CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
Year: 1821

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
WILLIAM WEBSTER, late of George Court, Princes Street, Soho, in
the County of Middlesex, but now of Regent Street, Picadilly, in the
said County, Gun Maker, send greeting.
WHEREAS His present Majesty King George the Fourth, in and
by His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing
late at Westminster, the Fourteenth day of September last, for Him-
self, His heirs and successors, did give and grant unto me, the said
William Webster, His special licence, full power, sole privilege and
authority, that I, the said William Webster, my exors, adñiors, and
assigns, and every of them, by myself and themselves, or by my and
their deputy or deputies, servants or agents, or such others as I, the
said William Webster, my exors, adñiors, or assigns, should at any time
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter
during the term of years therein unexpired, should and lawfully might
make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town
of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and also in all His Majesty's Colonies and
Plantations abroad, my Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE

page_text: MECHANISM OF AND APPERTAINING TO FORSYTH'S ROLLER MAGAZINE FOR
THE DISCHARGE OF FOWLING PIECES AND FIRE-ARMS IN GENERAL BY
MEANS OF PERCUSSION;" in which said Letters Patent there is contained
a proviso, obliging me, the said William Webster, by an instrument in
writing under my hand and seal, particularly to describe and ascertain
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, and to cause the same to be inrolled in His Majesty's
High Court of Chancery within two calendar inonthis next and
immediately after the date of the said recited Letters Patent, as in and
by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that, in compliance with the said proviso, I, the
said William Webster, do hereby describe and ascertain the nature
of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed,
by the plan or Drawing annexed to these Presents, and the following
description thereof, that is to say:
My improvements in the mechanism of the roller magazine described
in the Specification of a Patent granted to Alexander John Forsyth
(Figures 5, and 6), and inrolled or dated the "Eleventh April,. One
thousand eight hundred and seven, consists of a mode of attaching
and detaching the magazine to and from the cylindrical piece or plug
which contains the touch-hole, which improvements are shewn in the
Drawings hereunto annexed. Figure 1, is a. représentation of a
percussion gun lock with my improvement applied to the magazine:
Figure 2, the magazine removed from the lock, in which a, is a dove-
tailed groove for the purpose of receiving a bolt. Figure. 3, is the
plug or cylindrical piece before alluded to, but which is found most
eligible if made slightly tapering, as in the Drawing. (This alteration,
however, in the form of the plug I do not claim.). In this Figure b, is
a groove formed round the plug for the purpose of receiving the end of
a bolt.c. Figure 4, shews the said bolt detached; and Figure 5, is a
section of the plug and the magazine, in which the parts are-seen put
together. The object of this improvement is that the magazine may
be taken off or removed from the plug without the trouble of unscrewing
any part of the magazine or its appendages: The bolt c, slides in the
groove u, as above mentioned, and has a spring acting behind it? för

page_text: the purpose of pressing up the bolt against the dovetail, so as to render
it sufficiently tight, and at the same time enabling it to slide easily.
The end of the bolt intended to fall into the groove b, and which I call
the nose, may form part of the slider c, or be united to the end of the
spring behind it, the latter of which I prefer. In order to take the
magazine off the plug the bolt is to be sliden down by the thumb nail
pressing against the screw head or knob seen in front of the bolt; when
the nose of the bolt is thus drawn from the groove of the plug b, the
magazine may be immediately removed from the plug, and on replacing
the magazine upon the plug the bolt is to be slidden up again into the
grove by which secures it from falling off. Though I have described
this particular manner of securing the magazine upon the plug, yet I
do not mean to confine myself precisely to this form or situation of the
bolt, as the same object may be effected.by placing a spring catch upon
the side of the magazine, as shewi at c, Figure. 6, or in several other
modes or modifications of my plan, which consists in securing the
magazine upon the plug by means of a bolt catch or catches falling
into a groove..
'
My further improvements in the mechanism of a percussion gun
lock consists of a magazine which is contrived to deposit its priming
in the act of cocking into a receptical placed on the inside of "the
cock, which priming is elected every time that the lock is brought to
Tull cock Figure 7, exhibits the external appearance of a gun lock
upon this 'construction and Figure 8, a front view of the lock, the
magazine, and the receptical; Figure 9, being a section of the same;
the respective letters referring to the same parts in Figures 7,18
and 9. is a curved piece of metal with a chamber b within, con-
taining the detonating powder intended to be employed 'as priming.
c, is another piece of metal attached to the inner part of the cock
formed to fit the curve of a, under which it slides. In this last-
mentioned piecesazsmall receptical or eliamberd, is made to receive
the priming when it comes inimediately under the chamber b, which is
the case upon the lock being brought to full cock. e, is a stopper placed
in the front of the priming chamber, which is held in that situation by
its arm f, fastened at bottom by a screw to the breast of the cock.

page_text: This arm f, is a spring in order to permit the stopper to slip away. from
the front of the priming chamber d (as.shewn by.dots at Fig. 8); when
it strikes against the plug.g, for the purpose of discharging the priming.
There are several modes which may be adopted of removing this
stopper from the front of the prinuing chamber so as to explode the
priming. Two particularly I adopt; the first of which is by making the
front of the stopper, as seen at Figure 8, an inclined plane, which by
the descent of the cock strikes against the end of the plug, and being thus
displaced admits the end of the plug into the chamber, the percussion
of which discharges the powder: The second mode is by placing an
inclined plane upon the plate of the lock, as seen ath, Figure 7, when,
as the cock comes down by the spring arm f, acting against the inclined
plane, the stopper e is forced on one side, and the priming chamber
opened to receive the plug g, by which the percussion is effected. The
curved piece a, is kept in close contact with the upper or curved
piece c, by means of a spring acting against the toe within the lock, as
seen a i.
This part of the improvement may be further varied by removing
the plug y, from the breach, and attaching it to the end of the spring
arm (a view of which is seen at Figure 10, and a section of the
cock and chamber at Figure 11). The operation of depositing the
detonating powder in the priming chamber will be the same as above
described, there being a slight variation in the form of the entrance of
the chamber, as will be seen at Figure 11; the plug is by the spring
withdrawn a sufficient distance to allow the priming to descend. When
the cock is discharged the plug, striking against the breach, causes the
powder to explode, which communicates its fire through the small
perforation or touch-hole, as shewn by dots at . Figure 12, is a section
of the spring arm and plug detached.
In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal, the
Fourteenth day of November, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and twenty-one.
WILLIAM WEBSTER. (L.s.)

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Fourteenth day of
November, in the year of our Lord 1821, the aforesaid William
Webster came before our said Lord the King, in His Chancery, and
acknowledged the Specification aforesaid, and all and every thing
therein contained and specified, in form above written. And also the
Specification aforesaid was stamped according to the tenor of the
Statute made for that
purpose.
Tnrolled the Fourteenth day of November, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and twenty-one.