The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-06-20

lazy little boring machines, the small,
I light-running latheS, the steam drills,
/ hammers, planners and all other ma
I chimes and tools for light work, the ma
terial covers almost entirely the avail
| able floor soeace.
THE BREECH MECHANISM SHOP.
This is all very interesting TO the
professional mind and the mechanical
mind. as they see these metals worked
/ accurately into odd shapes, but the lay
man will pass on to the Breech
mechanism shop" where hundreds OF
/ small guns, complete and ready for ser
vice. bright and beautiful, shine and
glisten like a newly polished nickel
plate, and many larger guns. including
the Observation-Disclosures and reliable
/ eight-inch, are blocked up on high
dooden horses. In this shop all looks
bright and new: for here all bench
mechanisms for all calibers are made
and fitted, except the fitting of the
mechanisms for the largest -calibers.
which is done outside. This shop rivals
in interest the north gun shop" al
though it is entirely different from it
in every feature.
Here every machine, every tool. looks
keen and. delicate, while there every
thing locked grand and heavy. Breech
mechanism, as the name implies, is
nIteQ IN the DTeecn Oh edCn gun, 50
that when the gun is fired there will be
no possible escape of gases to the rear
Each and every part is made of the
finest grade of steel. thoroughly tested
before using, and must be made as
accurate in every feature, all dimen-
sions as true as the best electrical drills
and other tools can make them. No
work is more accurate than that of
making and fitting a breech mechan-
ism, for on ii principally the safety of
the gun depends. Sits and grooves,
cogs and worm wheels, racks, pinions
and levers are scientifically combined
and perfectly fitted. All breach
closures in our naval guns are of the
Slated screw system. and just here it
is proper TO note that all mechanisms
for operating the breech plugs are the
inventions Of American naval officers.
Besides the shops mentioned, there is
an erecting shop and power house,
from which all power and electric
lighting for the entire plant is supplied.
pattern shops. bronze foundry,
chemical laboratories, testing ma
chimes. smithery. drafting rooms and
offices. all complete and thoroughly
equipped. The grounds cover an area
Of more than 40 acres. of which more
than 20 acres is occupied by buildings,
including officers quarters. and about
y acres by shops and offices.
ASSEMBLING THE PARTS.
All modern high-power guns are built
up, that IS, they are made up of many
pieces and the manner of assembling
the parts has many interesting fea-
lures. In machining the parts of a 13-
inch gun a degree of accuracy is re-
quired in shaping. turning, boring and /
fitting that is found in o other work
done by machines on large masses of
metal From the moment each piece /
is placed in the lathe, until the last
groove is cut, the work must be done
with the greatest care.
The gun proper consists of a long
central steel cylinder. called the tube,
on the breech end of which a larger
steel cylinder, called the jacket. is
shrunk, and a number Of other cylin- |
ders. called hoops. shrunk on over all. /
In preparing the parts for assembling. ]
curate dimensions and bored out TO ac- (
curate dimensions. At the same time /
the jacket is turned down TO rough I
dimensions and bored out TO accurate /
dimensions. the interior diameter of /
the latter being a little less than the /
true exterior diameter of the former.
When the interior of the Jacket is fin |
ished the tube is turned down TO its
exact exterior diameter The reason (
for this is apparent. If the interior of /
the jacket should. through any possi-
BILE accident he bored too large the T
tube could be turned to fit and the I
parts used without endangering the
strength Of the gun: whereas If the
tube were turned down too much, such /
would not be the case. To appreciate (
the accuracy of the machine work in
gun construction, 1t is only necessary
TO know that all the dimensions of the
massive parts must be true to the one s
thousandth part of an inch.
For the turning special calipers are
made and rigidly set at the different t
by bringing its points into Z
exact contact with each one of set of
steel rods. one corresponding to each i
different dimension. the length of each
rod being determined by a measuring
machine. which is kept in constant 4
temperature. The interior of each piece (
is accurately gagged by a most acciI-
rate gauge. which is also treated with
great care. When the tube and jackef
are ready for assembling. or are pre-
pared, rather, so far as the machine l,