A New Process of Manufacturing Damascus Cannons and Tubes.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 30th Jan., 1894-Accepted. 31st Mar., 1894
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
A New Process of Manufacturing Damascus Cannons and Tubes.
I, EUGENE JORIS of Fraipont, Belgium, Manufacturer, do hereby declare the
nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
The process of manufacturing Damascus cannons and in general Damascus tubes
in use up to the present time consists in rolling the steel band into a spiral upon
a very thin sheet of iron bent into the form of a tube, known as the case, and serving
to support the band during the time of forging.
The cannon or the tube thus made always contains between the steel band and the
case or in the joint some scale from the steel band, particles of carbon or ashes or
other impurities the presence of which in the metal itself or on its surface reduces
the strength of the cannon or the tube and is very often the cause of difficult and
costly repairs, even if it does not necessitate the rejection of the cannon or
the tube.
Moreover the case presents the grave disadvantage of very often leaving in the
interior of the tube after the final forging what is known technically as "scale."
My new process of manufacturing Damascus cannons and tubes has for object to
avoid the introduction of these impurities in the mass of metal by dispensing with
the case and preventing such impurities from coming in contact with the metal.
My new method consists in placing longitudinally steel Damascus rods a twisted
or not, of round, half-round, square, trapezoidal or other shape, around a bar or
core, of iron, steel or Damascus steel, as shewn in cross-section upon Figure 1 of
accompanying drawings, or alternatively, as shewn on Figure 2, in cross-section, in
placing longitudinally a number of steel rods c of a sector shaped, triangular or
any other shaped section whatsoever, the whole enclosed in a box or a sheet-iron
case, or bound together by means of wire as shewn in elevation on Fig. 3.
These steel rods thus bound together with or without a special core, are preferably
heated in a reverberatory or other furnace, and afterwards welded under rolls, in a
press or under a hammer. Nevertheless the heating of the metal may be done at
a forge or by any other available means such as electricity. The welding of the
parts of the whole can also be done by hand as at present.
The number of longitudinal rods can be varied as desired :-in the drawing there
are sixteen.
The large bar or core b, Figure 1, may be of cylindrical, conical, or polygonal
form wholly or in part only of its length. Similarly the steel rods a may have
different sections along the whole or for any part of their length. It necessarily
follows from the preceding description that cannons or tubes made by the above
process are absolutely free from impurities both in the interior and on the surfaces
of the metal. My new process of manufacturing Damascus steel cannons gives me
also the considerable advantage of being able to weld at the forge or otherwise on
the complete Damascus cannons the trunnions serving to fit the cannons to the
breech, so that the trunnion is in one piece with the cannon.
Also in the manu-
facturing of Damascus tubes I can weld at the forge or otherwise upon the plain
tube any piece whatsoever so as to form one with the tube.
After the welding together of the steel rods in the manner described, the cylin-
drical mass may be bored to the calibre required by any ordinary method used in
the production of steel cannons or tubes.

page_text: 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 :-
1. In the manufacture of Damascus cannons and tubes the use of steel rods
arranged longitudinally, whether twisted or not, and bound together in a sheaf or
arranged around a bar or core of any suitable metal for the purposes and as
described and illustrated upon the accompanying sheet of drawings.
2. In Damascus cannons and tubes made by the process last claimed, the welding
at the forge or otherwise of trunnions of cannons or of any other part, upon the
complete cannon or tube, so that the two parts form only one piece as described.
3. Cannons and tubes in the manufacture of which steel rods are arranged longi-
tudinally whether twisted or not, and bound together in a sheaf or arranged around
a bar or core of any suitable metal, and welded together as described and illustrated
upon Figures 1, 2 and 3 of the accompanying drawings.
Dated this Thirtieth day of January 1894.