The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1898-06-02
Big War.hip shsll,.


The complete siofy Of the mSuuisciur
Of oue Of the bis batilcship pto!eetilcs hA
alssys been hard TO oblsin, The FIN
sterliss PrcleeiIle works at penmlfr
near Pitisburs. are barred 50 40 oatsider
all representatives Of the government sn'
oiicisls Of the company having socess 4
eli tho departments Even the ~orkmet
Of one department are forbidden TO enic
smother. here is the history oithe mai
I Jog Of . l0inch shell;
10 the casting shop molten teel is css
10 tolii piece about twelve aud hal
inches 10 diameter From the eastlue :
shop II goes 10 the totgetocm, where, alter
being heated, /, lie hammered down TO ter
aud three tourths inches. being consider
ably elongated in the process. II is theu
conveyed to the machine shop and placed
10 specially constructed lathe. The
base OF the prolectile is inserted IN the
lathe "chuck." and the conicsl end Is
swung from the lathe center. A "rougb
iug" cot is then run over tie shd', the
shell itself is pointed, and then receives n
Flushing cut.
The only parts OF the shell that bear =
gsiust the rGsd surface OF the gun is the
larger part Of the couiesl end and the sur
face OF copper nng that enoireles the
projectile near its base. The copper is
quite soft. so does not iniute the ritilng
After the finishing cut is given to the pro
lectile the diameter OF the largest part OF
the cone is ten aud iive-hundredths iuches,
aud that Of the cylinder, which is the body
OF the proiectile extending back from the
cone, is nine snd ninety
inches,
The workmen now apply the band
score.' which is groove cut for the re
ception OF the soft copper band. For a 10
inch prolec,ile the groove is Ia inches
wide st the bottom and quarter inch
deep. The groove is wider at the bottom
than at the top, 30 that the copper band
retains it position after it has been placed
in the groove and pounded down until
the copper swells out and fills the groove
thus taking hange hold on the under
side.
Then the extracting rcore'' is cut
This presents sectionslly a view like the
letter Y, with the letter lying on 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
it is desired to withdraw 1t from the gun.
The shell is put In the cutting of machine,
where the surplus length is taken of
The next move is the boring OF five inch |
hole 10 the base to depth Of IA inches
10 the process OF hardening the shell is
suspended, point downward, 10 recepts
Gle filled with molten lead. and is allowed |
to stttle until the hot metal rises above
the cone base. AT first the temperature
Of the lead is 900 degreee. bnt is increased
gradually to !, 800 degrees. The work OF
heating requires four hours, when the
she'll is withdrawn from the bath and
sprayed with water to give it hard ex
terror. 1t is then plunged into bath
OF secret ingredients, and when
withdrawn it is cooled with a jet OF water.
The proiectile goes to the machine
shop, the hole in the base il widened half
,n inch and the depth ia Increased two
inches. The hole is "threaded" few
nches and q screw plug is inserted. The
,rinding room is the nett destination, and
lere the extreme diameter OF the cone is
yround down TO ten inches exactly. After
soft steel cap has been fitted to the tip
II the projectile, on the theory that when
he shell strikes the armoured side Of a
,sttleehip the soft steel preserves the
,oint OF the projectile without interfering
With its penetrating power, the shell is
inished as far as the Fifth Sterling Com
ANY is concerned. 1t is exactly twenty
even and one third inches long, After 1t
as been received at some United States {
rsensl 1t is filed with an explosive com
ound and Is ready for its work OF dis
rnc,ion. '
All large proiec'ies, from the six..nch
ize mp, are made as described. The c
lschinery at the Demmler plant consists !
I twelve latbes. two chasing machines, .
ne grinding machine ID one centefing
lschino. This equipment is bcing rc-io 0
1rced, as the company has enough work
q hand for the government and foreign
oun,ries to keep the plant busy for two
ears,
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