The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1898-05-17
How Big Shells Are Made.

| The complete story of the manufacture
| of one of the big battleship projectiles
| has always been hard to obtain. The
Firth-Sterling projectile works at DENIM
| ler near Pittsburg. are barred to an out
sider only representatives OF the gov
eminent and officials of the company hav-
ing access to ali of the departments. Even
the workmen Of one department are for
| hidden to enter another. Here is the his
tory of the making of a ten-inch shell:
| In the casting shop molten steel is cast
in solid piece about 1914 inches in diam
eter From the casting shop 1t goes TO the
forge room. where, after being reheated
it is hammered down to 1914 inches, being
considerably elongated in the process. II
| is then conveyed to the machine shop and
placed in a specially constructed lathe.
| The base of the projectile is inserted IN
| the lathe chuck" and the conical end is
swung from the lathe center. A rough
ing cut is then run over the shell. the
shell itself is pointed, and then receives a
finishing cut
The only parts Of the shell that bear
| against the rifed surface of the gun is
the larger part of the conical end and the
surface of copper ring that encircles the
projectile near its base. The copper Is
quite soft, so il does not lnjIre the rialng.
After the finishing cut is given to the pro-
jectile, the diameter of the largest port
of the cone is 10 5-lO0 inches, and that Of
the cylinder, which is the body of the pro-
jectile extending back from the cone, is
10 90-100 inches.
The workmen now apply the band
score" which is a groove cut for the re-
ception of the soft copper band. For
ten-inch projectile the groove is IL inches
xz-f1 Of he ho4 I'd Inn The
groove is wider at the bottom than at the
top, so that the copper band retains its
position after it has been placed m the
groove and pounded down until the cop
per swells out and fills the groove. thus
taking a flange hold on the under side.
Then the Extracting score is cut. This
presents sectionally view like the letter
V. with the letter lying on one side and
the converging lines pointing TO the base
of the shell. This groove is made TO per-
nit tool to be fastened to the shell when
ii is desired to withdraw it from the gun.
The she'll is put in the cutting-oH machine
where the surplus length is taken Off The
next move is the boring of five-inch hole
in the base to depth Of fourteen inches.
In the process of hardening the shell
is suspended point downward, in a re-
ceptacle filled with molten lead. and is al
lowed to settle until the hot metal rises
above the cone case. At first the tenn
perture of the lead is 800 degrees, but is
Increased gradually to 1900 degrees. The
work of heating requires four hours, when
the shell is withdrawn from the both and
sprayed with water to give it a hard ex-
terror. 1t is then plunged into bath COM
posed of secret ingredients, and when with
drawn it is cooled with jet of water.
The projeotile goes again to the ma
chine shop, the hole In the base is wild
ened half an inch, and the depth is in
creased two inches. The hole is thread
ed" few inches, and a screw plug is in
serted. The grinding room is the next
destination land here the extreme dia-
meter of the cone is ground down to ten
inches exactly. After a soft steel cap
has been fitted to the tip of the prOjectile,
on the theory that when the shell strikes
the armored side of a battleship the soft
steel protects the point of the prOjectile
without interfering with its penetrating
power, he shell is finished as far as the
Firth-Sterling company is concerned. 1t
is exactly 2715 inches long. After it has
been received at some United States ar
senal it is filled with some explosive COM
pound and is ready for its work of de-
struction.
All large projectiles, from the six inch
size up, are made as described. The ma
chinery at the Demmler plant consists of
twelve lathes, four boring mills, two cut
ting off machiens, two tool lothes, two
chasing machines, one grinding machine
and one centering machine. This equip
ment is being reinforced, as the company
has enough work on hand for the gov
eminent and foreign countries to keep the
plant busy for two years.