Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1861-07-20
Balls, Shells and Bombs - How they are
made.

West Troy, is, as you douhiI"-s know,
the largest arsenal for the instruction
and fabrication oe militar, implements,
other than small arms and cannon, in
the country; and visit ~ its work.
shops at the present time poY srfully
impresses one with the sire 9Th and
resources Of our Government. Every
thing is at present on q war footing,
and from three to four hundred hands
directly, and as many moro indirectly,
in the neighboring foundries, are kept
busy night and day. A large number
of handsarc engaged in the preparation
of ammunition; sixty thousand ball
cartridges are made daily; most of
these are intended forshc Minnie rife,
but large numbers of the old fashioned
round ball cartridges are also manutac-
tured. The rapidity with which cart
ridge is made is wonderful. A boy
sits at a counter with cylindrical stick
"a pile of creased balls and one of
prepared paper before nina simple
roll of the paper and stick-a jerk and
Il twist at ono end-a twist of string,
and the cartridge is ready for filling. in
less time than it takes to read this des-
cription. They are then taken into an
other room, placed open end up i'll shall
low boxes, and a man by means of
simple instrument, fills them with an
equal and specific amount of powder,
at the rate of thirty minute. A twist
ut the open end, and the cartridge is
complete. The manufacture goes on
so fast that it requires nearly dozen
men and boys to pack, box and remove
the finished cartridges. In another
apartment numbers Of men and girls are
employed in the manufacture of cannon
cartridges of all sizes, from the might
lest columbiad down to siX-pounder.
The material of which they are made
is kind of WOODEN goods (moreen) i'm
ported from England especially for the
purpose. Thousands of yards OF ma
tcrial were in the process of being cut
I'D and manufactured. Cannon cart
ridges are not filled here, but at the
place where they are intended to be
used. Tn still another department,
grape, canister and STRAPPED ammunition
are in course of preparation, while huge
cart loads of bomb shells and spherical
shot arc hourly arriving from the nci GIL
boring foundries. The grape shot are
larger than I supposed, and might more
properly be called peach shot than
grape shot. Some six or more of these
are packed in sort of wire corkscrew
arran cement, and fitted into tin case,
and when TINS finished have much the
appearance of preserved meats or fruit.
The manufacture of bomb shells is
also matter of much interest. The
preparation Of those / witnessed is
briefly as follows: The shell is filed
full with old-iashioncd round leaden
bullets; melted sulphur is then poured
in to fill upthc interstices and bind the
bullets in one solid mass; the shell is
then put into a kind Of lathe, and
cylindrical hole of the exact size of the
orifice of the shell is bored through the
bullets and sulphur; this cavity is filled
with powder, even with the interior
edge of the orifice, a six inch shell of
the kind here described holding about
half a pound; the fuse thus fitted into
the oriice is recent Belgian invention,
made Of pewter, and resembles the
screw-cap used for the patent fruit cans.
An examination Of this pewter cap
shows, however, that it is made of two
hollow discs of metal screwed together,
and filled with meal powder, number
of fine holes arc drilled in the lower
disc, while the outer disc is entire, and
marked with figures in Il circle, and
marked 1, 2, 8, 4. In this state the
shell is weather and water proof When
taken for use, the gunner, by means of
a small steel instrument, scoops out
portion of the outer soft metal surface,
and lays bare the charge of compost
ton powder below it. If the shell is
desired to explode in one Sc ,ond after
leaving the gun, the scoopins is made
on the figure l; if in two seconds, on
the figure 2. and SO on; the idea being
that the shells of this description shall
first strike the object aimed at and do
execution us ball, and then explode,
sending the bullets forward as if from
another cannon located at the point
where the fight of the shell is arrested.
Large shells of eight or ten inches
are filled with powder only, and burst
ing do execution by means Of their
fragments. These large shells are gen.
orally fred by means Of fuse of meal
powder extending through brass plug
screwed into the mouth of the shell /;
in both cases the fuse is fred by the ig-
milton of the charge Of the gun.
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