The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1848-10-15

MAKING RIFLES AT WINDSOR, VIA cores
pondent OF Rochester paper gives the following
interesting description Of rifle mandatory at Wind
sor, VT The owners commenced their building about
three years since, and expended in buildings
chinery and materials Sis OOO before they made one
rifle About 200 of their rifles have bee doing our
country service in Mexico. Their principal building
Is 100 feet long and A wide and four stories In height
They have several other buildings for forging their
work, and the various other operations counec ted
with their business. The first contract with the
United States Government for 10 600 rifles They
made last January, although the first not yet COM
peted They turn out 500 rifles per month all in
pete order. They employ 100 artzans, besides IS in
the furnace business making castings and carriages
for the railroad The barrel made from America an
IRON drawn from fiat bars into scalpsn Of the proper
length and thickness These scalps then rolled
makes 500 blows per minute. During this operation
the rod has to be frequently Withdrawn to prevent its
becoming welded with the iron annealing The bar
formed next through the process Of nut
boring" turning, trimming, aud Strengthening all Of
which curious enough, but the last particu
larry as 1t Is done, rather 10 ascertsued to
correctly done, by the eye observing shadow. The
next step Ii passing through trial and inspection by
persops appointed by Government. They are loaded
with $50 grains of powder two balls and two wads
fred each twice If they stand this test they pass on
to the process Of finishing inside which is done by
rng machines at the rate of one barrel per hour to
each machine. They afterwards pass through the
process Of browning which requires great and skill
to make 1t succeed perfectly Again they inspect
ed, and very few rejected account Of the smallest
from black walnut, which has been seasoned three
years before working. II you have Mr. Curtis's
last machine you will have tolerable idea of the first
process These stocks pass through six different ma
chnes and rifle, before 1t Is complete in all its parts
passes through more than one hu ndred different ma
chimes great share Of which the invention i'm
provement of MIR Lawrence. II he wants a certain
thing, he first invents machine to do 1t, and then
sets 1t to work as q man would boy. The most sin
gular machine is the one he calls the "letting ma
chine" 1t performs several difficult aud delicate
operations with facility and ease that is perfectly
astonishing 1t cuts out the places to receive the r
rel ramrod lock, patch box, butt plate guard strad
side plate, band strings, &C, exact that they re-
quire NO hand labor The mounting is Of brass finished
nesrly complete by machinery The look work Is
forged In dies 1t afterwards passes through great
variety and out in the most perfect
shape These machines illustrate most efectuslly the
surprising advantages of "Yankee ingenuity" Each
piece will fit In any of the numerous rifles made here
There is such thing ss lying the several parts to
make them match each other. Parts that are alike
tn own together, and taken at random, when
wanted to make the gun and so perfect they that
they need no alteration whatever There con-
sapty employed three United States Inspectors in the
establishment The rifles, when complete, do not vary
two ounces each from the other in weight