Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-09-13
NEW METAL FOR GUNS.
DR.. Emmens Preparing to Make Small
Arms and Ordnance Out of a
NOVEL AND TENACIOUS COMPOUND.
He Has Government Order for the Conver.
sion of 15-Inch Rodman.
FACTORIES LOCATED AT YOUNGWOOD

Nichelum gun metal is new metal
which is destined, probably, to play an i'm
! portant part in the future of firearms and
| light ordnance. 1t is the invention of DR..
S. H. Emmens, the wizard of Emmens
station, who arrived at the Monongahela
yesterday, accompanied by his son. DR..
Emmens is forming a company in New
York to undertake work already secured
from the Government, in which the metal is
to be given a trial, and to manufacture small
arms of it for the general trade.
DR.. Emmens consented to unfold, for the
first time his plans in connection with this
new metal. 1t was only within the last day
or two that they had been brought to such a
point as to admit of publication. The doc
4or said he had secured 90 acres of land ad-
jacent to Youngwood on the Southw est
Penn road, with a frontage of $50 feet
to the railroad. The factories at Emmens
were now in course of being moved there,
and within a short time the Emmens Metal
| Company and the Emmensite Explosive
Company would be established in new quar-
tiers on this land. The company being
formed to manufacture arms and ordnanc e
wo Id be called the "Emmens Gun Com
pany" and would occupy, new buildings
fronting the railroad, and remote from the
explosives factory.
WILL BEGIN WORK AT ONCE.
The new gun metal, to which the inventor
has given the name of 'Nichelum gun
metal" will be made in the metal COM
pany's factories and manufactured by the
gun company into arms and ordnance. For
this latter purpose the new factory will be
fitted with the requisite equipments. The
company will be incorporated within a short
time.
DR.. Emmens says that the company has
already received an order on which to COM
mence business. This is from the Govern
ment; and for the conversion of 15-inch
Rpdman gun into a rifed torpedo thrower.
Congress had appropriated $4,000 for the
purpose. The new gun is to be a breech
loader and carry she'll loaded with en-
mensite. The material principle in which
this gun will differ from others is in the
manner of exploding the charge and in the
rifing The gun will have what the doctor
calls "a multicharge breech block" COM
prising departure in exploding the charge,
which will prove to be a radical I'M
provement on the present modes.
DR.. Emmens says of his new metal, the
'nickelum gun metal" that it is modified
aluminium bronze, consisting essentially of
nickel and aluminium. 1t has such strength
and tenacity that guns can be constructed
of it of much lighter weight than are now
used, and at the same time carry stronger
charge. DIR. Emmens claims for guns made
of this metal and exploded on his new
principle that the penetration will be
greater than with any similar charge
now in use. DR.. Emmens does not think
that the Government will ever depart from
the use of steel for the heavy ordnance,
principally owing to the outlay which pri-
vate firms have gone to to equip themselves
for their manufacture, but if the trials of
his new gun are successful the small arms
and field pieces will likely be made on the
new pattern.
HOW THE CHARGE IS EXPLODED.
DR. Emmens says that his system of ex-
ploding a charge in the new gun is to spread
the force along the barrel, in place Of con-
centrating it. as at present, at the initial |
point of explosion, the breech. This is why |
he calls the block multi-charge breech |
block, sienifying that the charge will be e1- |
ploded by series of explosions, one follow |
ing the other, and spreading the force from |
breech to muzzle The effect of this will be |
that there will be no longer necessity for |
the weight of metal used in the breech, and |
the whole piece can be made much lighte:. |
The metals now beiay made by DR.. Em- |
mems are nickelum gun metal, nickelum |
bronze, nickelum brass and nickelum silver. |
The nickelun bronze will be used for the |
mountings of the guns. Dr. Emmens says |
that some nickelum silver, made into |
trolley wheels, was tested on a Western |
electric road and travelled $500 miles show |
ing very little wear. The average life of |
trolley wheel was so days or ZOO miles.