IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF ORDNANCE, PARTLY APPLICABLE ALSO TO OTHER PURPOSES
Year: 1866

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Walter Weldon, of Park Villa, West Hill, Highgate,
in the County of Middlesex, for, the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF ORDNANCE, PARTLY APPLICABLE ALSO TO OTHER
PURPOSES."
Sealed the 19th February 1867, and dated the 20th August 1866.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Walter Weldon at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
20th August 1866.
I, WALTER WELDON, of Park Villa, West Hill, Highgate, in the County
of Middlesex, do hereby declare the naturo of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF ORDNANCE, PARTLY APPLICABLE ALSO TO
OTHER PURPOSES," to be as follows:-
Instead of forming the barrel of the gun of a single piece of metal, whether
by casting it in one piece or by welding or forging together more pieces than
one, I construct it of a number of long narrow plates of steel, wrought iron,
or other material, as may be preferred, each such plate having a segmental
transverse section, and being otherwise of such a shape that when a sufficient
number of such plates are arranged together, cach with its thinner edge

page_text: innermost and with its thicker edge outermost, the whole shall constitute a
hollow cylinder, closed or not at one end accordingly as the gun is intended
or not to be capable of being loaded at the breech, and of such shape and
proportion of bore as may be desired, and I bind these segmental plates
together preferably, though any other kind of ring or cylinder may be used for
the purpose, by means of disk rings or washers cut out of flat plates of wrought
iron or steel. I force these rings on by hydrostatic or other pressure,
preferring to make the shape of the segmental plates such that the hollow
cylinder formed by them tapers a little externally from the breech end.
When preferred, disk rings may be used at the breech end of the gun, and
cylindrical or other rings at the muzzle end. I make each face and the
surface of each edge of the segmental plates perfectly true and exact, and
do the same with the rings used to bind them together, so that the whole may
fit with the utmost accuracy and tightness. When this is done it is impossible
for the gases or vapours resulting from the explosion of the gunpowder or
other explosive agent employed to penetrate between the segmental plates,
but an additional precaution against such penetration may be taken by
enclosing within the hollow cylinder formed by the segmental plates a very
thin cylindrical "skin," say of either wrought iron or steel, this skin being
renewed as often as necessary; or this "skin" may be made of copper and be
renewed after each discharge of the gun, being made to forin, as it were, a part
of the cartridge. In some cases, instead of having but one set of thin
segmental plates bound together by one set of rings, I arrange a second set
of plates around the first set of rings, and then bind this second set of plates
together by means of a second set of rings; I also strengthen guns whose
barrels are formed of one piece of metal by arranging round the external
circumference of the barrel a set of segmental plates and then binding these
together as described. This method of construction is applicable not only to
guns, but also to cylinders for bydraulic presses and to other cylinders which
are required to bear a considerable amount of internal pressure.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Walter Weldon in the Great Sea! Patent Office on the
19th February 1867.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twentieth day of August, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, in the thirtieth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Walter Weldon, Her special licence that I, the said Walter
Weldon, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I,
the said Walter Weldon, my 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 Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention
for IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF ORDNANCE, PARTLY APPLICABLE ALSO
TO OTHER PURPOSES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
Walter Weldon, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, 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 I, the said Walter Weldon, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the fol-
lowing statement :-
$6
Improvements in the Construction of Ordnance, partly applicable also to
other Purposes."-Instead of forming the barrel of the gun of a single piece
of metal, whether by casting it in one piece or by welding or forging together
more pieces than one, I construct it of long narrow plates, either of steel, of
wrought iron, or of any other suitable metal, each such plate having a
segmental or wedge-shaped transverse section (in other words, being thicker
at one of its longitudinal edges than at the other), and being otherwise of
such a shape that when a sufficient number of such plates are arranged
together, each with its thinner edge innermost and with its thicker edge
outerinost, the whole shall constitute a hollow cylinder, completely closed at
one end or not accordingly as the gun is intended or not to be loaded at the
breach, and of such shape and proportion of bore as may be preferred, and I
bind these long segmental or wedge-shaped plates together preferably, though
any other kind of ring or cylinder may be used for the purpose, by means of
disk rings or washers (that is to say, by means of rings of the kind obtained
by cutting a circular piece out of the centre of a thin circular plate of metal),

page_text: the said disk rings being of either wrought iron, or steel, or any other suitable
metal, and being either cut from thin flat plates, or formed in any other
convenient way.
I force these rings on by hydrostatic or other pressure, first
expanding them or not by heat as may be preferred; and I prefer to make
the shape of the segmental plates such that the hollow cylinder formed by
arranging them together as above described shall taper a little externally from
the breech end, the rings employed to bind the plates together having their
respective internal diameters arranged accordingly. The dimensions of the
disk rings must of course depend on circumstances, but I believe it to bo a
good plan to make the distance from their interior circumference to their
exterior circumference about equal to the width of the plates they are
employed to bind together. When preferred, disk rings may be used at the
breech end and for a portion of the length of the gun, and cylindrical or other
rings for the other portion of its length. Each face and the surface of each
edge of the segmental plates, and each face and the surface of each edge of
the rings employed to bind them together, should be made as nearly as possible
perfectly true and exact, so that the whole may fit with the utmost accuracy
and tightness. When this is done it is impossible for the gases or vapours
resulting from the explosion of the gunpowder or other explosive agent
employed to penetrate between the segmental plates, but an additional
precaution against such penetration may be taken by enclosing within the
cylinder formed by the segmental plates a very thin tubular "skin," closed or
not at one end, which "skin" can be renewed as often as necessary; or the
same end may be attained by using a thin metallic sheathing which may be
renewed after each discharge of the gun, the charge, when preferred, being
enclosed in this sheathing, and sheathing and charge being then introduced
into the gun together. In some cases, instead of employing only one set of
thin segmental plates bound together by one set of rings, I arrange a second
set of plates around the first set of rings, and then bind this second set of
plates together by means of a second set of rings; I also strengthen guns
whose barrels are formed each of a single piece of metal, by arranging round
the external circumference of the barrel a set of segmental plates, and then
binding these together as above described. The above described method of
construction is applicable not only to guns, but also to cylinders for hydraulic
presses and to other cylinders which are required to be able to resist a
considerable amount of internal pressure.
Having thus particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, I claim as
my Invention, and desire to be secured to me by the herein in part recited

page_text: Letters Patent, the new method of constructing guns or other hollow cylinders,
which consists essentially in forming them of long plates of metal of segmental
or wedge-shaped transverse section, binding these plates together by means of
suitable rings, and if necessary or if preferred lining the hollow cylinder so
formed with a suitable skin; and also the method which is above described of
strengthening guns constructed in other ways.
In witness whereof, I, the said Walter Weldon, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Nineteenth day of February, One thousand eight
hundred and sixty-seven.
WALTER WELDON. (L.s.)