to the other kind, they will last a long time, as only the cutters will need repairing.
Art. Thirdly – The placing the barrels perpendicular to be bored is a great improvement as it will save much room in a building or factory. – and one man can tend ten to twelve augers at once.  Also the chips will drop out conveniently.
Art. Fourthly – the endless screw rack of cogs is a matter of consequence to give a regular pressure against the cutters.
Art. Fifthly – The making of hollow augers for the purpose of passing the chips internally is very convenient.  But there is none as the simplicity of the twisted screw and so easily made by a common workman & tools.

Signed Daniel Pettibone

[James Wilson Everett]

Guys,

I hope that someone out there will be able to help in this research.  The Pettibone patent above is an improvement on an earlier patent by James Greer who used the tool pictured below to rough bore gun barrels.  He called it a boring nut.  This tool looked a lot like a modern twist drill, but it cut on the pull.  The long rod passed entirely through the rough forged tube and was rotated and pulled through to cut the bore.



This tool ( I have heard them called "Fergusson" reamers ) would be about 4 feet long and about 1/2 inch diameter with the boring nut attached to one end.  Has anyone ever seen such a tool?  If any of you guys ever see something like this, or any of the Pettibone improved tools, let me know!

Here is a statement by James Greer on the use of his boring nut ( probably somewhat of an exaggeration )

The old plan was to use a square bit, about four inches long - the barrel pushed on the bit by manual labor, which barrel could never be pushed on the bit so as to be bored more than three or four inches at a time before it choked, so that it was necessary to take the barrel from the bit and knock out the borings. By the aforesaid method of boring by a square bit a man by hard labor cannot bore more than two or three barrels a day. But by the invaluable invention of Mr. Greer a man can, with very little labor, nut-bore three barrels in fifteen minutes, and attend to straitening the barrels and repairing the bits.
JAMES GREER.


I hope that someone has seen something like this.

Jim

[James Wilson Everett]

Guys,

The plot thickens!  Here is part of a deposition where James Greer is contesting the Daniel Pettibone right to the patent of the barrel boring tool.  Somebody back in the old times was a liar!  It would be interesting to find out about the Globe Barrel Mill in Philadelphia and Mr. McCormick, the Irishman.

ORDNANCE OFFICE, January 17, 1817.
SIR: I have examined the memorial of Mr. Daniel Pettibone, claiming compensation for the use of the nut auger or screw augur used in boring gun barrels, which memorial has been referred by the Committee of Claims to the War Department, and on which I have been directed to report.
I have a perfect conviction, and, perhaps, I may say, knowledge that the screw auger or nut auger, used in boring gun barrels, was not invented by Mr. Pettibone. That tool I saw in use at the Globe Mills, near Philadelphia, in the year 1798, and its properties were particularly described to me by Mr. McCormick, who had introduced it there. Mr. McCormick was an Irishman, and I believe is since dead. He did not pretend it was his own, nor even a new invention at that time, and I believe it was introduced into this country from Europe. In a printed book, to which I cannot now particularly refer, I remember to have seen, many years since, an allusion to that tool, and its peculiar advantage represented to consist in its leaving the cuttings behind in the operation of boring, which implied that the tool was drawn and not propelled through the barrel. I entertain not a shadow of doubt the invention was of a date many years anterior to the year 1798.
The use of the endless screw to produce a slow progressive motion is of great antiquity in mechanics. The application of it in a particular case can by no means be considered a new invention.
From McCormick's Works, near Philadelphia, the use of the nut auger in boring gun barrels was extended about the year 1799 to Springfield, and the other places where that business was carried on.
Mr. Pettibone's claim originally extended only, I believe, to the invention of a particular method to be used in fabricating that tool - a thing in itself of very little importance, and which method is now, I believe, generally dispensed with.
His petition to obtain a patent bears date 31st March, 1812, about thirteen years after the date of the invention, according to his own statement - a fact of no small importance.
Without venturing positively to accuse him of plagiarism, I shall content myself with stating, he has in more than one instance claimed, as inventions of his own, things known in principle and published to the world long before.
On a full consideration of the subject, I am of opinion Mr. Pettibone has no claim to any particular favor for his inventions from this government, and that he ought to be referred to such remedies as the law provides to obtain the compensation he asks for.
I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your most obedient servant,
D. WADSWORTH,
Colonel of Ordnance.
The honorable the SECRETARY OF WAR.

