IMPROVE- MENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF RIFLED BARRELS FOR SMALL ARMS AND ORDNANCE, AND IN APPARATUS TO BE EMPLOYED IN SUCH MANUFACTURE." PROAL SPATION
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Jeremiah Murphy, of Richmond, in the
County of the City of Cork, Brewer, and John Bryan O'Hea, of
Greenwich, in the County of Kent, Esquire, late Captain in Her
Majesty's Twenty-fifth Regiment, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF RIFLED BARRELS FOR SMALL ARMS AND
ORDNANCE, AND IN APPARATUS TO BE EMPLOYED IN SUCH MANUFACTURE."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Jeremiah
Murphy and John Bryan O'Hea at the Office of the Commissioners
of Patents, with their Petition, on the 22nd September 1808.
We, WILLIAM JEREMIAH MURPHY, of Richmond, in the County of
the City of York, Brewer, and JOHN BRYAN O'HEA, of Greenwich, in the
County of Kent, Esquire, late Captain in Her Majesty's Twenty-fifth
Regiment, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "I■-.
PROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF RIFLED BARRELS FOR SMALL ARMS AND>
ORDNANCE, AND IN APPARATUS TO BE EMPLOYED IN SUCH MANUFACTURE," to be as
follows:-
This Invention relates to the manufacture of rifled barrels in such a

page_text: manner that the rifling or grooving of the barrels is effected during the
manufacture of the barrel itself in contradistinction to the method
hitherto invariably practised of making the interior of the barrels firstly
of a plain cylindrical form and then grooving them out to the required
pattern of rifling.
The Invention is applicable not only to the manufacture of rifled
barrels of the ordinary "land and groove" pattern, but also to the oval
or "Lancaster" pattern, the hexagonal or "Whitworth," the polygonal,
the ratchet, and other well-known forms, as well as to the spiral rib
pattern as described in the Specification of Letters Patent granted to the
first-named petitioner (William Jeremiah Murphy), bearing date the
9th day of January, A.D. 1867, No. 56.
The Invention consists principally in the use of a mandrel or core
having on its surface spiral projections or grooves (or both, according
to the rifling desired,) that is a rifled mandrel or core instead of a plain
cylindrical mandrel or core whereon to form the barrel.
In manufacturing rifled barrels by the punching and drawing process
we proceed as follows:-Instead of using a cylindrical punch for punch-
ing out or displacing the centre of the steel block we use a punch
having projections or grooves formed on or in its outer surface, such
projections or grooves being formed to the precise pitch or angle of
inclination of the rifling desired. The punch is mounted in an arm in
such a manner that it can revolve therein, and is driven or forced
through the block by blows of a steam hammer, or by hydraulic
pressure; the block so punched is then placed on a rifled mandrel as
above described and hammered or drawn out in the draw bench, after
which it is finished by rolling between two grooved rollers on the same
or a similar mandrel.
In manufacturing coiled or welded barrels according to our Inven-
tion we coil or weld the riband or "skelp" round the rifled core, and
hammer the same thereon, after. which the barrel with the mandrel in it
is finished by drawing or passing through grooved rollers as usual.
The only novelty in either of the preceding processes being the use of
the rifled punch and rifled mandrel instead of the ordinary plain
cylindrical ones, whereby we are enabled as before mentioned to rifle
the barrel to any pattern during the process of manufacture instead
of first making it with a cylindrical bore, and then rifling it
afterwards as hitherto practised.
E

page_text: In making rifled barrels for ordnance by casting we proceed in the
ordinary manner,. with this exception, that we use a core rifled to the
required pattern and cast the barrel round it so that the interior surface
is rifled in the mould instead of afterwards. We also propose to temper
or anneal the iron or steel barrels by means of lead or other easily
fusible metal or alloy; this we effect by forcing the barrels, whilst, in a
heated state through blocks of the lead or other metal or alloy..
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent;.
filed by the said William Jeremiah Murphy and John Bryan.
O'Hea in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 19th March, 1869..
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, WILLIAM:
JEREMIAH MURPHY, of Richmond, in the County of the City of Cork,
Brewer, and JOHN BRYAN O'HEA, of Greenwich, in the County of Kent,
Esquire, late Captain in Her Majesty's Twenty-fifth Regiment, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-second day of September, in the
year of our Lord One thousand cight hundred and sixty-eight, in the
thirty-second year of Her reign, did,, for Herself, Her heirs and succes-
sors, give and grant unto us, the said William Jeremiah Murphy and
John Bryan O'Hea, Her special licence that we, the said William,
Jeremiah Murphy and John Bryan O'Hea, our executors,, administrators,.
and assigns, or such others as we, the said William Jeremiah Murphy,
and John Bryan O'Hea, our executors, administrators, and assigns;.
should at any time agree with, and no others,, from time to time and
at all times thereafter during the term therein expressed,. should and
lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend within the United King-
dom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of
Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF RIFLED
BARRELS FOR SMALL ARMS AND ORDNANCE, AND IN APPARATUS TO BE EMPLOYED
IN SUCH MANUFACTURE," upon the condition (amongst others), that we,
the said William Jeremiah Murphy and John Bryan O'Hea, our exe-
cutors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under our, or
one of our or their or one of their hands and seals, should particularly.
describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what

