New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1876-11-11

annealed and picked, to soften the metal
and remove the scale. Trigger.guards for
Snider work are drawn out under Ryder
hammar, and the steel "shoes" contain ing
the action of the Martini Henry rife 1.-THE
stock of which is in two parts) are forged
under fifteen hundred pound Davey ham,
mer. Another hammer of the same power
afterwards stamps the ''shoe." mandrill
having been driven into the hole dritted BY
the first hammer.
Barrels are not at present made at the fac
tory, although rolling mills and furnaces
have been erected for the purpose, but are
ed with hcle ready drilled through
them. The barrel is first rough bored, then
turned or stripped - it is called. in three
different lathes; i. G., three cuts are taken
of. The barrel is next polished in verti-
Cal machine, five being worked together,
up and down, like 60 many pump rods,
twisting at the sans time between blocks
of wood fed with emery and oil, and kept
against the barrel by springs. Then comes
the fine boring. Six barrels are laid on q
machine table, while tteel rimers, ground
to the right sizs and OF square section,
are maize to revOive in their spindles,
the barrels being gradually brought up
to them by means Of q weight passing
over pulley. To keep the '.birs' steSdy
strips of wood of segmentai section are
placed over the sides Of the rimer, packed
no ~ required with slips Of paper. In the
Martini Henry rifle the bore is 449 of an
inch. The ritliDg in the same barrel con
sists of seven shallow grooves, making one
turn in twenty inches. This operation is
performed by an iDgeDiOusly devised ma
chine, capable Of ritling to any pitch, but
which can not well be described without
deliberate drawings. The machines are in.
clined so as To allow the sOapy wafer form
ing the lubricant to run down the barrel
The breech end Of the barrel is finished by
milling machinery, as also are the
several parts of the lock. In all
cases the system Of working with q
former is adopted, in order to insure the
iaterchapgeability Of parts. The setting
of the barrel is performed between the
boring and stripping operations by blows
Of hammer, before turning, and q msllet
afterwards. the workmen beng able to as
certain whether the barrel is straight or
not 10y looking through it aud noting how
the shadow OF horizontal line falls H.
side. The barrels are proved twice; first,
after boring, with seven and q half drachms
of powder, one and q half ounces OF lead,
and q cork wad; and again after rltiing aud
the addition of the lock, this time with five
drachms OF powder The rifle is also fired
in the ordinary way when quite complete,
with the usual service charcs Of two and =
half drachms. in the frs proof, ten loaded
barrels, With plugs, containing firing holes
screwed into the breach, are laid with the
hole downwards on train Of gnnpowder.
The bsyOne,s now being made fer The
government are the Snider, al triangular
section. They are forged tTpe, = one and
One.sixteenth inch round sites bar which
is drawn down under q Ryder hammer.
about tour inches remaiaing CEtouchod to
form the socket Il is next bent, Or "broken
down." as the term is, in two places. After
being cut off from the bar, sufficient metal
being lett for the blade, it il stamped in q
pair Of dice; the blade is then drawn out
by the Ryder hsmmer. The rolling is q
very intert sting operation, and is performed
by Barnee' patent rolling machines, in
which there are two horizontal spindles,
each carrying four cams, in which The dies
are fixed. These cams occupy about one
third of circle, and the dice, which are
cut on the periphery, are set 80 as to give
the required thickness to the bayOner blade.
After the bsyonet has been trim ned it is
hardened and ground. The socket is next
drilled and milled. the slot for forming the
attachment to the rifle being sfaerward cut,
and after The further operation Of "bluing"
and polishing the bayOnet is CONS 'ete.