[keweenaw]

Remington, Steyr, and many, many other modern factory rifle and shotgun  barrels are made the way James describes, starting with a short drilled billet that is forged around a carbide mandrel in a GFM (Great Forging Machine).  The forging puts the entire contour on the barrel which only needs light cleaning up and polishing on the outside. In this case the mandrel is short, only about 6" long but the forging produces a finished bore, rifling and all.   

Tom

[James Wilson Everett]

Guys,

One of the difficulties in primary research is just being able to read the old and degraded documents.  Sometimes if the researcher can understand 9 out of 10 words, that is a good day!  One good exmple of how this can effect us today is the case of Mr. James Greer (or is it James Green?)   With the old script it is really difficult to tell if the last letter is a R or a N.



The web site to search tooling patents (datamp.org) lists his patent as:

Oct. 03, 1817   J. Green   Nut boring bit for boring gun barrels   gunsmith
Patent number 2,847X – lost in the fire, too bad this would have been really great to research.

But many of the other sources list this guy as J. Greer.  Certainly this is the same guy whose name is difficult to read, some researchers see a R and some see a N.  If we look at some of the scans of the original documents posted above, we can see the difficulty in reading and understanding.  Also we do find that spelling correctly is definitely optional!

Jim

[Bill Paton]

Are there any more words associated with this signature? They can help define these unclear points of script. I saw an "n" when I read the name on your post, but can't challange "r" without studying more of his writing. I have transcribed Samuel Morrison's 1836 patent (written in script) for superimposed charge rifle locks, and after many hours of work am convinced that all 4 pages are now accurate, including his mis-spellings and other mistakes, with the exception of one word that still eludes me. Fun stuff!

[James Wilson Everett]

Bill,

  Thanks for the reply.  It is good to hear from someone who is doing research.  I checked out Morrison's patent (X9,378) one of the few that survived destruction in the patent department fire.  That one really looks to be difficult, you must have gotten many headaches trying to read the script.  Some of the ones I have worked on look a lot more clear.

Next question:  When are you going to make one!  That would be really an accomplishment, although I would put on a face shield and kevlar before pulling the trigger!  It probably would soon be on the government "banned list"!

Jim

[Bill Paton]

Jim, The Morrison "superimposed charge" lock patent transcription wasn't a headache at all. It was a puzzle that required days to solve (still one word I can't interpret) and was a fun challange.

I have no plans to build a superinposed system, but certainly will fire the Morrison "duplex" which I own that is in the ALR library and which JTR recently "stabilized" very nicely without spoiling its "well-used" feel. I have X-rayed its breech because of a puzzle there, and I think it will be safe with small charges. When I get my camera set up again, I'll post the "after" photos.

[James Wilson Everett]

This has nothing to do with guns, but just for general interest.  Here is Patent Number 1, 1790, "Manufacture of Pot Ash and Pearl Ash".  See that it is signed by George Washington and Edmund Randolph.  Glad that this one did not get burned up in the 1836 fire.  But, I am certain that Samuel Hopkins owned a Dickert rifle, for sure!

Jim

[Bill Paton]

I think this is a great post, as it is a prime example of 18th C. script, as is the Declaration of Independence (also easy on line). Those making and signing rifles in old script can see examples of fancy lettering (especially in signatures, but also on capital letters in regular script as seen in this patent). Those of us trying to decipher initials on original barrels can be helped a lot by seeing scripts in context.  Note in this patent, capital "J" and "I" are nearly identical, and "L" frequently looks just like "S". Bill Paton

[James Wilson Everett]

Bill,

Thanks for the comment.  Yes, the old script has a lot more differences than that pesky long "s" (or is it an "f").  Here is a picture of the end of Patent 1 with both a capital "J" and a capital "I".  Do you see the difference?  (I don't)

Jim

[James Wilson Everett]

Guys,

Here is some more information I was able to find on the barrel rolling.  This comes from an old document "Report on the Manufacture of Fire-Arms and Ammunition" and it shows the blank and describes the size of the blank before it is forged into a long barrel.  It is my belief that Remington used this method but forged using a trip hammer rather than powered rollers.  Perhaps most of the barrels on the guns we love that were made post c. 1820 were forged without a weld seam.



Jim