page_text: manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed
in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and
immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that we, the said William Jeremiah Murphy and
John Bryan O'Hea, do hereby declare the nature of our said Invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement in writing;
and on reference to the accompanying Sheet of Drawings, that is to say :-
This Invention relates to the manufacture of rifled barrels in such
a manner that the rifling or grooving of the barrels is effected during
the manufacture of the barrel itself in contradistinction to the method
hitherto practised of making the interior of the barrels, firstly, of a plain
cylindrical form and then grooving them out to the required pattern of
rifling.
The Invention is applicable not only to the manufacture of rifled
barrels of the ordinary "land and groove" pattern, but also to the oval
or "Lancaster" pattern, the hexagonal or "Whitworth," the polygonal,
the ratchet, and other well-known forms, as well as to the spiral rib
pattern, as described in the Specification of Letters Patent granted to
the first-named petitioner (William Jeremiah Murphy), bearing dato
the Ninth day of January, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight
hundred and sixty-seven, No. 56.
The Invention consists principally in the use of a punch or a mandrel
or core having on its surface spiral projections or grooves (or both
according to the rifling desired), that is, a rifled punch, mandrel, or core
instead of a plain cylindrical or slightly conical punch, mandrel, or core
wherewith or whereon to form the barrel.
In manufacturing rifled barrels by the punching and drawing process
we proceed as follows:-Instead of using a punch with a smooth round
surface, whether cylindrical or otherwise, for punching out or displacing
the centre of the steel iron or other metal block we use a punch having.
projections or grooves formed on or in its outer surface, such projections
or grooves being made to the required pattern and formed to the precise
pitch or angle of inclination of the rifling desired. The punch is
mounted in an arm in such a manner that it can revolve therein; and
is driven or forced through the block by blows of a steam hammer or
by hydraulic pressure; the block so punched after being cleaned with
an adjustable cleaning instrument suited to the rifling is then placed

page_text: on a suitably rifled mandrel, as above described, and hammered or drawn
out in the draw bench, after which it is finished by rolling between
two grooved rollers on the same or a similar mandrel.
In manufacturing coiled or welded barrels according to our Invention
5 we coil or weld the riband or "skelp" round the rifled mandrel or core,
and hammer the same thereon, after which the barrel with the mandrel
in it is finished by drawing or passing through grooved rollers as usual. :
The only novelty in either of the preceding processes being the use of
the rifled punch and rifled mandrel instead of the ordinary plain,
cylindrical, or slightly conical ones, and in the former case so mounting
the punch that it can revolve as it descends, and thus follow the
"lead" of the rifling, whereby we are enabled as before mentioned to
rifle the barrel to any pattern during the process of manufacture instead
of first making it with a cylindrical bore and then rifling it afterwards
as hitherto practised. In making riflod barrels for ordnance by casting,
we proceed in the ordinary manner, with this exception, that we use a
core rifled to the required pattern instead of a smooth core as heretofore,
and we cast the barrel round it so that the interior surface is rifled in
the mould instead of afterwards. We also propose to temper or anneal
the iron or steel barrels by means of lead or other casily fusible metal
or alloy; this we effect by forcing the barrels whilst in a heated state
through blocks of the lead or other metal or alloy.
Such being the nature and object of our said Invention for "Im-
provements in the Manufacture of Rifled Barrels for Small Arms and
Ordnance and in Apparatus to be employed in such Manufacture," we
will now proceed to describe more in detail the manner in which the.
same is to be or may be performed or carried into practical effect; and.
in order that the same may be distinctly understood, we have annexed
hereunto a Sheet of Drawings illustrative thereof, and have marked the
same with figures and letters of reference corresponding with those in,
the following explanation thereof, that is to say :-
The method of manufacturing rifled barrels according to our Inven-.
tion by the punching and drawing process is illustrated by Figures 1, 2,
and 3 in the annexed Drawings. We take a block or bloom of iron,
steel, or other metal of the required size and drill or form a small hole
through the centre in the usual manner as a guide for the punch. We
then take a punch either cylindrical or slightly conical and with any,
suitably shaped point, but instead of a plain smooth surface as hitherto

