The Daytona daily news. [volume] (Daytona, Fla.) 1903-1926, 1915-12-08
our ARMY RIFLES
There Are None Better Than
Those Made at Springfield.
IN UNCLE SANS BIG ARSENAL.
Processes by Which q Billet Of the Fin
est Steel 10 Turned Into One Of the
Famous 80 caIiber Weapons - The
Manufacture Of Small Arms.

Famous 80 caIiber Weapons The
| Manufacture of Small Arms.
| Had Longfellow lived until today and
visited the Springfield arsenal he would
| find that the famous old gun racks
| which inspired his verses have van
| ished Also be would discover many
other changes. The double tiers of gun
| racks that the New England bard com
pared to huge pipe organs are gone
save for Il small section which has been
preserved in the museum. The bur
nished arms with their highly polish
ed barrels are among the things dis
carded. too, and as for the pattern of
the ritie-well. there have been at least
dozen different styles Of firearms pro
duced at the famous armory since
Longfellow.
Records have it that there have been
sixty distinct types OF small arms man
ufactured at Springfield since its eStab
lishment during the Revolutionary war
These range from the old Brown
Bess" and Charleville type with their
flint locks and smooth bored barrels to
the famous springfield" OF the war
between the states period and the still
more famous 80 caliber rifle of today.
which has been pronounced the most
seryiceable small arm in the world
The Springfield armory. with its va
rious foundries. factories. carpenter
shops. barracks and storehouses. has
cost the United States government in
the neighborhood Of $66.0OO.OOO. This
expenditure has enabled the ordnance
department to supply its enlisted men
with the best type Of army rifle. re
volyer and saber at very small cost
Moreover. in periods of pressing need
the government has never been ham
pered by red tape. contracts and spe
cial legislation In order to arm its
forces. During five wars Springfield
has been able to turn out enough arms
for immediate service. or at least
enough to take care of emergencies.
though Of course the government has
purchased rifles from private firms.
During the Spanish war this was nee
essary because Of the quick formation
Of volunteer troops.
The manufacture Of a rife entails
dozens Of separate operations and con.
sequently dozens Of different kinds of |
machines are necessary. Indeed. there
are ninety-three component parts Of a
rifle. nfty different operations being re- |
qu1reo to manufacture the barrel alone. |
And as for the bayonet. there are
twelve separate parts to that simple |
looking portion OF soldiers equip |
ment
1t is difficult to decide which is the
most important. the lock. stock or bar
rel Of rife. but from the amount of
work involved In all probability the
barrel Is considered of more conse-
Quence by the Springfield gunmakers
The material from which the barrels
are made appears first as short billets
OF steel These are placed in furnace
and subjected to intense heat, and
when they become deep orange in color
they are removed and placed In anoth-
er furnace where the heat is even
greater. BY means Of long tongs the
steel Is removed from this heat and put
INTO a peculiar roller equipped with
grooves of eleven different sizes.
Ihese rollers are operated under tons
OF pressure. and gradually the billet is
formed into tapering blank"
In this process the man in charge of
lhe rolling mill passes the billet
through eleven different grooves. run.
ming it twice through the last groove.
thus executing twelve distinct opera.
IONS before the barrel is even shaped
The rifling machine is long. uelv
looking affair that moves very SLOWLY
rour rulings are put into the barrel OF
a gun and six are cut into the short
barrels OF the automatic revolyers
which are also made at Springfield
after the rifiing the bar.
rel Is chambered and sights are put ON
Ihen the CLINT of polished steel is kin.
Ell py d process OF browning, the
metal
In the old days the soldiers rifle was
polished and buffed until it fairly plit-
tered Today every metal part is dull.
eu' nrst because the old time CLINT re-
dected the sunlight and made the SOL
Her a better mark for his enemy. and
also because the browning process pro-