IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OR PRODUCTION OF STEEL GUN BARRELS AND ORDNANCE
Year: 1884

page_text: Barrels and Ordnance.
I, MAJOR ROSE of Birch Hill House, Halesowen, in the County of Worcester,
Gun Barrel Manufacturer do hereby declare the nature of said invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OR PRODUCTION OF STEEL GUN BARRELS
AND ORDNANCE," to be as follows:-
My invention consists of the improvements hereinafter described in the process
or combination of processes for the production of steel gun barrels and ordnance
from sheet or strip steel which has heretofore not been accomplished.
In the ordinary process of manufacture, steel gun barrels have been produced by
taking a thick short tube of steel which has been previously drilled and by a
succession of rollings upon a bulbous mandril, the tubular blank is elongated and
reduced in thickness to the proper proportions at a red heat or unwelding heat
required; or further, barrels have been produced by combined rolling and drawing
processes from blanks or short tubes-This process of manufacture is most
expensive and laborious, from the fact that the metal has to be squeezed into
shape, by the heroinbefore described successive rollings or drawing through.
I will describe my invention as applied to a gun barrel.
In making a steel gun barrel according to my invention, I take a long strip or
band of sheet steel of a breadth sufficient when turned up to form a barrel of the
required size, while the length of the strip is the length or nearly so of the barrel
to be made, and the thickness of strip depends upon the kind of barrel to be formed→
I prefer to employ a mild welding steel, such as Siemen's steel-The strip to be
converted into a gun barrel is next raised to a welding heat in an air furnace or
muffle-The heated strip is then skelped or bent into a trough form longitudinally,
and introduced at a welding heat between welding rolls which draw together,
unite and weld the meeting edges of the turned up strip, thereby producing a steel
gun barrel from a strip or length of sheet steel which has not heretofore been
produced.
The edges of the strip to form a gun barrel may be either square, lap or scarf
joints.
C
The gun barrels are afterwards finished and trued by processes commonly
known.
.
The production of steel ordnance differs in no essential respect from the
production of a gun barrel herein before described.
Dated this first day of December 1884.
MAJOR ROSE

page_text: Barrels and Ordnance.
I, MAJOR ROSE of Birch Hill House; Halesowen, in the County of Worcester
Gun Barrel Manufacturer do hereby, declare the nature of said invention for
* IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OR PRODUCTION OF STEEL GUN BARRELS
AND ORDNANCE," and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement :—
-
My invention consists of the improvements hereinafter described in the process
or combination of processes for the production of steel gun barrels and ordnance
from sheet or strip steel which has not heretofore been accomplished.
E
In the ordinary process of manufacture, steel gun barrels have been produced
from blocks or short cylinders of steel having axial holes passing through them; 1
these tubular blanks while at a red or unwelding heat are then subsequently
elongated and reduced in thickness to the proper proportions required, by
combined rolling and drawing through processes. This process of manufacture is
most expensive and laborious, as the metal has to be squeezed into shape, by the
hereinbefore described successive rollings and drawings through.
According to my invention I take a plate or sheet of mild steel (preferably
Siemen's steel) of a sufficient breadth and thickness to form a gun barrel; that is,
I take a plate or strip of steel which is heated and skelped or bent longitudinally
into a trough form, and while still heated, is turned into a short tube or cylinder
with an open joint. This open jointed tube is then reheated and passed through
welding rolls, which draw together, unite and weld the meeting edges of the turned
up plate or strip, thereby producing a short steel tube or cylinder which is
subsequently rolled or drawn into a gun barrel which is thus produced from á
plate or blank of mild sheet steel which has not heretofore been produced.
The edges of the strip to form a gun barrel may be either square, lap or scarf
joints.
I will now proceed to describe with reference to the accompanying Drawings the
mauner in which the same is to be performed.
Figure 1 is a front and end elevation of a steel gun barrel made according to my
invention.
°
1
E
In making the said gun barrel figure 1 I take a blank or plate a figure 2 of mild
steel which is heated and skelped or bent longitudinally into a trough form shown
in plan and elevation figures 3 and 4; and while still in a heated state the said
trough is bent up into an open jointed tube or cylinder figure 5 and end elevation
figure 6. This open jointed tube figures 5 and 6 is then reheated to a welding 3
heat, and passed through welding rolls or other welding expedients, which draw
together, unite and weld the meeting edges or joint of the said tube, as shown at
figure 7. This welded or short length of parallel tubing is then reheated, and by
combined rolling and drawing down processes, it is elongated and reduced in
diameter, or drawn out into, the longer taper tube figure 8; and lastly, by still
further drawing down or rolling, the said figure 8 is fashioned into the gun barrel
figure 1, thereby producing a gun barrel from plate or sheet steel.

page_text: The herein before partially made gun barrel hereinbefore described is supported
internally during the rolling or drawing down process by a.bulbed mandril.
Instead of employing rolls, the welding may be effected by a tilt hammer
provided with tools having upon their acting faces semi-circular or elliptical
depressions.
The gun or rifle barrels produced as hereinbefore described are afterwards
finished and trued by processes commonly known.
The application of my invention to rifle barrels or to light steel ordnance,
commonly called camel guns, differs in no essential respect from its application to a
gun barrel hereinbefore described and illustrated.
,
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is
Making or producing gun and rifle barrels from plates or slabs of mild or
welding steel, by the process or combination of processes, substantially as described
and illustrated.