IMPROVEMENTS IN SCRAPERS FOR CLEANING GUN BARRELS AND OTHER TUBES
Year: 1866

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Jared Wilson Post and William M;Intyre Cranston,
of 77, Upper Thames Street, in the City of London, for the Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN SCRAPERS FOR CLEANING GUN BARRELS AND OTHER
TUBES," A communication from abroad by Ephraim Lauriston Pratt,
residing at Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America.
Sealed the 30th October 1866, and dated the 3rd May 1866.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Jared Wilson Post and
William M°Intyre Crauston at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents,
with their Petition, on the 3rd May 1866.
We, JARED WILSON POST and WILLIAM MCINTYRE CRANSTON, of 77, Upper
Thames Street,in the City of London, do hereby declare the nature of the said:
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN SCRAPERS FOR CLEANING GUN BARRELS AND OTHER
TUBES," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in scrapers for cleaning
gun barrels and other tubes. For this purpose we connect to the end of a
suitable rod, capable of passing down into the tube,a number of spring arins;
these arms are conveniently made of steel wire, and are furnished at their
ends with scrapers of brass or other suitable material; they are connected
with the spring arms so as to be able to pivot thereon; this is conveniently
done by tapping a hole through each of the scrapers and screwing it on to the
end of the spring arm. The scrapers are each of them a portion of a circle,
[Price 8d.]

page_text: and fitting together they make up a complete circle; they are inclined at their
edges and a ring is passed over them which holds them together. In this
state the apparatus is able to pass freely down the gun barrel or tube, and
when it comes to the bottom the ring striking against it is pushed back,
leaving the scrapers free, and then in drawing back the rod the scrapers act
to clean the barrel or tube; or in place of making the springs and scrapers
separate the one from the other, as above described, each spring may consist
of a steel blade shaped at the end so as to act as a scraper. For cleaning large
barrels or tubes we employ apparatus of a slightly modified form, we use a
tubular rod passing down the barrel, and we hinge to its ends radial arms, to
which the scrapers are fixed. Down through the tubular rod a stem is passed,
with a wedge or cone at its lower end which by means of its stem can be
forced between the radial arms so as to press them outwards; this wedge or
cone does not act directly on the arms, but on springs fixed to them, so as to
enable the apparatus to conform to any slight irregularities there maybe in the
barrel or tube.
The apparatus is introduced freely into the barrel or tube whilst the wedge
or cone is drawn back, and then after the wedge or cone has been forced
forward by its stem the apparatus is drawn back out of the barrel or tube, and
u this action the scraping and cleaning is effected.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Jared Wilson Post and William M°Intyre Cranston in the
Great Seal Patent Office on the 3rd November 1866.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, JARED
WILSON POST and WILLIAM MCINTYRE CRANSTON, of 77, Upper Thames Street,
in the City of London, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Third day of May, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, in the twenty-ninth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the said
Jared Wilson Post and William McIntyre Cranston, Her special licence that we,
the said Jared Wilson Post and William M'Intyre Cranston, our executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said Jared Wilson Post
and William McIntyre Cranston, 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,

page_text: use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVE.
MENTS IN SCRAPERS FOR CLEANING GUN BARRELS AND OTHER TUBES," a commu-
nication to us from abroad by Ephraim Lauriston Pratt, a person resident
at Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America, upon the condition
(amongst others) that we, the said Jared Wilson Post and William M°Intyre
Cranston, our executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under
our or their hands and seals, or under the hands and seals of one of us or them,
should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention,
and in what 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 1, the said William M°Intyre Cranstou, on behalf
of myself and the said Jared Wilson Post, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be
particularly described andascertained inandby the followingstatement thereof,
that is to say:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in scrapers for cleaning gun
barrels and other tubes. For this purpose we connect to the end of a suitable
rod, capable of passing down into the tube, a number of spring arms; these
arms are conveniently inade of steel wire, and are furnished at their ends
with scrapers of brass or other suitable material; they are connected with the
spring arms so as to be able to pivot thereon; this is conveniently done by
tapping a hole through each of the scrapers and screwing it on to the end of
the spring arm. The scrapers are each of them a portion of a circle, and
fitting together they make up a complete circle, they are inclined at their
edges, and a ring is passed over them which holds them together. In this
state the, apparatus is able to pass freely down the gun barrel or tube, and
when it comes to the bottom the ring striking against it is pushed back
leaving the scrapers free, and then in drawing back the rod the scrapers act
to clean the barrel or tube.
Figure 1 of the Drawings hereunto annexed represents an elevation of a
gun barrel scraper constructed as above described; the scrapers in this. Figure
are shown held together; Figure 2 is an elevation with the scrapers open;
Figure 3 an end view. of the scrapers when closed; Figure 4 a similar
view with the scrapers open; Figure 5 a cross section on line x, x, of
Figure 1, aud Figure 6 a central longitudinal section.
a represents the shank piece, into which are inserted and fastened a series
of spring wires b, each of which carries upon its lower end a plate c, the outer

