Making early Octagon to Round barrels

[Bob Gerard]

I’m curious how original long Octagon to Round barrels were made before the 19th century. I can
imagine only a couple methods; filing away or lathe-turned to profile from fully or partially forged barrels or perhaps lap-welding sections together (a Spanish long-barrel making method, I believe).
Maybe something else?

[44-henry]

Grinding was a common method of shaping barrels, I imagine a good portion of the work was done that way first. Just a guess though.

[Clowdis]

Lathe and planer would be my guess.

[Daniel Coats]

I reshaped an octagon barrel into a trade gun barrel wedding bands and all with a file. I can (almost) guarantee production barrels were never made this way based on how long it took my fingers to grow back.

[smart dog]

Hi,
The forged tube is initially round and they ground the flats in at the breech.  There is an image in Diderot's Encyclopedia showing a French barrel grinding set up complete with moveable grinding stone and barrel beds designed to create different profiles.  The English used grinding wheels and barrel lathes to shape them.  They had a trade called "barrel grinder".  The Spanish welded made barrels in 5 short sections, 2 octagon and 3 round.  They were so skilled they actually hammered in the barrel flats almost to finished form.  They welded the sections together and then shaped the round part using lathes and files for the octagon parts.  They hand cut the decorative wedding bands.

dave

[yip]

  MR GUSLER DID A TAPE ON HOW THEY HAND FORGED THE BARREL; I THINK THEY FORGED THE FLATS AND FINSHED THE PROCESS BY FILING THE FLATS SMOOTH. CHECK TO FIND THAT TAPE

[rich pierce]

Some barrels were gunsmith made but many more were made in gun barrel mills abroad and here, where they had division of labor, dedicated machinery, and water wheel power. The processes followed in the small American gun shop and the factories were not identical. And the English, French, and Spanish all had their ways of doing things.

[Bob Gerard]

Thanks guys!