page_text: practised we rifle this punch spirally, as shown at a, a, in Figure 1
(which is a side view of the improved punch), the said rifling being:
formed to the exact pattern and pitch of the rifling desired. This punch
wo do not attach to the head of the steam hammer or hydraulic press
(as hitherto), but we mount it in an arm b, b, in such a way that it can
receive the blows of the hammer or the pressure of the head of the press.
and at the same time revolve slowly in the said arm so as to follow the:
lead of the rifling as it is driven or forced through the block or bloom,
the result being that instead of a smooth cylindrical hole being punched
through the block or bloom as usual a hole will be punched rifled to
the required pattern and pitch, as shown in Figure 2, which represents in
perspective a view of a block or bloom of metal with a rifled hole
punched through the centre by means of the punch, Figure 1, according
to our Invention. The central cavity of the steel washer used to support
the block or bloom during the punching operation may also be spirally
grooved or rifled to correspond with the form of the punch. The
punching operation may be performed with the metal bloom either in a
hot or cold state, as may be found preferable. If it be thought desirable
(as it may in some cases) to punch a plain cylindrical hole through
the bloom first and give the rifling afterwards we then use a punch of
the form shown in Figure 3 (of a slightly larger diameter than the plain
punch) to effect the latter object. The block so punched with a rifled
hole is then screwed on to a similarly rifled mandrel which may be
either cylindrical or slightly taper for drawing (see Figure 4) by means
of any machine or apparatus adapted for the purpose, and it is then
drawn and hammered out in the usual manner into the form as shown at
Figure 5, or as shown at Figure 6 if a "lump" is required at the breech
end; it is then rolled by suitably formed rollers and finished in the
usual manner.
In some cases we propose to punch a block or bloom of large diameter
containing sufficient metal for several barrels, and after hammering or
drawing the same down as above on a long rifled mandrel, as shown at
Figure 7, to divide the tube into the required lengths before rolling.
We may here observe that the punches and mandrels as shown in
the drawing are rifled with semicircular grooves for forming correspond-
ing spiral ribs in the bore of the barrel, but it will be evident that they
can be rifled on any other known system and with an increasing or
decreasing pitch and width or depth of pitch as may be desired.
Having now described the nature and object of our said Invention

page_text: for "Improvements in the Manufacture of Rifled Barrels for Small Arms
and Ordnance and in Apparatus to be employed in such Manufacture,"
together with the manner in which the same is to be or may be
performed or carried into practical effect, we would remark in conclusion
that we desire it to be distinctly understood that we do not claim as
novel or of our Invention any of the processes above described for
making barrels apart from the use of the rifled punches, mandrels, or
cores, as we are aware that the same or similar processes have been
previously used with smooth punches, mandrels, and cores for making
smooth bore barrels; but what we claim as novel and our Invention is,―
Firstly. The manufacture of rifled barrels for such purposes from
blocks or blooms of iron or steel by means of suitably rifled punches,
mandrels, or cores, substantially as above described.
Secondly. Hammering or drawing out from one block or bloom a tubo
of a sufficient length to make two or more barrels and then dividing the
tube into suitable lengths before rolling.
Thirdly. We claim manufacturing coiled or welded barrels by coiling
or welding the skelp round a rifled mandrel or core and then hammering
and drawing or rolling in the usual manner.
Fourthly. We claim the manufacture of cast iron or steel rifled barrels
for ordnance by the use in the mould of a core rifled to the required
pattern and pitch.
And, fifthly. We claim tempering or annealing rifled barrels of iron
or steel by forcing them whilst in a heated state through blocks of lead
or other casily fusible metal or alloy.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Bryan O'Hea, have here-
unto set my hand and scal, this Eighteenth day of March, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine.
0 Witness,
BRISTOW HUNT,
Patent Agent and Solicitor,
1, Serle Street,
Lincoln's Inn.
JOHN B. O'HEA. (L.8.)