page_text: edge of which is circular and forms the scraping edge, by the series of which
the gun barrel is cleaned. Each plate is screwed upon its rod or stem b, this
being the manner we prefer, though the plate may be otherwise jointed to its
stem, but so as to be capable of turning or swivelling thereupon. The screw
thread in each plate and the thread upon its stem are so formed that the plate
turns readily upon its stem, each plate being kept from unscrewing by coming
in contact with the next adjacent one. Normally the spring stems hold the
plates about in the position as to distance apart shown in Figure 4, or
perhaps a little farther apart than that, but by bending either spring out by
force its scraper plate can be rotated on its screw thread without striking the
next one, and by this means may be easily removed for repair, or to be sub-
stituted when worn by another. An encompassing and confining ring & holds
the plates together, as seen in Figures 1 and 3, the external diameter of this
ring being slightly less than the bore of the gun to be cleaned. Contact of
the outer end of the ring with the breech of the gun forces the ring from the
plates, causing them to spring out as seen in Figure 4, the scraping edges
being thereby pressed against the sides of the gun barrel. By making each
scraper plate separate from the spring, and so applying it that it can turn
thereon, or with reference thereto, as set forth, the whole length of each
scraping edge is pressed equally against the correspondingly curved surface of
the barrel. To guide the springs in their outward radial movement the
ring d is provided with projections e in the space between which the springs b
fit and move. In place of making the springs and scrapers separate the one
from the other as above described each spring may consist of a steel blade
shaped at the end so as to act as a scraper. Figure 7 of the Drawing shows
a view of a scraper so constructed; Figure 8 a cross section on the line x, x,
and Figure 9 a section on the line z, z, of Figure 7; Figure 10 is an end
view of the shank piece. a denotes the shank or foundation piece; b, b, the
spring blades, each having a scraping edge c, and the series being held
together by an encompassing ring d, as in the previous construction. The
shank piece has a circular recess or groove cut in it to receive the upper ends
of the spring blades, which ends are made of such width that the series fills
the grooves, as seen in Figure 8. When the blades are so inserted the ring d
is drawn over upon and so as to hold the scrapers in position, and then the
ends in the grooves are soldered. The blades may be inserted in a shank
piece recessed or grooved on its outer surface and hammered down upon the
blades, as seen in Figure 11, which shows a section of such a modification,
but we prefer the construction we have described. Each blade is stamped
or swaged so as to have a curved form in cross section (as seen in Figure 12,

page_text: which is a cross section on the line y, y, of Figure 7) corresponding to the
general cylindrical form of the tool instead of having the flat form as cut from
the sheet of metal. This shaping increases the strength of the blade, and
prevents it from bending, as will be readily understood. When the scraper
is completed thering d can slip easily over the blades from the shank piece a,
over which it cannot pass to the scrapers c, the ring being slipped over the
blades before they are all fastened upon the piece a or the blades slipped through
the ring, as before described. The inner surface of each spring is curved at
its lowerend, so that the scraping end of the instrument is trumpet-mouthed, as
seen in Figure 9, and within this mouth and between the blades we insert a
swab e, the swab being pushed up into the scraper so that it will project
through the space between the blades, which will keep it in place. The
lower surface projects beyond the mouth, and serves to clean the breech of
the
gun while the edge of the swab prevents the dirt removed by the scrapers
from falling to the breech as the instrument is being withdrawn from the
arm. This wad or swab piece or a separate one may be driven within the
tube to increase the outward pressure of the spring blades as circumstances
may require.
For cleaning large barrels or tubes we employ apparatus of a slightly
modified form. We use a tubular rod passing down the barrel, and we
hinge to its ends radial arms, to which the scrapers are fixed. "Down through
the tubular rod a stem is passed with a wedge or cone at its lower end which
by means of its stem can be forced between the radial arms so as to press
them outwards. This wedge or cone does not act directly on the arms, but
on springs fixed to them so as to enable the apparatus to conform to any
slight irregularities there may be in the barrel or tube.
The apparatus is introduced freely into the barrel or tube whilst the wedge
or cone is drawn back, and then after the wedge or cone has been forced
forward by its stem theapparatus is drawn back out of the barrel or tube, and
in this action the scraping and cleaning is effected.
Figs. 13 and 14 show two views of the apparatus above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William McIntyre Cranston, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-sixth day of October, in the year of
Our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six.
WM. M. CRANSTON. (L.S.)